Sikhs played key role in India’s fight for independence, says UK federation leader

Sikhs have stood for equality, religious freedom and social justice for centuries, Sidhu Dabinderjit Singh, Executive Director of the Sikh Federation UK, said at a conference in Baku.

The event, titled “Racism and Violence Against Sikhs and Other Minorities in India: The Reality on the Ground,” highlighted ongoing concerns over the treatment of minority communities in India, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

Speaking to delegates, Singh recalled that 556 years ago, Guru Nanak Dev Ji denounced social inequality, condemned the caste system, and opposed the medieval practice of sati, in which widows were forced to burn themselves on their husbands’ funeral pyres.

He said these principles of equality were “far ahead of their time,” noting that women in Western countries only secured the right to vote around a century ago.

Singh also highlighted the role of Sikhs in India’s struggle for independence, despite comprising less than 2% of the population.

He described the 1947 partition of Punjab as a “tragedy” for the community, with millions displaced and hundreds of thousands killed or subjected to violence.

He further criticised the Indian Constitution, adopted in 1950, for failing to recognise Sikhism as a separate religion, a gap he said has never been addressed by any subsequent government.

By Aghakazim Guliyev