Candid Notes

Gajendra Singh Negi | Dehradun

Sikh Negi

The unfortunate violent incident involving locals and sword wielding Nihang Sikhs in Karnprayag town of Chamoli and the forced occupation of Nagrasu Gurudwara by some armed Nihangs has drawn bad blood between the people of Garhwal region of Uttarakhand and Sikh community. Highly discriminatory social media posts aimed more at generating views than based on the truth made things worse between the two warrior communities that have a glorious past of sacrifice and service to the nation. One should remember that Sikhs and Garhwalis share a centuries old bond of love and mutual trust and the sacred places such Hemkund Sahib, Paonta Sahib ,Reetha- Meeta Sahib, Reethakhal and others in Uttarakhand bear testimony for this fact. The role of hard working Sikhs in developing the Terai belt is known to everyone where they now live in perfect harmony with the local people. A clan called Sikh Negis ( also called Garhwali Sikhs) residing in some villages of Pauri Garhwal district is an example of this shared past of Garhwalis and Sikhs. It is believed that their ancestors were Sikhs who had migrated from Punjab during the time of Guru Nanak. With time this clan adopted Hinduism and entered into marital relationship with local Rajputs of Uttarakhand. They follow rituals of both the religions and offer prayers in the village Gurudwara.

SIR test

The process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Uttarakhand is going on smoothly with the BLOs having distributed enumeration forms to more than 79 lakh voters in the State. They have also collected filled forms and have so far digitised 72 per cent of the enumeration forms. However, the Election Commission and administration will face a real challenge when about 27 lakh voters will start receiving notices from the commission after the publication of the draft electoral roll on July 14. After receiving notices, the voters will have to visit the offices of ERO and AERO concerned with relevant documents. While this situation connected with one out of every third voter in the State could be tricky for the administration and demanding on the voters, it presents an opportunity for the political parties to connect with the masses. In the run-up to the SIR both the major political parties, BJP and Congress have nominated and trained more than 22,000 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist in the process of purifying the electoral rolls. These BLAs should now vie with one another to help the voters receiving notices in lieu of which they can expect the favour of the voters for their party in the ensuing Vidhan Sabha elections.

PCC puzzle

The inordinate delay in the constitution of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) in the Himalayan State is creating discomfiture for the PCC president Ganesh Godiyal and acting as a dampener for the party’s plan of staging a comeback to power in Uttarakhand. Recently, a senior leader of the party claimed that the PCC will be constituted before the onset of the monsoon but with the El-Nino affected monsoon still elusive, the PCC is also not in sight. Desperate to have his team, Godiyal who assumed the charge of PCC president in November last year is said to have made many pleas to the party high command on the subject. It is learnt that the central leaders want a small yet effective PCC but with all the senior leaders desperate to push their followers into the executive, the issue is still in abeyance. In such a situation where the party has failed to solve the executive tangle for months, one wonders how much time the Congress will take to select a leader if it comes to power in the State.