India's Sikhs offer help to Muslim victims of New Delhi ethnic violence
Twitter users praised the Sikh community for actively helping riot victims
Dubai: In the Indian capital of New Delhi, Sikh religious groups have come to the aid of Muslim victims of the communal riots that took place on February 23. The violence that killed at least 46 people and injured hundreds stemmed from the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act that came into effect in December 2019.
Some majority-Muslim areas in the northeast of Delhi were targeted by Hindu nationalists last week. Residents were lynched and their homes and mosques were set on fire.
Many Twitter users have praised the efforts of the Sikh community for actively volunteering in relief operations and opening up their places of worship for Muslim victims.
Tweep @aaziz_awan posted: "Sikhs have a big heart always."
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) organised food handouts in areas affected by the riots, as well as outside hospitals providing medical help.
A Huffington Post article describes how on 24 February, as the worst communal violence since the 1984 Sikh riots swept Delhi, a father-son duo, Mohinder Singh and Inderjit Singh used a motorcycle and scooty to transport somewhere between 60 to 80 of their Muslim neighbours to a safe location.
“I did not see Hindu or Muslim,” said Singh, who runs an electronics store and is a father to two children.
“I just saw people. I saw little children. I felt like they were my children and that nothing should happen to them. We did this because all of us should act humanely and help those in need. What more can I say?” he said, according to the online report.
Anti-Sikh riots: What happened in 1984?
Tweep @TheMcBang posted: "Will always have the upmost respect and love for the Sikh community, they are always the first people to help anyone in need."
Stressing on the need for religious harmony, some Twitter users said that the riots had actually united people of all religions to stand up against Bharatiya Janata Party's discriminatory law.
Reportedly, out of gratitude for the help given by Sikhs during the communal violence, Muslims in Western Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur have brought an end to a 10-year-old land dispute with Sikhs.
The dispute was over a plot of land adjoining a Gurdwara not far from Saharanpur railway station. The Gurdwara committee had purchased the land for expanding the Gurdwara complex. But the old structures on the plot were demolished and this is said to have apparently included an old mosque.