The despicable killing of a prominent Sikh social activist in Pakistan has sent shockwaves across the country. From social media commentators to the top political leadership, this wanton act of terror has drawn widespread condemnation, and rightfully so, because there is a serious problem when a society collectively fails to protect the rights and lives of its minorities.
Sardar Charanjeet Singh, hailed as a beacon of interfaith harmony in Pakistan, was shot dead in the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar Tuesday. A social activist, Singh was reportedly sitting in his shop when an unidentified gunman opened fire on him. That someone from the minority community, with no known feuds with anybody, is slayed in the holy month of Ramadan in this fashion, is beyond belief.
A few years back two Sikh traders were gunned down in separate incidents of violence in Peshawar. In a country where cases of target killings and hit-jobs result in hundreds of casualties each year, there is a big question mark whether more can be done to protect its minority leaders. However that does not absolve the law-enforcement agencies and the government of Pakistan, both of which are duty-bound to ensure the safety and security of the country’s fragile minority.
Pertinently the Sikh community in Pakistan is a very cohesive one. Since the country’s independence in 1947, relations between Sikhs and the Muslim majority have remained relatively stable. Over the years Sikhs (with a population of roughly 40,000-50,000) have excelled in various fields in Pakistan.
In 2007 Major Harcharan Singh became the first Sikh officer to be commissioned in the Pakistan Army. Other prominent names that come to mind include Ramesh Singh Arora (first Sikh member of Provincial assembly of Punjab) and Dr. Suran Singh (nominated to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf). Each year Sikh pilgrims from India and overseas come to Pakistan -- home to some of Sikhism's holiest sites like Nankana Sahib, named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and began preaching there.
In the end history is going to judge Pakistan for the serious effort that it makes towards ensuring equality for its minorities and promotion and protection of their fundamental rights. The killers of Sardar Charanjeet Singh, a noble and progressive Pakistani, are terrorists. They must not go scot free. Government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa must leave no stone unturned to see that his assassins are apprehended and punished.
