CM Amarinder Urges Centre to Ensure Security of Sikhs Living Abroad

Chandigarh: Concerned over the recent spurt in attacks on Indians, including Sikhs, abroad, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged the Centre to ensure their protection and take up such issues in "right earnest".

Singh had raised concern over the killing of yet another Sikh in a suspected hate crime case in the US on Sunday, drawing attention of the Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who had assured him of the Centre's commitment to help and protect all Indian citizens abroad.

In response to Singh's tweet, Swaraj said she had spoken to the Indian ambassador in Washington, Navtej S Sarna, on the issue.

Raveen Thukral, Media Advisor to the Punjab CM today said Singh was seriously concerned over the recent spurt in hate crimes against Indians, particularly Sikhs, settled in the US and other parts of the world.

The growing "intolerance" against Indians, which frequently got translated into racist attacks, especially against the Sikh community, needed to be nipped, the chief minister has conveyed to Swaraj, Thukral said.

The chief minister also said the protection of Indians abroad was an issue that the central government needed to take up in right earnest.

The Central government should take up the issue at the highest levels with governments in the US and other countries that have witnessed such senseless killings in recent month, the chief minister has demanded.

"The US alone has witnessed several such attacks on Sikhs, who have been at the receiving end of the growing bigotry in the country, he pointed out, demanding immediate steps to ensure their protection," the Punjab CM has written to Swaraj.

The Centre, he said, needed to adopt a more proactive stance to bring pressure on the US government to crack down on racist elements and provide fool-proof protection to the Sikh community.

Noting that most of the anti-Sikh racist attacks were "a case of mistaken hate crimes", Singh said the governments in the US and other countries should take initiatives to create awareness among their people about the religious identity and beliefs of the Sikh community, which has always played a major role in the development of the country they have settled in.