The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has welcomed the Meghalaya High Court’s order on Saturday staying the relocation of the Sikhs of Meghalaya capital Shillong without following due process of law.
“This decision will go a long way in securing justice for the community,” DSGMC working president Harmeet Singh Kalka and general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a statement.
A tiff between some Sikh women and a local Khasi driver on May 31 last year at Punjabi Lane – a locality in Shillong inhabited by some 350 families of Dalit Sikhs settled 150 years ago by the British – had snowballed into a communal crisis. It led to curfew being imposed in half of the city.
“Members of the Sikh community were unduly being targeted by the government and the local administration. Today’s order of the High Court is a big victory to the Sikh community facing the danger of dislocation in Shillong,” the duo said.
Justice S.R. Sen, the HC judge, made it clear that the government cannot disturb the Sikhs of Punjabi Lane till the time civil courts are approached and the title is decided and both the parties will be given an opportunity of hearing. He also gave liberty to approach the courts in case the petitioners are aggrieved again.
“The Sikhs are residing in the area of Shillong for a long time and if at local level any issue had arisen out, it was the duty of the local administration and the government to sort it out and protect the right of minorities as enshrined in the Constitution. But after the failure of the government and the administration, the Sikhs has to resort to court to get justice,” the statement said.
Gurjit Singh, the secretary of the Punjabi Lane gurudwara said there have been several attempts by the local authorities and NGOs to evict them. “We are law-abiding citizens but will protect our land and place of worship whenever there is a danger,” he said.
