BAREILLY: Days after the Centre said it would prioritise the evacuation of Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan, UP’s minister of state for jal shakti Baldev Singh Aulakh wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah saying that Rampur district would “welcome” them.
“Hindu and Sikh families displaced from Afghanistan are being evacuated to India by the central government. I sincerely request you to settle them in Rampur district. There will be no inconvenience,” Aulakh, who represents Bilaspur in the UP assembly, wrote to Shah on Wednesday. “The residents of Bilaspur tehsil in Rampur (where most are from the Sikh community) are ready to give land to the displaced brothers and sisters.”
Aulakh said he took this up with the Centre after talking to his constituents. “During Partition, people were given shelter in the state’s Terai region (now Uttarakhand). They worked hard. Now the region is the state’s rice bowl,” he told TOI. “I have spoken to the people of Bilaspur. They are happy to accept Sikh and Hindu families who have been displaced from Afghanistan because of the Taliban. The families can be given agricultural land on contract by the state to ensure their life is back on track.”
The community is also setting up three Guru Granth Sahibs at Gurdwaras in Bilaspur. “We consider the Guru Granth Sahib as a living Guru. Its daily recitation is mandatory,” said Aulakh. “After our initiative, I am sure other states will also offer to help re-establish our brothers and sisters from Afghanistan.”
