Malerkotla’s plea to new Central govt, let there be no polarising narrative

Mahesh Sharma

Malerkotla, June 5

With elections over and new government to get constituted, residents of this erstwhile princely state expect that the communal harmony prevails.

Though there was a significant but latent polarisation of votes, Malerkotla residents are glad that none of the candidates had lodged even a single complaint at any of the 400 booths falling under the district’s jurisdiction.

Locals want to get their long-pending demands accepted and implemented, but not at the cost of eternal peace that prevails since Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan protested against execution of younger Sahibzadas in 1705. Gurdwara Haa Da Naara commemorates this.

Nadim Anwar Khan, eighth-generation descendent of Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan said the new government should treat members of all communities equal and there should be no discrimination on the basis of caste and creed. “As a descendent of Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan, I wish that political parties should stop exploiting religious sentiments of members of various communities for harnessing political mileage,” said Khan who is presently associated with AAP.

Claiming that all communal issues incited by outsiders were resolved by local Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims cordially, Amjad Ali, a social activist said that all residents irrespective of their caste and creed wanted to live peacefully.

Mohammad Rafiq, a civil constructor, regretted that drug addiction, illiteracy and pollution did not emerge as major issues during the election.

He urged that the new government should take concrete steps to resolve these issues. Rafiq claimed that members of all communities had been living together harmoniously and there was no establishment in Malerkotla where Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus did not work together.

“Times have changed so much that I have got my son married in a Hindu family and nobody from either community objected to our relationship,” said Rafiq.

Arvind Bhardwaj, son of a freedom fighter, appreciated that his family had enjoyed a special status among all communities as his late father Rajinder Bhardwaj was a Tamar Patra recipient. “It was during 1942 that my father along with his Muslim associates was kept in Multan Jail after being arrested from Chaura Bazar in Ludhiana,” said Bhardwaj.