Episode no.193
This interview with Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh of Sri Akal Takht Sahib was published on 23 March 2023. In this interview, he was discussed about the current situation in Punjab. He said that as in the Delhi farmers’ dharna, the Sikhs joined in large numbers and created a different identity by protesting in a peaceful manner. Due to which the people of other states also started joining the Sikhs. But the anti-Sikh forces never want that which is why they conspire to bring down the Sikhs. He said that in the meeting held at Akal Takht Sahib on 27th, it was also said that this is a trap spread to tarnish the image of Sikhs. He said that efforts have always been made to weaken Punjab politically, economically, socially, linguistically and religiously. Punjabis have always been emotional and combative who do not tolerate prejudice against them. He said that when the Sikh community accepts someone as its leader and he becomes unable to support. Then such an environment is created, due to which it is the right time for the anti-Sikh forces to oppress the Sikhs. First the atmosphere is disturbed, then Sikh youths are arrested in the name of controlling the situation. He said that the national party cannot talk about the welfare, rights, security and issues of the people of a state like a regional party can. Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh also talked about CM Bhagwant Mann’s tweet and the decisions taken in the meeting on 27th. Talking about the role of SGPC, he said that institutions are the backbone of nations. He said that the anti-Sikh forces know that to prevent a religion from flourishing, its resources have to be damaged. He said that due to the influence of such forces, we point fingers against each other but institutions are not taken care of while targeting individuals. He said that Punjab is a symbol of commonality but Sikhs cannot see this region being destroyed.Along with this, he also said that the representative classes of Sikhs need to come together on one platform and Sikh political parties should reform. He also discussed about the NSA imposed by the Center on the Sikh youth. He said that the absconding convicts of Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Bargari incident and Maur bomb incident have not been arrested till date or why the current situation was not created then. Finally, while condemning a picture that came out from the Indian Embassy, he appealed to the Sikhs not to be emotional and to remain calm, act in an intelligent manner.
~kulwinder kaur bajwa