India: Information on restrictions on the purchase and sale of land in the Punjab by Sikhs, including "unofficial" intervention by the police to prevent such sales as the proceeds could enable vendors to flee the Punjab
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 September 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND18280.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Information on restrictions on the purchase and sale of land in the Punjab by Sikhs, including "unofficial" intervention by the police to prevent such sales as the proceeds could enable vendors to flee the Punjab, 1 September 1994, IND18280.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acd874.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to a number of oral sources consulted by the DIRB, Sikh residents of the Punjab are not "legally prohibited" from purchasing or selling land in the Punjab and the police do not "legally intervene" in such transactions. The sources include representatives of the Sikh Human Rights Internet in Reading, England (15 Sept. 1994) and the Sikh International Organization in Washington, DC (15 Sept. 1994), a professor of political science and economics at Vanier College in Montreal (15 Sept. 1994), a professor of anthropology at the University of Maine in Orono (16 Sept. 1994) and a professor of Asian cultures at the University of Windsor (19 Sept. 1994). The sources attributed such "unofficial or illegal" interventions to police corruption, discrimination against Sikhs and official suspicion linking Sikhs to Sikh nationalist organizations (ibid.).
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Professor of anthropology, University of Maine, Orono. 16 September 1994. Telephone interview.
Professor of Asian cultures, Institute of Asian cultures, University of Windsor. 19 September 1994. Telephone interview.
Professor of political science and economics, Vanier College, Montreal. 15 September 1994. Telephone interview.
Sikh Human Rights Internet, Reading, England. 15 September 1994. Telephone interview with official.
Sikh International Organization, Washington, DC. 15 Sept. 1994. Telephone interview with official.
