1.
LS outer gate of Patiala Fort


2.
LS one of inner gates of Fort, where Government offices situated


3.
LS one of minarets of Fort


4.
Diff. long shots of Maharajah's palace.


5.
various scenes of procession and dancing.




Initials KJ/V



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Huge Crowds of Sikhs - India's militant sect - from all parts of the country, estimated locally at several hundred thousand, met in Patiala, Punjab, Dec. 5, to demonstrate in force for a separate state of their own with Punjabis as the official language.

In a mass procession which took four hours to pass one point in the town, men, women and children moved through the streets, carrying slogans such as "We Will Go to Goal for our Aims" and "A Separate State for the Punjabis". Free food was given to the demonstrators by people lining the route.

Patiala is a stronghold of Akali Dal, an organisation headed by veteran Sikh leader Master Tara Singh who has for many years been seeking Sikh independence in India.

The last time Sikhs demonstrated in large numbers was March 15, when 50,000 of them marched through the streets of Delhi, protesting against alleged interference with the management of their temples. Two days earlier, the Punjab Government, anticipating trouble, arrested Tara Singh and four senior members of Akali Dal. Tars Singh's feud with the Government then dated from Autumn 1958 when Congress Sikhs - at the price of Communist support - ousted Akali nominees from their long standing control of Sikh temples in Punjab.