Sikh meet adopts motion against female foeticide
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[ IANS ]
(Chandigarh,
Feb 26)
A convention of World Sikh
Heritage at Punjab's religious town of c Sunday adopted a resolution calling
upon all Sikhs to shun the practice of female foeticide and consumption of
drugs.
The convention was organised by Damdami Taksal, a
separatist Sikh religious sect that was once headed by late Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale.
Thousands of Sikhs from across Punjab and other states
and a few hundred from the US, Britain and other countries attended the
convention.
The resolution against female foeticide pointed out that
the "evil practice" had become common even among Sikhs though it was forbidden
in the Sikh faith.
The call against female foeticide came a day after
the state government announced that the sex ratio had improved in the last five
years.
The government claimed that in the age group of zero to six
years, the number of girls had gone up to 817 to 1,000 males compared to a low
sex ratio of 798 girls per 1,000 males recorded in the 2001
census.
Punjab has one of the lowest sex ratios in the country with
three of its 17 districts being at the bottom among all 600 districts in India.
The convention also demanded that India and Pakistan should further
improve ties so that people from both countries could move in a visa-free
regime.
Shiromani Akali Dal leaders and the Shiromani Gurudwara
Prabandhak Committee - the "mini parliament" of Sikhs that manages Sikh shrines
across Punjab - came in for criticism at the convention.
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