Today seen as criticial day in Punjab unrest
NZPA-AP New Delhi Two women and a child were fatally shot yesterday in Punjab State, one day before Sikh agitators plan to bum part of the Indian Constitution in a bonfire outside Parliament. The shooting took place in Pheowal village, 50km from Amritsar, the Sikh holy city and site of the Golden Temple shrine, the United News of India reported. No further details were immediately available. The latest killings bring the death toll to at least 79 in the last two weeks as Sikh and Hindu extremists battle each other.
Meanwhile, security and para-military troops were increased in New Delhi in preparation for the burning of part of the Constitution by five Sikh Aksli Dal leaders. They announced
they would bum the article which classifies Hindu Sikhs as a Hindu sect. Sikhs want to be considered a separate religion. Although they will not be allowed near the Parliament, they plan to build the bonfire as near as possible. But authorities said they probably will be apprehended before they reach New Delhi. Burning the Constitution or any part of it is a nonbailable offence punishable by up to three years imprisonment, a fine, or both. Meanwhile, militant Hindus called for a backlash general strike in New Delhi today to counter the Sikh agitation. They put up posters showing Hindus slain by Sikhs with the leadline “how long will you watch the situation?” Relations between extremist sections of both
communities have soured in recent days with Hindu extremists complaining that the Indian Government plans to give concessions to Sikhs in their 18-month-old campaign for greater state autonomy. The violence has also spread to neighbouring Haryana State, where Hindus are in the majority. Indian political observers said that today will be the critical day. It could well be the turning point at which the Government finally sends the regular army to Punjab to control the fighting and communal violence. If the bonfire and strike escalate the trouble in New Delhi, then the army, already poised for movement, could march into the Golden Temple in Amritsar, 400 km north of New Delhi, said to be a hide-out for Sikh terrorists and an arsenal.
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Press, 27 February 1984, Page 10
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367Today seen as criticial day in Punjab unrest Press, 27 February 1984, Page 10
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