Sikhs settled in Assam for nearly 200 years seek special status

THE MAJORITY OF ASSAMESE SIKHS ARE DESCENDANTS OF 500 SOLDIERS MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH TSENT O HELP AHOM KING TO FIGHT INVADERS IN 1822

GUWAHATI : They came to Assam from Punjab nearly 200 years ago as soldiers. But settled down and assimilated into Assamese society while retaining their religious identity.

Now Assamese Sikhs, who number around 12,000 and are settled mostly in three areas in central Assam’s Nagaon district, want special status and facilities from the state government.

On Tuesday, a delegation led by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa met chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and submitted a list of demands. “The Assamese Sikhs are a microscopic minority community. But they have been ignored by successive governments. If that continues, the community may become extinct,” said Sirsa.

Apart from special status, the delegation wants setting up of a A delegation, led by Manjinder Singh Sirsa (orange turban) of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, meeting Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati on Tuesday. world-class education complex at Borkhola in Nagaon for the community and reservation in educational institutions and government jobs. They also sought reservation of seats in the state assembly, urban and rural local bodies, establishment of a skilldevelopment centre and plots of land in Guwahati and Nagaon to set up social welfare projects.

Financial help to repair historic Sikh gurdwaras in Assam and assistance to Assamese Sikhs to go on pilgrimage to prominent religious sites as already given to other minority communities were other demands.

“The CM gave a patient hearing and assured us that problems faced by the community would be addressed. He also appointed a senior IAS officer as nodal officer to look into and implement our demands,” said Sirsa.

Majority of the Assamese Sikhs are descendants of 500 soldiers who were sent by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to help Ahom king Chandra Kanta Singha fight invaders in 1822. Those who survived decided to stay back, marry local woman and slowly got cut off from their roots in Punjab. Two Assamese Sikhs also lost their lives in the Assam Agitation against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.