ORGANISED SIKH VIOLENCE

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25272, 26 August 1947, Page 7

ORGANISED SIKH VIOLENCE

“The Sikhs are on the warpath and are systematically clearing the East Punjab of Moslems;’ says the Jullundur correspondent of “The Times.” •‘The violence has been organised from the highest levels of Sikh leadership. “The armament of the Sikh ‘jathas,’ which are armed mobs of 50 to 100, consists typically of one or two firearms, Army and home-made grenades, spears, axes, and sabres. The Moslems are usually armed only with staves. ‘The Moslems, when threatened, assemble on roofs and beat gongs and drums to summon aid from neignbouring communities. The Sikhs attack in three waves. The first wave armed with firearms, is to bring the Moslems off the roofs; the second lobs grenades over the walls; and in the ensuing confusion the third wave goes in with sabres and spears. Mounted outriders with sabres cut down those trying to escape. "The ‘jathas’ commit appalling atrocities. Four babies were found roasted to death over a fire in one village which they attacked.” A Moslem attack on a train loaded with Sikh refugees west of Ferozepore on Saturday was a reminder that the communal warfare was not one-sided. The train arrived at Kasur with 25 dead ©n board and more than 100 passengers

with knife wounds. Three small girls l n ™ e . compartment had been hacked to death. Four British survivors arrived in Ignore to-day after Sikhs had murderously ainbusned the Punjab express running from Calcutta to Lahore on August 19, says the correspondent of »he Daily Telegraph" in Lahore. wrecked and looted the train i ° 65 ./ r ? m Lahore. Tile survivors include Major D. J. Harrington-Hawes, ras wife, and his daughter aged 21. Major Harrington-Hawes said: “One hundred Sikhs, with drawn swords, advanced on the train after it pulled up at a point where the rails had been torn up I and six young sepoys fought them off with a Sten gun and five rifles. At nightfall we invited 150 Moslem passengers to accompany us to the Dagru railway station half a mile away. Ten of the Moslems refused to leave their possessions and were butchered five minutes after we xeft We saw the train looted of all our possessions. The party stood to arms on the station roof until a patrol brought reinforcements at midnight, We commandeered a train from f erozepore and forced the engineers to dnve us back there. Sikhs were flourishing swords on housetops all along the line. We saw scores of corpses and blood on every station.”