500 Sikhs made homeless in Kamal Nath territory

Over 500 Sikhs have been displaced and had their homes demolished in Madhya Pardesh, the state where infamous politician Kamal Nath resides as chief minister.

Kamal Nath has been accused by police and media eyewitnesses of inciting violent crowds in Delhi, following the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. In September last year, the home ministry ordered a reopening of the case examining his role in the genocide.

According to Indian news sources, around a dozen Sikh families were uprooted from the town of Karahal in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pardesh in 1984 during the state-supported genocide of Sikhs. The families returned to the town a decade later to salvage their possessions and rebuild their lives.

Now though, 25 years after resettling in the area, 11 Sikh families have had their farmhouses demolished by authorities and their crops have been destroyed. The Sikh families in the town of have now been declared as illegal occupants of the land.

Kamal Nath, chief minister of Madhya Pardesh

Local Sikh residents recounted the harsh treatment they received from authorities. One resident, Gurmeet Singh claims that authorities have labelled them “rioters and militants” and said: “You [Sikhs] were driven out in 1984 but you returned.”

73 year-old resident Kehar Singh added: “They did not give us any time to even remove our belongings.”

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjinder Singh Sirsa has sought action against chief minister Kamal Nath for enabling the expulsion of Sikh families in his state. He alleged that Kamal Nath’s government is enabling violent protestors against Sikhs in the Sheopur district, by offering them police protection.

Kamal Nath has responded by saying he would send a delegation of officials to visit Sheopur and talk to all the affected parties, including the district officials, local tribespeople and the Sikh families.