Jharkhand News: Sikhs of Jharkhand should use NOTA, says advocate Kulwinder Singh
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK Advertisement Jamshedpur, May 15: Advocate Kulwinder Singh, convener of the Rashtriya Sanatan Sikh Sabha, has called on…
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Jamshedpur, May 15: Advocate Kulwinder Singh, convener of the Rashtriya Sanatan Sikh Sabha, has called on the Sikhs of Jharkhand to either boycott voting or use NOTA (None of the Above) during elections.
Cast certificates not issued to SC, OBC Sikhs in Jharkhand
He argues that political parties have shown a persistent lack of interest in addressing the issues faced by the Sikh community in the state.
Kulwinder Singh highlighted that several religious and social issues affecting Sikhs in Jharkhand have remained unresolved for years due to the apathy of political leaders.
Since 1978, Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Class (OBC) Sikhs in the region have been unable to obtain caste certificates, depriving them of their constitutional rights in education and employment.
He pointed out the Supreme Court’s recent recognition of Navneet Kaur Rana, a former MP from Amravati, as an SC member in Maharashtra, questioning why similar recognition is not extended to SC Sikhs in Bihar and Jharkhand.
Furthermore, domicile certificates have not been issued to Sikhs who migrated from Pakistan post-independence and settled permanently in Jharkhand. Despite the Nehru government’s allocation of land to these settlers, they continue to face second-class treatment and are denied revenue benefits for the land.
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Lack of govt response and exclusion from decision-making
Singh also criticized the Takht Sri Harmandir Sahib Management Committee in Patna for conspiring against the Sikhs of Jharkhand and South Bihar, citing multiple petitions filed in the Bihar High Court by some Sikhs from Patna with close ties to a former Union Minister. The indifferent stance of the Patna City Sub-Divisional Administration and the Bihar State Election Commission further exacerbates the issue.
Representations have been made to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, but both governments have shown a lack of responsiveness.
Despite Jamshedpur East MLA and former minister Saryu Rai’s efforts to raise the issue and request action in the Jharkhand Assembly, no progress has been made. The current status of the related files and responses from the Bihar government remain unknown.
Kulwinder Singh noted that the Bihar Chief Minister tasked Sardar Gurinder Singh Kang with drafting a new constitution for the Takht Sri Harmandir Patna Sahib Management Committee years ago, but this draft was never shared with Sikh organizations in Jharkhand for feedback, potentially excluding them from important decision-making processes.
He emphasized that without policy decisions aligned with the Bihar Reorganization Act 2000, the previous status quo cannot be restored. The lack of genuine interest from Bihar’s administrative staff in addressing these constitutional issues highlights the need for the Sikhs of Jharkhand to use the upcoming elections to draw the Central Government’s attention to their longstanding grievances.
