ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Bomb backlash hits Sikh pilgrims

While a wave of euphoria swept the nation in the wake of the Pokhran blasts, Indian pilgrims visiting Sikh shrines in Pakistan were made to bear the brunt of India's recent nuclear tests.

The pilgrims, who returned on Sunday after paying visits to the holy shrines of Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib and Dera Sahib in Lahore, said they had a tough time during their ten-day stay in Pakistan following India's five nuclear tests, conducted on May 11 and 13.

Many of these pilgrims, who arrived here by a special train, said it became virtually impossible for them to venture out of the gurdwaras as they would be hounded by Pakistani fundamentalists, who could only target their venom at the Indians who had gone there to offer prayers.

Not only expletives, even fire crackers were hurled at these pilgrims at some places, they said. The prime minister and the home minister were the main target of the expletives hurled by the fundamentalists, who threatened to ''teach India a lesson''.

However, there was jubilation when Pakistan conducted its five tests on Thursday. Scenes similar to those in India were seen, as a large number of people participated in celebrations and there were fireworks too, they said.

Prem Singh, a resident of Kharar in Ropar district of Punjab, and a member of the jatha which went to visit the shrines, said he and some other pilgrims were gheraoed by a group of young Pakistanis at a market place in Lahore and ''forced to hear derogatory remarks against our country.''

Another pilgrim, Sulkhan Singh, who had a firecracker thrown in his face in Lahore, said before Pakistan's nuclear tests, Pakistanis in general were apprehensive of an attack by the Indian army. But after Pakistan's tests, they came out in support of their government and did not seem to be bothered about the economic sanctions that would be slapped on their country, he added.

The pilgrims alleged that on their return journey, they were detained for over three hours at the Wagah railway station, the last stop on the Pakistan side. ''Not only did the Pakistani customs officials harass us but the Pakistan Railways Board train by which we arrived here did not even have electricity and water,'' they alleged.

Raghbir Singh, manager of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, said that as in India, there were a number of Pakistani nationals who criticised the nuclear tests by both countries, saying it would lead to an arms race and highten tensions in the region. This section wanted both countries to defuse tensions and improve their relations, he said.

Punjab militants based in Pakistan did not make any attempt to disrupt religious functions in the gurdwaras visited by the Indian pilgrims, nor did they comment on the nuclear tests. Pro- Khalistani literature, however, was distributed by the militants amongst the pilgrims.

Tell us what you think of this report