Pakistan Radios comment on Sikh leadership deplored

Pakistan Radio comments criticising Sikh leadership has evoked displeasure among members of the community here.

Chandigarh, Nov 24 : Pakistan Radio comments criticising Sikh leadership has evoked displeasure among members of the community here.

Sikhs, particularly those living along the border, have questioned the credentials of Pakistan Radio.

What has upset them are comments like "Sikh leadership in India is not able to give the right direction to Sikhs, and instead, was joining hands with Hindus to promote their own personal interests after Operation Blue Star and the anti Sikh riots in 1984."

Pakistan Radio's 'Punjabi Darbar' exhortations, however, have had little or no impact on Sikhs.

They point out that Punjab is known as the "Granary of India", India has a Sikh Prime Minister in Dr. Manmohan Singh, and that many states have Sikh Governors. Pakistan Radio's 'Punjabi Durbar' programme comments like Sikhs in India receive a bad treatment from their leadership, are no longer credible.

The broadcasts are aired from Lahore directed at Sikhs living in border areas.

Coming down heavily on this hidden agenda of the broadcasts, D S Cheema, Media Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, said, "India is a sovereign and democratic country where politics is a part of a democratic system."

"So such propaganda by Pakistan Radio makes no impact on the people of India as we have a Sikh as our Prime Minister. We all know our responsibilities. So, as the Sikh leadership and the people of Punjab, and it's our internal matter," he added.

Senior Congress leader of Punjab, Harchand Barsat, says: "Pakistan never had sympathy with the Sikhs, and still they don't have any consideration with Punjab and India."

He even challenged Pakistani Radio to disclose the name of those Sikh leaders who were not working for the welfare of their people.

"Without identifying any issue, how they can blame anybody. What's their purpose of blaming the Sikh leadership," Barsat questioned.

It seems that Pakistan keeps on propagating such malicious facts just to hide the turmoil in its own country.

This is not the first time that this programme has received such a harsh response from the Indian Sikh Community. In the past too it had tried to infuse hatred, but received hard-hitting replies.

Punjab has earned the epithet "Granary India" for its enterprising spirit, and the untiring toil of its people.

Its average growth rate of 10 per cent is amongst the highest in the country, clearly reflecting the progressive economy of the state. Punjab also boasts of a 58 per cent literacy rate and one of the highest per capita incomes in India.

Today, Punjab has become a land of boundless opportunities, offering distinct advantages for investment and industry.

People of Punjab, who are dynamic, have worked hard to enrich the soil, develop the water resources, and adapt agricultural technology to usher the "green revolution" in the State.

The state has emerged as a major producer of wheat and rice. It has also provided the impetus for "White Revolution", during Operation Flood, and recorded the highest per capita availability of milk.

It is hard to believe the Pakistan Radio when it says that the Sikh community in India faces grim future.

In India, where modernity co-exists with ancient traditions and faiths, people shun propaganda that seeks to divide people on the basis of caste and religion.

ANI