Issewal (Ludhiana), March 31
On a call given by the Akali Dal (Amritsar), an all-party protest rally was organised in this village here today to protest against the ‘ouster’ of Air Marshal Manjit Singh Sekhon from the Indian Air Force. The place, well known as the village of martyrs, is also the native village of Mr Sekhon. This is the first instance of public protest in the case.
Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, Member of Parliament and President, Akali Dal (Amritsar), gave a call to the residents of the state to start a letter campaign on the issue and mail the ‘protest letters’ to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, demanding immediate re-instatement of the officer.
Cutting across party lines, a number of local leaders of different parties joined the rally held in a village school. Almost all residents of the village sported black flags in protest. Some even hoisted black flags atop their houses to show their anger at what they called the “forced exit” of the officer from service.
Various speakers said Mr Sekhon’s “unceremonious exit was part of a major political conspiracy”. Though most of them called it communal victimisation as the officer was a Sikh, others said it was another case of victimisation of the Punjabis. The speakers resolved to launch a state-wide peaceful protest to demand the re-instatement of the Air Force officer.
Alleging that the Indian governments have continuously discriminated against the state as well as the Sikhs, Mr Mann said that the litany of discrimination included the unresolved issues of the Punjabi language, erstwhile Punjabi speaking areas of Punjab, the capital city of Chandigarh and the discrimination against the Sikhs in the Indian armed forces.
Mr Mann also claimed that he had sought the help of leaders of other political parties both at the state and central levels, including some Members of Parliament, but no one had come forward. He felt that the exit of Air Marshal Sekhon was part of the policy of certain religio-political organisations that were working overtime to propagate a climate of fear, hatred and terror among the
minorities.
He said that he was surprised that neither the Indian Government nor the Air Force authorities had taken any action against Air Marshal Bhatia, who entered the Pakistani airspace and virtually brought about a war and his action was proved in an inquiry also. “But in case of Air Marshal Sekhon, who merely reiterated his position and status, the state machinery worked overtime and got his resignation,” he said.
Mr Charan Singh Lohara, general secretary of the Akali Dal (Amritsar), said the party would spearhead the campaign to get the officer reinstated and invited all political parties to join them on the issue.
Mr Inderjit Singh, a relative of the officer, said the officer was the highest decorated soldier and his flying hours were the maximum in the state, yet he was ousted on flimsy grounds.
