Political News
Parties eyeing Sikh votes mum on Hondh Chillar massacre issue
October 11, 2014 | By IP Singh (TNN)
Jalandhar, Punjab: As SAD(B)-INLD and Congress are trying to woo Sikhs of Haryana by raking up formation of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) to garner votes, the issue of justice to the victims of the Hondh Chillar village massacre in Rewari district where 32 members of the community were butchered has been completely forgotten.
Ironically, the angry rhetoric of the Sikh religio-political circles, including Akal Takht, SAD and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in March 2011, when the ruins of Hondh Chillar came into spotlight, seems to have subsided. Today, the village and its tragedy remain out of political discourse in the state’s first assembly elections after that horrifying “discovery”.
The incident happened in the aftermath of the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but people came to know about it 26 years later, even though an FIR was registered.
“No one is raising the issue as political leaders are eyeing Sikh votes. The onus is on SAD leaders, who are campaigning in Haryana and they mention the bloody events of 1984 to gain votes for their party candidates,” said Manwinder Singh Giaspur, who brought the ghastly past of Hondh Chillar before the world in February-March 2011. It had led to a furore and formation of a commission by Haryana government to probe into the gruesome incident. Giaspur now heads the Hondh Chillar Coordination Committee which is pursuing the issue and attends the hearings of the Justice T P Garg Commission.
“The Commission was supposed to complete its work in six months, but it hasn’t despite repeated extensions. Its term ended on September 30 and no extension has been ordered, though it would not have been in violation of the model code of conduct. Robert Vadra’s land deal could be cleared but the term of this commission could not be extended. This shows the seriousness of the state government or the lack of it on the issue,” he said.
Two of the survivors, whose families suffered the most in the carnage of Hondh Chillar, are still waiting for the compensation announced by SGPC. “We have been calling up SGPC officials, and have also sent papers but we are yet to receive the compensation,” said Surjit Kaur, who lost 12 members of her family.
Surjit was the lone survivor as she was away to her maternal grandparents’ place at the time of the killings. She lives in Rewari now and has recorded her statement before the Garg Commission. Another survivor Guddi Devi, whose family seven members were killed, also said that she had also got no compensation.
Source: Times of India | Parties eyeing Sikh votes mum on Hondh Chillar massacre issue |by IP Singh
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Related Topics: Haryana Assembly Election, Hondh Chillar Massacre, Sikhs in Haryana
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