Lesser Children among the NRPs of course had many
a lament. "We feel let down and ignored," said a delegate from
Kenya. Sikhs in Kenya have said whatever help has come from the
Indian High Commission has come largely because of the intervention
of the Gujarat government while the Punjab regime did not pay any
attention. Yitender Singh Binepal, a senior leader of the
7,000-strong Sikh community in Kenya, said typical of its style, the
Punjab government is still in a slumber.
The Indian community, largely comprising owners
of shops and up-market homes, have been targeted in areas such as
Kisumu and Eldoret. A local organisation, called the Hindu Council
of Kenya has managed to airlift two plane loads out of Kisumu to
Nairobi, where situation is relatively better.
Incidentally, some 2,463 Sikhs had died in
building the great rail line of Africa. After Uganda upheaval, most
of the Punjabis started moving out of Kenya in the late 60s and
early 70s. In 1964, total strength of Sikhs in Kenya had crossed
21,000 mark.
Kenyan Sikhs said they wished that the NRP
conclave in Chandigarh had at least condemned the kind of treatment
being meted out to them in Kenya. Of total strength of Indians in
Kenya, 27 per cent are Punjabis, basically business and tradesmen.
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