The members also demanded granting of minority status to Sikhs, scholarships to Sikh youths and preference to them during admission in technical and non-technical colleges at par with Kashmiri pandit migrants.
The conference, organised by Srinagar-based All Parties Sikh Coordinating Committee (APSCC), at Sir Dr Syed Iqbal Mini Convention Centre was attended by hundreds of Sikhs from across the country.
APSCC Chairman Jagmohan Singh said, "The government has failed to address the issues of Sikhs living in Jammu and Kashmir for the last six decades...Our genuine demands have always fallen on deaf ears, leaving us with no other option but protests. This conference is also part of our peaceful programme of protest to highlight and seek redressal of our problems."
Secretary of Punjab-based Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) Dilmag Singh in his address assured free admission to meritorious students of JK in colleges run by SGPC outside the state.
The speakers demanded a fresh and impartial probe into the massacre of 35 Sikhs at Chattisinghpora in Anantnag district of south Kashmir on March 20, 2000.
