The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has urged the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory Delimitation Commission to reserve five seats for Sikh community members in legislative assembly.
SAD senior leader and former Member of Parliament Prem Singh Chandumajra on Tuesday handed over a letter written by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal in this regard to Delimitation Commission Chairman Justice (retd.) Ranjana Prakash Desai in Srinagar.
The SAD has urged the Commission to favourably consider reserving three seats for the Sikh community in Jammu and two in Srinagar.
In the letter, Mr. Badal said several times, including at the time of Partition, promises were made to the Sikh population of J&K that counter-checks would be created in the democratic process to ensure their social and economic well-being.
“It was even proposed that a definite number of seats would be reserved for members of the Sikh community in the J&K legislature on the pattern of that done for the Anglo-Indian community in Parliament and State Assemblies. Sadly, the then Congress government did not honour any of the promises made to the Sikh community post partition,” he stated.
‘Historical wrong’
Asking the Commission to correct this ‘historical wrong’, Mr. Badal said reservation of seats for Sikhs in the UT would ensure the voice of the community was taken into consideration while making executive decisions. Sikhs in J&K had been complaining since long that they were being left behind in the development process because there was no reservation for them in jobs despite their minority status. “All these issues, including reservation in educational institutions, can be taken up once Sikhs have a say in governance”, he wrote.
Mr. Chandumajra, while appraising the Commission members about the entire issue, said the Sikh community had a rich historical and cultural association with Jammu and Kashmir. J&K was at one time a part of the Sikh empire and a huge number of Sikhs had been residing in the State since the last more than 200 years. The community formed an important part of the composite culture of J&K, with social and trade links stretching back hundreds of years, he noted.
