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INPUTS I & II

Race Issues and Struggles of Minorities in Asia/Pacific

Smithu Kothari a human rights activist and a free lance journalist began his lecture by introducing himself and speaking about his work as an activist. He shared with the participants, race and ethnic conflicts, violence and problems that have emerged in South East Asia.

During the past years there has been a fairly massive growth of violence in each of our countries. This is unlike the violence of the past, between races, class and communities. In the last ten years the violence that has taken place has not only been bloody, but the scale has increased tremendously and so has its intensity. The nature of violence has also changed. Earlier, if there was a conflict between two communities it would be contained because they were localized. Nowadays, our governments are increasingly participating directly or indirectly in perpetuating these conflicts. Conflicts in our cities have undergone a change and this is destroying the very fabric of our society. The existence of the minorities have been threatened, therefore, the secessionist groups/movements are now not asking for recognition but for the establishment of a new country for example the Chakmas in Bangladesh, the Sindhis in Pakistan, and the Sikhs in Punjab.

Kothari's second input was a case study of the Sikhs in Punjab. During his presentation he unfolded historical facts and events which led to the dissatisfaction and oppression of the Sikh people. He said that because of the strong political influence and groining strength of the Sikhs, the ruling party, headed by Mrs. Indira Ghandhi tried to split the community by giving the leaders of the Akali Dal (Sikh Party) money, arms and other monetary benefits. When the Akali Dal party realised that they were

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being split, they began to reunite. To defuse their strength, Mrs. Ghandhi in the late seventies again tried to split the community since it had become powerful. This time she used a Sikh religious leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who was known as the "Travelling Saint". She gave him political credibility by giving him money and arms.

As Hinduism has many sects so has Sikhism. The basic constituent membership of the Akali Dal party comes from the dominant community i.e. the upper and middle classes. The untouchables and the poor members of the Sikh community realised that the Akalis' were from the elites and therefore to protect their rights they formed groups which were pro-poor and pro-people. These groups confronted the domination of the rich Sikhs.

There was violence and killings as Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale started to consolidate his power. Ultimately, as a consequence of the killings and disturbances in the city, Mrs. Ghandhi had to destroy the monster she created. Thus, a fierce battle was fought in the Golden Temple. The army in this operation destroyed the room where the Sikh Holy and Sacred Scripture were kept. This act angered the Sikh community and they retaliated by burning and killing Hindus.

Because of the feeling of being second class citizens and having no voice in the government, the Sikh community is fighting for a separate state called Khalistan.