HOSHIARPUR, Punjab (May 15, 2014)—Dal Khalsa has expressed deep concern over the violent clash between members of Sikh and Muslim minority communities in Hyderabad.
Expressing grief over the killings which occurred in the clash, party spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh is reported to have said the clash erupted in Kishanbagh area of Hyderabad’s old City after miscreants burnt a Nishan Sahib (Sikh religious flag) in the early hours of Wednesday May 14 ,2014.
Condemning the burning of the Nishan Sahib incident, he said it was unfortunate that the clash has resulted in loss of lives. He said, “Certain miscreants are spreading rumors on the social media to vitiate (corrupt) the atmosphere and create more bad blood.” Adding, “It looks the miscreants associated with Rashtrya Swaym Sewak Sangh (RSS) / Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are cashing in on the clash and spreading propaganda to create further animosity between both the minorities. According to the Sikhs of Hyderabad,” he said, “The propaganda being spread on social media and Whatsup at the local level is that Muslims attacked Sardars because they were angry because Sikhs did not vote for the Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (MIM) party, rather they supported the BJP.”
He said, “It is first time that Sikhs and Muslims have fought against each other in Hyderabad.” He appealed to local leadership of both the communities to, “Defuse tensions and come forward to resolve the crisis.”
The Sikh population in Hyderabad is around one hundred thousand and Kishanbagh has all Dakhani Sardars. They don’t speak Punjabi, but are diehard in faith and in practice. They speak mostly the local languages, Telugu, and Hindi.
