Worried about Sikh in Afghanistan, BJP ousts them in Shillong

 The Sikh community of Shillong has appealed to the local administration to stay their relocation, in the light of their cases pending in the Meghalaya High Court and the Supreme Court.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is worried about the safety of Sikhs in other countries, however, in Meghalaya, where it is in power as a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Sikhs are being ousted from their locality, where the community has been staying since 1850.

The state cabinet decided on October 7, this year that the Urban Affairs Department shall take possession of the land on which the Dalit Sikh have their settlement. The government’s decision is based on the recommendation made by a high-level committee head by Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong. The committee was constituted in June 2018 to find a solution to the decades-old land dispute, following violent clashes between local Khasis and Sikh residents of the area the previous month.

The Sikh settlement is also called Punjabi Lane and spans an area of 2.5 acres. It is adjacent to Shillong’s commercial hub. The Dalit Sikh were brought to the region in the 19th century by the British, to works as scavengers and sweepers.

Some political parties and other locals have been seeking that there should be no residential zone in the commercial area. Over the years, there have been skirmishes between the Sikh and the Khasi in the region.

While the government claims that the land belongs to the Urban Affairs Department, the Sikh claim that the land was gifted to the community in 1850, by the then Syiem (chief) of Hima Mylliem, one of the chiefdoms in Khasi Hills.

The Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC), which represents the Sikh Dalit community, has announced that it will fight the eviction.

He added that the HPC had filed a petition in the Meghalaya High Court in 2018, and a status quo has been ordered by the court on April 9, 2021.