The representatives of the Sikh, Muslim and Dalit communities, along with intellectuals and social activists, on Saturday resolved to establish a common front to raise concerns over the constitutional rights and equal opportunities of deprived minorities and marginalised sections.
The resolution was adopted at a joint meeting of Sikh, Muslim and Dalit thinkers held at Kendri Sri Guru Singh Sabha, here, to mark the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur.
The meeting was presided over by Justice Ranjit Singh (Retd.), former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Mohammad Adeeb said that the Muslims who remained in India after Partition and Sikhs who supported the Indian Union on the assurances of Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel now feel those promises have not been fulfilled. He said that if the BJP seeks to establish a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, it should obtain the people’s mandate through a national referendum.
The gathering observed that although India adopted democracy, secularism and constitutional governance after Independence, the successive governments have increasingly pursued policies favouring the majority community and upper-caste interests.
Former Chief Justice Iqbal Ansari alleged that the ruling establishment promotes religious polarisation by setting one community against another for electoral gains.
Noted Sikh scholar Gurtej Singh, IAS (Retd.), endorsed the proposal for a united platform of minorities and deprived communities and recalled that Sant Harchand Singh Longowal had entrusted him with initiating dialogue with Muslim leaders as early as 1983.
The participants further stated that many minorities and deprived communities have been reduced to second-class citizens and are being used as scapegoats for advancing Hindutva politics.
They stressed the need for minorities, Dalits and other marginalised sections to unite on a common platform to safeguard their rights and dignity.
Among those who addressed the gathering included Prof Sham Singh (President), Dr Pyara Lal Garg, Gurpreet Singh (Global Sikh Council), Daya Singh Delhi, Anzarul Bari, Rajwinder Singh Rahi, Senior Journalist Jaspal Singh Sidhu, Surinder Singh Kishanpura and several other distinguished speakers.