Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday described the absence of the Sikh regiment from the Republic Day parade as “sad and regrettable” and urged the Centre to issue necessary instructions and guidelines to ensure that the Sikh Regiment is never kept out of Republic Day parade in future.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Badal pointed towards the “widespread feeling of hurt and resentment caused by the non inclusion of the Sikh Regiment in the Republic Day Parade where French President François Hollande was the chief guest.”
Badal emphasized that the Republic Day parade is always regarded as a great occasion to showcase India’s multi-cultural and multi-religious identity, highlighting its secular ethos.
“As a vibrant and fiercely patriotic minority community in the country, the Sikhs are always seen as the most powerful symbol of this multi-dimensional identity and secular character of the country,” he said.
Recalling the role of the Sikh community as they have made unparalleled sacrifices not only for the freedom of the country but also for defending that freedom against foreign aggression, Badal said that they have a strong presence in the armed forces and their patriotic and martial traditions are something on which the entire country rightly takes pride.
Because of these factors, said Badal, the presence of the Sikh regiment in the Republic Day parade is regarded as a natural part of our nationalistic symbolism.
The Chief Minister said that the exclusion of the Sikh regiment from the parade would be regrettable at any time but it was doubly so this year because of the presence of the French president as a special guest at the event.
The Sikhs have been facing several practices in France which amount to the denial of freedom to observe the fundamental religious practices to the community, including a ban on the wearing of turbans one of the five symbols of their religion, he said.
Badal said that this would have been an appropriate occasion to demonstrate to the French dignitary the place of the Sikh community in India’s rich cultural identity and its contribution to the cause of freedom.
The Chief Minister appealed to the PM to have the issue looked into. Necessary instructions and guidelines may also please be issued to ensure that in future the Sikh Regiment is always included in the Republic Day parade, he added.