'minorities' - Places Of Worship Are Unsafe In India

[2desi]

Srinagar, May 20: Hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been invited to speak at a function being held at Golden Temple in Amritsar later this month to commemorate the anniversary of Operation Bluestar against the Sikh extremists and militants.

According to a Geelani aide, the Hurriyat Conference faction leader has been invited to speak at a seminar titled "Minorities’ places of worship are unsafe in India", being organised by a Sikh outfit on June 4.

"Akali leader Kanwar Paul Singh has extended the invitation to prominent leaders of Muslim, Sikh, Christian and other minority communities from across India, including Geelani sahib," he said. The aide, Mr Ayaz Akbar, however, added that Mr Geelani has yet to take a decision on the invite.

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[2desi]

Separatist in Golden Temple ban

A prominent separatist leader in Indian-administered Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has been prevented from visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Mr Geelani hoped to become the first Kashmiri separatist leader to attend a function to commemorate the storming of the temple in June 1984.

He was invited to attend by a separatist Sikh party.

The Golden Temple is the Sikh community's most sacred site. Hundreds died when it was stormed by the army.

The operation, named Bluestar, was targeted against militants believed to be hiding in the temple premises.

The operation lasted more than a week and civilians and militants were among the casualties.

The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says that Mr Geelani was invited by the Punjab-based Dal Khalsa party to be the chief guest at the commemorative function on 4 June.

The participants will speak on the motion that "minority" places of worship are unsafe in India.

But the authorities placed Mr Geelani under house arrest and have deployed security personnel outside his home since Sunday night to stop him from going.

Mr Geelani leads a hardline faction of the separatist All Party Hurriyat Conference. He has regularly been put under house arrest by Indian forces.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7432279.stm