The Sikh Forum (1986-Present) is a pressure group of Sikh businessmen, activists, lawyers and politicians to bring justice for the tragedies that had occurred in the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots.[1] They have had many other Sikh-related objectives as well, though mostly socio-political in nature.[2]
 Official Logo of The Sikh Forum | |
| Formation | 28 February 1986 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jagjit Singh Aurora, Dr Amrik Singh, Dr Maheep Singh, Gian Singh Sandhu and Gurmukh Singh Jeet |
| Founded at | New Delhi |
| Type | Advocacy group |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, Delhi, India |
President | Ravinder Singh Ahuja |
| Affiliations | Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee |
| Website | www |
History and Activities
editOrigin
editThe forum began working from Bhogal in South Delhi in an office provided by an Industrialist, Raja Singh, the manufacturer of Texla Television.[1] For relief and rehabilitation of the affected, industrialists, businessmen, Non-Resident Indians and other well-to-do Sikhs were requested to donate generously.[1] The Citizens Relief and Rehabilitation Trust was formed From the community’s own resources with Lt. Gen Aurora at the helm of affairs.[1]
Purpose
editThe original and immediate concerns of The Sikh Forum in the aftermath of the carnage were to provide relief and rehabilitation to the victims of the carnage, to identify the perpetrators of the violence and provide justice to the victims of the carnage, to boost the morale of the Sikhs living outside Punjab and to prevent them from migrating to Punjab, to rebuild the community’s public image which had been sullied by the state-controlled media, to publish material to correctly present Sikh issues and aspirations and to actively contribute to the resolution of the Punjab problem.[1]
1986-1990
editThe Citizens Relief and Rehabilitation Trust had done lots of work for the Sikh community.[1] The Trust supported the education of several hundred children of the carnage victims up to class 10.[1] To date, The Sikh Forum continues to help the children of the victims on need basis.[1] The Citizens Justice Committee with Justice Sikri (retd) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, advocate H.S. Phoolka as Secretary to the committee and prominent lawyers and retired judges took up the task of justice for the victims.[1] The Sikh Forum members aided in organizing surveys affidavits and collecting evidence.[1] General Aurora, Dr. Amrik Singh, Dr. Maheep Singh, Gian Singh Sandhu, Gurmukh Singh Jeet and others addressed meetings organized in various gurdwaras and other places in Delhi and many other cities and successfully urged Sikhs to stay at their respective places with confidence and preparedness.[1]
1990-2000
editThe members of The Sikh Forum undertook a 30-day long relay hunger strike at the Boat club.[1] The hunger-strike received much attention and the Sikh volunteers from across Delhi and even Karnal and Kurukshetra took turns to draw the nation’s attention to the issue.[1] Gen Aurora contributed articles in English, Hindi and Punjabi in the Hindustan Times and other leading newspapers and periodicals.[1] The Forum also launched it’s own fortnightly called The Forum Gazette.[1] Due to lack of sufficient resources and due to its multifarious activities The Sikh Forum was unable to sustain The Forum Gazette; though it remains digitalized and one of the main sources of the situation of Delhi Sikhs during the dark decade of 1984-1994.[1] It actively participated along with the Punjabi group comprising of Inder Kumar Gujral, Kuldip Nayar and many other prominent Punjabis.[1]
2000-2010
editMany prominent Sikh activists joined The Sikh Forum including Harvinder Singh Phoolka, Air Marshal Paramjit Singh Bhangu, D.I.G. Partap Singh, Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh Sidhu, Dr. Parmeet Singh Chadha and many others who jointly protested for justice for Sikh victims.[1] Protests and speeches were planned and made every year on the anniversaries of the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots and Operation Blue Star, they also started the 'Black Diwali' or 'Kali Diwali' protests.[1] In 2016 at every event a resolution was passed in which the resolution and a strong-worded letter of protest would be sent to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in regards to the riots, and in 2018 they slammed the Supreme Court for questioning the Sikh turban.[3][4]
One of the largest achievements of The Sikh Forum, at this time under Pushpindar Singh Chopra, was the release of 53 books from the Sikh Reference Library in 2018, which was given to them and later back to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.[5][6] They jointly asked for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to be set in motion for Operation Blue Star.[6]
2010-Present
editDuring the Farmers' Protest, The Sikh Forum had helped in providing the protestors with blankets and food and had organized large conventions in protest sites to also protest for the issues and to educate Punjabi farmers about the situation of Sikh community in Delhi and the pending cases of 1984- and also condemned the dubbing of the Farmers' movement and the Sikh diaspora as Khalistani.[7] They also worked against the false encounter cases through providing Sikh lawyers with monetary funding.[8] During this time, due to protests, nine different cases were reopened for the riots.[9] A resolution to make November 1st as 'Sikh Genocide Day' was also passed.[10]
Though The Sikh Forum did lose credibility in 2023, as the newly installed President, Ravinder Singh Ahuja had stated that, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a deep understanding of Sikhism" and he is a "Sikh at heart", both of which sparked controversy in the Sikh community and the forum itself lost sympathy due to toadyish remarks.[11]
List of Presidents
edit| S. No. | Name | Term | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | M.P. Padma Shri Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora | 1986-2005 | General in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, Shiromani Akali Dal politician |
| 2. | Maj. Gen. Mohinder Singh Chadha | 2005-2014 | General in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, prominent Sikh activist |
| 3. | Pushpindar Singh Chopra | 2014-2021 | Founder of Vayu Aerospace, Representative of Dornier Flugzeugwerke |
| 4. | Ravinder Singh Ahuja | 2021-Present | Founder of Anand Foundation, Chartered accountant |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "About Us – The Sikh Forum". Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ THE SIKH FORUM (17 August 2022). 33rd Anniversary of the assault on Harmandar Sahib & 37 other Gurudwaras - Seminar - Pt 5. Retrieved 30 September 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Turban Issue : Supreme Court query on Sikh turban reflects a sorry state of religious freedom: Sikh Forum". www.babushahi.com. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ Sikh Media Arts (2 January 2018). 07 - Sikh Forum - Right To Justice - November 2017 - S Pushpinder Singh. Retrieved 30 September 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Sikh Reference Library Books" (PDF).
- ^ a b THE SIKH FORUM (17 August 2022). 34th Anniversary of the assault on Harmandar Sahib & 37 other Gurudwaras - Symposium - Pt 4. Retrieved 30 September 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Farmers agitation cannot be dubbed as Sikh issue: Sikh Forum". The Times of India. 8 December 2020. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ "Sikh forum writes to human rights over Khanna incident". The Times of India. 13 May 2020. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ "Legal Aftermath of 1984 and the Way Forward-Panel Discussion – Lok Raj Sangathan". Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ "Sikh Genocide Day".
- ^ Narendra Modi (20 February 2022). Shri Ravinder Singh Ahuja, President, Sikh Forum, New Delhi, says PM Modi is a Sikh at heart. Retrieved 30 September 2024 – via YouTube.