Migrants Clash With Locals In Ludhiana

[Guest DKI]

10 hurt in clash between migrants, local residents

Police resorts to lathi charge; cases of rioting and attempt to murder registered

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 25

A protest by over 600 migrant labourers against the mandatory migrant verification scheme of the local police turned violent in Sunder Nagar this morning, resulting in probably the first major clash between the migrants and the local residents in the state.

More than 10 persons belonging to different warring groups, besides six cops, suffered injuries when the migrants pelted stones at the police, beat up a man and his son riding a two-wheeler and brutally assaulted an unidentified woman travelling in a rickshaw.

A number of migrants too were injured when local residents launched a counter attack. Later, the police also lathi-charged the violent mob. The injured also included a journalist who was covering the event. He was rescued from certain death by the police when a group of migrants were beating him up mercilessly.

The city police later registered a case of rioting and attempt to murder against 13 identified persons and several unidentified persons. All these were arrested. Inspector G S Bains, SHO, Basti Jodhewal, said the list included a local leader, Sarbjit Lal, who had allegedly regrouped the migrants and brought them back again at the clash spot after the police had dispersed them once.

At one time the clash threatened to take communal color with majority of labourers belonging to the Muslim community. However, there was no communal tension in the city with the residents maintaining calm and leaders of different religious organisations also trying to cool tempers.

Religious leaders have claimed some anti-social elements in both the warring parties had resorted to violence and there was no communal angle to it.

As per the claims of the police, the local residents, the labourers and eye-witnesses, the trouble arose at about 9 :30 am, when hundreds of migrant labourers on way to the Basti Jodhewal police station to submit a memorandum against the migrant verification scheme suddenly sat on a dharna in Sunder Nagar.

The migrants allegedly did not allow the traffic to pass and raised slogans against the local administration. Panic -stricken shopkeepers closed down the shutters. A small team of the police was also keeping guard. The tension grew when a father-son duo tried to pass through the dharna claiming their house was nearby.

However, a group of labourers suddenly got up and beat them black and blue. On the other side, a labourer wearing knuckle-dusters punched a woman in the head , when she, travelling in a rickshaw, requested them to let her pass. The woman immediately fell on the ground with her head bleeding profusely. The labourers allegedly beat up another group of girls too.

This angered the local residents who were till then watching the dharna from a distance. Soon more residents came in droves and then it was free for all till a large contingent of the city police arrived.

The police launched lathi charge immediately and rounded up several persons. The police was at the receiving end of the migrant's fury for quite some time as the labourers resorted to heavy pelting of stones.

Many of the labourers later saved themselves from the police and local residents' counter attack by hiding in those very shops which they had attacked.

SHO, Basti Jodhewal, G S Bains, said besides the local leader Sarabjit Lal, others booked and arrested were Master Feroz, Hasif Taseem, Mohd Alam, Noor Alam, Ramesh Pradhan, Kuldip Singh, Naveen Kumar, Shamsher Mansoor, Khet Kumar, Jaml-ud-din, Gafoor Alam and Aslam.

Meanwhile, a delegation led by Punjab chapter of the Indian Muslim Council, Atiq-ur-Rehman, met the city SSP A S Rai and demanded stern action against those indulging in the violence and falsely attributing it as a communal clash.

He said the labourers were carrying out a peaceful march to protest against the slow process of the verification and the issuing of identity cards to the labourers. He claimed the labourers' complaints were genuine as the police was harassing them a lot.

He said some anti-social elements had entered the mob and triggered violence. Mr Rehman who is also the president of the minority wing of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, said anti-social elements provoked violence to malign the Congress Government.

The Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti has also condemned the incident and sought strong action against those resorting to violence. Mr Rajiv Tandon and Mr Rakesh Kapoor of the samiti said no one would be allowed to hurt the religious sentiments of any community.

The district unit of the Communist Party of India has also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner claiming they were protesting against the police repression on the labourers who were holding a protest march.

CPI leaders Ramesh Rattan, Dr Arun Mitra demanded the arrested labourers should be released and cases lodged against them be withdrawn immediately, besides action against the erring cops.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060826/ldh1.htm

The scene of the clash between hundreds of migrant labourers and local residents in Sunder Nagar, Ludhiana, on Friday; and (right) cops whisk away a migrant labourer allegedly involved in stone-pelting incidentse. — Photos by Inderjit Verma

[palamrinder]

Soon Lalu parsad yadav would be fighting elections from punjab.

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

so it begins.

[Mehtab Singh]

Soon Lalu parsad yadav would be fighting elections from punjab.

If he became a Singh, I'd close my eyes and vote for him. The guy is a clown but its a record that no other politician has management efficiencies as him. Certain foreign universities are thinking of creating a course which teaches the management traits of Laloo Prasad Yadav. Even during the Babri Masjid riots, Bihar was the only state that was free from riots. The man is a total joker and cracks you up just by talking no matter how serious he is. But I am stressing that IF he became a Singh, we should vote for him. But him becoming a Singh is like 1 in a million chances, so lets not bother.

[jassa]

behari chadd geya aa sir te hun kush nahi ho sakda ....

bhaiye pajjao punjab bachao

[Guest PunjabSingh]

bhaiye pajjao punjab bachao

This is the motto of all Panthic Jathebandis in Punjab except badal dal.

The sooner it is implemented the better it will be for Punjab and Sikhs.

[jassa]

bhajji par jehre sikh up te biharch rehnde aa ohna da ki ????

[Guest PunjabSingh]

bhajji par jehre sikh up te biharch rehnde aa ohna da ki ????

Dear Jassa Veer,

Since you are in Punjab you must be knowing that Sikhs from Punjab are not allowed to purchase land even in neighbouring states like Haryana,Himachal,Rajasthan whereas bhaiyaas come to Punjab for working and earning their livelihood but instead become 'landlords'.

Have a look at the following news item :

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060824/aplus.htm#2

This is just one aspect of the story.Another aspect is with bhaiyaas come crime,kidnappings etc.

The area around Ludhiana is in the grip of crime as bhaiyaas are mostly concentrated in this industrial city.

Recently badal dal used these bhaiyaas from their factories to attack SAD(Amritsar) men in Ludhiana and had their turbans removed by them.

Not only this just yesterday Jain TV showed a rally of 'Shiv sena' ,which is not a pro Sikh party,at Ludhiana.

Although in the interview to Jain TV shiv sena said that they were being supported by sikhs and muslims also but not a single sikh was seen in that rally .Only bhaiyaas were there.

Here it has to be stressed that both congress and badal dal are openly wooing bhaiyas to increase their vote banks at the expense of Sikhs.

Recently after the clash of bhaiyaas(most of whom were muslims) and local residents at Ludhiana the bihar CM Nitish Kumar constituted a 3 member committee to enquire into the incident at Ludhiana and asked Punjab CM to look into the matter and the Punjab CM bowed to the biharis wishes to consolidate his vote bank.

These bhaiyaas are not only vote bank of RSS and Shiv sena but also congress,badal dal,janata dals ,CPI,CPM except SAD(Amritsar).

If such activities and migration continues Sikhs will soon become a minority both politically and religiously in their own state.

Sikhs should fully support Dal Khalsa and Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu of SAD(Amritsar) so that some solution should be found to the bhaiyaa problem at the earliest.

Bhaiyaas should come to Punjab and then go back as temporary residents and not become landlords or interfere in political and religious affairs of Sikhs here.

Harjot Singh Brar

[palamrinder]

The tribune article shows the hardwork done by some migrants who moved to punjab and made it big time. But discriminating against all migrants is not good. Sikhs migrated to wetern countries and started very much like those bihari migrants and made it big. Would they like if the western govts. want to kick them out? Its the state leadership that needs to be checked. Political parties use them as votes and indulge anti social elements.

[Guest PunjabSingh]

The tribune article shows the hardwork done by some migrants who moved to punjab and made it big time. But discriminating against all migrants is not good. Sikhs migrated to wetern countries and started very much like those bihari migrants and made it big. Would they like if the western govts. want to kick them out? Its the state leadership that needs to be checked. Political parties use them as votes and indulge anti social elements.

Cant you see the difference ?

Can Sikhs ever become majority in the countries they have migrated to ? Bhaiyaas can become a majority in the very near future in Punjab.

Do Sikhs indulge in criminal acts in large numbers in the countries to which they migrate ? Bhaiyaas indulge in large scale crimes .Besides other crimes there have been several incidents of bhaiyaas or migrants(as you would like them to be called)kidnapping and killing children of several children of the farmers who employed them.Many of them runaway to their places in UP and Bihar after committing heinous crimes in Punjab.

It is well known that UP and Bihar are the breeding grounds of criminal gangs and mafia and such gangs work in collusion with political parties there.

The armed struggle against these bhaiyaas in 1980/90's was justified.Day is not far when clashes will start between these migrants and local people on a large scale.

As regards the hard work of bhaiyaas becoming landlords it is a fact that had those bhaiyaas worked equally hard in their home states they would have got nowhere.Why choose Punjab where lakhs of youngsters are already unemployed ?

I just came across today's edition of Indian express which mentions CPI party supporting these bhaiyaas :

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=199135

Bhaiyay bhajao,

Punjab bachao

Harjot Singh Brar