Sikhs abused for highlighting abduction and religious conversion to Islam in Kashmir, fractures appear in ‘Sikh-Muslim unity’ project
The 'Sikh-Muslim unity' project at least has not reached such disastrous proportions yet, or so it seems. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who had called Hinduism 'weak' after Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh passed an anti-conversion law, now wants the same in Jammu & Kashmir.
27 June, 2021
K Bhattacharjee
Sikhs trolled for highlighting abduction and religious conversion to Islam in Kashmir, fractures appear in 'Sikh-Muslim unity' project
Image Credit: Indian Express
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Tensions are rife in Kashmir after two Sikh girls were allegedly kidnapped and converted to Islam recently. According to the claims of the Sikh community, at least one of them has been located and is mentally unstable. The girl was produced before the Court and her statement was allegedly recorded in absence of her family. The Court gave the verdict in favour of the man and she was allowed to go with his family.
The news was shared on Twitter by Amaan who is now being trolled on social media for highlighting the issue. One person said that Sikhs were behaving worse than ‘Sanghis’ after one incident.
One incident and these scums started behaving worse than sanghis. https://t.co/GMTldhdiNo
— Ishfaq Nabi (@Ishfaq_Nabi_Dar) June 27, 2021
The same individual highlighted a crass comment by an apparently Sikh man to assert that no one is an ally for the Muslim community.
Muslims attending to support this shit incident? One isolated incident whose truth is yet to come out and you guys are showing your true colours. Dear, Muslims no one is your ally https://t.co/aviszECxqV pic.twitter.com/b0rFp5cNSh
— Ishfaq Nabi (@Ishfaq_Nabi_Dar) June 27, 2021
Another user accused Amaan of “spreading hate” against the Kashmiri Muslim community while using abusive words for the Kashmiri Pandit community.
The sentiment appears to be widespread among the Kashmiri Muslim community.
A single case is being projected as such that as if it is happening every day .some days back a muslim girl frm Kashmir was taken in similar fashion in Punjab and her parents were arrested when they tried to contact her , so shall we blame whole community for that ??? https://t.co/FALrtQ8PtM
— syed fazil (@fazilsyed299) June 27, 2021
Meanwhile, Amaan is urging Sikh youths to not ‘cross over to the saffron side’. He appears equally concerned about the ‘Sanghi ecosystem’ taking advantage of the incident as he is for the fate of the girls themselves.
In recent times, there has been a concerted effort to stitch together a fictitious ‘Sikh-Muslim’ political unity. Towards that end, langars were organised for the Shaheen Bagh protesters in Delhi and subsequently, the farmer protests, with its distinct Khalistani undertones, have received significant support from Islamists as well.
However, that initiative appears to be going down the same route as ‘Dalit-Muslim’ unity. For the sake of such a unity, Dalit leaders often maintain a strategic silence committed by Islamists against people from the Dalit community. It has happened on several occasions that prominent Dalit leaders remained silent while Dalits continued to suffer the brunt of the Islamist attacks.
The ‘Sikh-Muslim unity’ project at least has not reached such disastrous proportions yet, or so it seems. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who had called Hinduism ‘weak’ after Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh passed an anti-conversion law, now wants the same in Jammu & Kashmir.
Sirsa also lamented the fact that the Sikh community had supported the Muslim community during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act but no Muslim leader has come forward to support his community now.
Such developments once again proves that the ‘Sikh-Muslim unity’ project is based on a mountain of lies being crafted solely for the benefit of political leaders for their personal ambitions. Before long, if it suits their purpose, they will definitely be more than willing to throw Sikhs under the bus for personal political gains.
There is, of course, a history of persecution of the Sikh community by Islamic regimes. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, Sikhs are persecuted by the majority Muslim community, leading many of them to come over to India for a better future. However, it appears that certain Sikh political leaders, are ignoring centuries of history for short term political gains.
Kashmir’s Muslim bodies condemn ‘forced’ interfaith marriage
Peerzada AshiqSRINAGAR, JUNE 28, 2021 19:25 IST
UPDATED: JUNE 28, 2021 19:25 IST
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Support family of Sikh girl who was married to an elderly Muslim man
Kashmir-based religious bodies on Monday expressed their support to the Sikh community, a day after the community leaders alleged that a girl was forced to marry a Muslim man and converted to Islam.
“Sikh brethren are a part and parcel of Kashmir’s society. There is no place for forcible conversion in Islam and reports of forcible conversion of Sikh girl to other religion on a gun-point can never be considered as a conversion in Islamic jurisprudence,” J&K’s grand mufti Nasir-ul-Islam said.
He urged an impartial inquiry into the matter. “Kashmir is known for maintaining communal harmony for years together and Sikhs are important part of Kashmir’s age-old culture, ethos and communal brotherhood. No one will be allowed to play with the faith of Sikh brethren,” Mr. Islam said.
Teams of the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an amalgam of religious leaders and religious bodies, also visited the family of the Sikh girl who was allegedly forced to marry a elderly Muslim man. “We have taken a serious note of the issue. We will ensure that the Sikh community is assured full support of Muslims. Islam does not believe in coercion,” an MMU spokesman said.
Mufti Anayatullah, Imam at the Markazi Jamia Masjid-Jammu, said the allegations of forceful conversion were serious and has no place in Islamic principals. “I have strong reasons to believe that the incident is completely private in nature but certain elements are trying to give it a religious colour. I request the administration to hold an impartial investigation in the matter,” he said.
National Conference's Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party's Mehbooba Mufti alleged that an attempt was being made to divide the people in J&K.
“The authorities should move quickly to investigate the recent cause of tension and if anyone has broken the law the should be prosecuted and necessary punishment handed out. Any move to drive a wedge between Sikhs and Muslims in Kashmir will cause irreparable harm to J&K,” Mr. Abdullah said.
Ms. Mufti said she hoped the investigation agency will get to the bottom of the issue.
Jagmohan Singh Raina, president of the All Party Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC), said the community was agitating over the “forcible” marriage of a Sikh girl from Rainawari area of Srinagar.
“This forced marriage was pre-planned and backed by some powerful people. The girl’s parents were not allowed to go inside the court. The girl was forced to sign marriage papers. we want an end to such incidents,” Mr. Raina told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, the police said it has handed over the girl to the family. “We saw two to three such cases in the past one year. People are disturbing the communal harmony. Since ages we have been living together with brotherhood and this age-old bond cannot be broken with such conspiracies. The accused should be arrested as soon as possible and tried in the court of law for abduction and forcible marriage,” he added.
Two Sikh girls abducted and converted to Islam in Kashmir: What we know
Situation is currently tensed in Valley as protests against the abduction and religious conversion of Sikh girls to Islam have intensified.
27 June, 2021
OpIndia Staff
Two Sikh girls converted to Islam in Kashmir (representational image: theguardian.com)
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Two Sikh girls from Kashmir have been reportedly abducted and converted to Islam. Of these, one girl who was married off to the Muslim boy is still missing.
Details about Sikh girls from Kashmir
On June 26, a case of forced conversion came to light from Jammu & Kashmir. As per reports, an 18-year-old Sikh Girl from Badgam district was lured and forcefully converted to Islam. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) have also raised the issue on social media platforms urging the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to intervene.
Another case is of a girl from Mehjoor Nagar in Srinagar who attended function of her Muslim friend. As per Bali, she was married off to a boy who attended the function. While the girl was not a minor, she is still missing.
The case of handing over girl to a Muslim family
According to Sardar Santpal Singh, President Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee-Budgam, who narrated the whole incident, the girl was mentally unstable. A Muslim man lured her on the pretext of love and marriage to convert her. He said, “A girl from Sikh community has been forcefully converted to Islam. She is not mentally stable. The man lured her on the pretext of love. It is not a love affair but a clear case of Love Jihad. The government is acting negatively against us.”
He further added that despite written assurance by the SP who was handling the case that she would be handed over back to the Sikh family, the court orders came against them. He said, “The police inspector had assured in writing that the girl would be handed over to them after presenting her in the Court. However, the judge gave the judgement in favour of the Muslim man and handed over the girl to him.”
The family of the girl was not allowed in the Court
Santpal Singh further said that the parents and relatives of the girl were sitting outside the Court as they were not allowed inside due to Covid regulations. He said, “The Police asked the family members of the girl to sit outside to avoid the crowd in the Court. However, all the relatives of the Muslim man were allowed in the Court. The judge recorded the statement of the girl in the absence of her family members and took note of the statements of the relatives of the Muslim man. No one from the family of the girl was called in the Court during the proceedings.”
He further added that the judge should have handed over the girl to the Sikh family at least for a week. If the girl still wanted to go to the Muslim man, no one would have stopped her. “But at least for a week, the girl should have been given to the Sikh family,” he added. Santpal urged the majority community (Muslims) to come in support of them. He reminded them how the Sikh community helped them in bringing girls back from cities like Pune and Mumbai and supported them in their time of need. “Can’t you help us now? Come forward and support us. The brotherhood should remain intact in the Kashmir valley,” he asked.
He urged the government and LG to hand over the girl for at least a week. They will not interfere if the girl decides to go back to the Muslim family after one week. Someone in the background could be heard saying that the Muslim man has already married 2-3 times.
‘What kind of system does not allow girls family to enter the court?’
Another Sikh man who was present at the scene said, “What kind of system is functioning in the Court that passes the judgement without hearing the girl’s family? Why was the judgement passed in a day? Why girl’s family was not allowed in the Court?” He urged the central government to intervene. He added that the girl was kidnapped around four days ago. She was recovered by the Police from Chandoosa. “She was kept in remand for two days and presented in the court on Saturday,” he said.
Those aware of the case said that the judge did not even ask about the girl’s parents. “What kind of judge was he who did not even care to inquire about girl’s parents?” A Sikh man asked.
‘Pass a law against Love Jihad like UP’
Another Sikh man present outside the Court said that Jammu and Kashmir needs a law against forceful conversions just like Uttar Pradesh. The girl should not be handed over to the man without the signatures of the girl’s parents. The Sikh community urged the government to initiate an investigation in the case.
The incident attracted criticism from all sections
Akali Dal’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “Urging J&K LG to address this issue of Srinagar. A Sikh girl (mentally disturbed) has been given to the family of a Muslim guy by the Court. The family of the girl wasn’t even allowed to attend the Court’s proceedings while the boy’s whole family was inside the Court.”
He further called it a biased action towards the minority. Claiming it was not the first case of conversion in the valley on the pretext of love, he said, “The girl’s family seeks her custody for a week & after that, she can choose to make the decision as she wants. It is important that the girl is given freedom.”
Tejinder Singh Sodhi, Reporter CNN News 18, said, “Sikh community in Kashmir is treated as second class citizens, nothing has changed for the community in the past 70 years. Why not a single person from the majority community is standing with Sikhs right now when the same Sikhs have always stood to protect their daughters.”
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also raised the issue. They said, “It is reported #Sikh Sangat is protesting at Srinagar Judicial Complex allegedly for ‘biased’ decision related to a case of ‘forced conversion’ of a Sikh girl who is reported to be mentally unstable.” They urged LG and J&K Police to ensure the safety of Sikhs in J&K.
They further added, “Sikhs in Kashmir alleges that family of a boy given custody of girl by Court, was present inside the Court, while the girl’s family was not taken into confidence. This is a clear case of biased action towards minority #Sikhs, and this is not the first such case,” and urged the authorities to take action. The man who lured the girl is reportedly 60-years-old.
Police promised to hand over the girl to the family
United Sikh Forum, Jammu And Kashmir, posted several videos in which Sikh community members were seen protesting outside the court premises.
In one of the videos, SP was heard saying that they would hand over the girl to the Sikh family. He said that the girl caused a drama in the Court and told the judge that Police was harassing and torturing her.
He further assured the protesting Sikhs that the girl would be soon handed over to the Sikh family and urged the protesters to leave the premises outside the Court.
