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Leicester Sikhs hold conference; Demand full public inquiry into UK’s hand in June 1984 attack

August 7, 2014 | By Parmjeet Singh

Leicester, United Kingdom (August 07, 2014): The Leicester Sikhs reportedly organized a public conference and called for a public inquiry into British involvement in the attack on the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar, India, in the 1980s.

By organizing the conference the members of Leicester Sikh Gurdwara Executive have joined others across the country in calling for a full public inquiry. The gathering was reportedly held at the Town Hall, where a resolution was unanimously agreed.

It read: “We, the Sikh community of the city of Leicester, unanimously support the request to the Office of the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to institute an independent, judge-led and public inquiry into the involvement of the UK Government in the attack on Harmandar Sahib, Amritsar, in June 1984.”

Leicester MPs and mayor Sir Peter Soulsby are supporting the call.

A letter from Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, who could not attend, was read out at the meeting.

He said: “It is wonderful that so many members of the Sikh community can come together in this way.

“On behalf of the other guests, I would also like to thank the representatives of the gurdwara committee for being here.

“The purpose of this conference is to discuss the way forward following the tragic events that took place in Amritsar 30 years ago.

“As with any tragedy where lives are lost, it is essential that facts are established and justice is brought to those who suffered during these events.

“I would urge the UK Government to work with its Indian counterpart to establish the truth, to ensure that closure can be given to all those who lost loved ones during this tragic event.

“The Sikh community here in Leicester is a very strong one and I hope your discussions today are fruitful.”

Evington councillor Baljit Singh, who chaired the conference, said: “I arranged this event due to public demand.

“It was a landmark in the Sikh community and its unanimous support to call for a public inquiry has wide support from public and politicians.

“The Sikh community felt privileged that for the first time the council chambers were available for us to discuss and debate an issue crucial to the wellbeing of the whole Sikh community.”

It is notable that the Indina army had attacked Darbar Sahib in Amritsar in June 1984. Though the Indian government counts the casulaities of brutal army attack, that was codenamed as Operation Blue Star, in few hundreds the Sikh groups, who described the event as one of the darkest chapters of the history, put the death toll in the thousands, majority of whom were devotees/ pilgrims.

Some secret British documents that were declassified earlier this year had revealed that Margaret Thatcher’s government had sent an SAS officer to advise the Indian government on planning the June 1984 army attack.

Sikh in UK has been demanding full public inquiry into UK’s involvement in prepertation of this mass crime against the Sikh nation.

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Related Topics: Sikhs in Leicester, Sikhs in United Kingdom, UK and June 1984 attack on Sikhs

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