Sikh Council UK: Sikh Meet With PM Modi Was Useful and Constructive

Members of the Sikh community jointly met with the Indian Prime Minister Modi today to discuss long-standing issues of concern to the global Sikh community.

LONDON, UK—Secretary General of Sikh Council UK, Gurmel Singh said, “The meeting was useful as it was probably the first time ever Sikhs were able to openly meet with and clearly outline the lack of justice and severe human rights concerns directly to the Prime Minister of India.  The meeting was also constructive as during the dialogue, PM Modi accepted our concerns were legitimate and agreed a formal process to further address these concerns through his appointed National Security Advisor.”

 

PM Modi is currently on an official visit to the UK during which he will face protests from a wide range of communities due to his own record and that of the Indian state in regularly ignoring the human rights of minorities and the lack of justice for historical and recent events.

 

Sikh Council UK facilitated two open Panthik meetings on 3rd October 2015 and 24th October 2015 during which the issues of concern to Sikhs were discussed.  The meeting with PM Modi today was dedicated to those same issues which include:

 

  • Release of Sikh political prisoners
  • Prosecution of Police officers involved in human rights violations in Punjab
  • Justice for the Sikh genocide of November 1984
  • Returning rare and priceless items taken by the Indian Army in June 1984 from the Sikh Reference Library, Sri Harmandar Sahib
  • Review of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution
  • Compensation for Sikh farmers in Gujarat forced to leave and prosecution of those responsible for violent attacks against them
  • Increase in the cases of deliberate desecration of Guru Granth Sahib Ji 

Secretary General of Sikh Council UK, Gurmel Singh said, “It was my hope that the meeting would acknowledge the outstanding issues of injustice and help open up a channel for dialogue with PM Modi’s office leading to a speedy resolution of all these issues.  The willingness to engage further is encouraging and cautiously welcome.  I would urge all Sikhs to await full details of the meeting which we will be circulating shortly and engage positively as a Panth to determine future steps.”

 

 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here