[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 68 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       SIKHS MASSACRES REMEMBERED

                                 ______


                           HON. PETER T. KING

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 26, 1994

  Mr. KING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in observance of the 10th 
anniversary of one of the most savage massacres in recent history. From 
June 3, 1984, through the 6th, Indian troops launched a vicious attack 
on the Sikhs' holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and on 38 
other Sikh shrines throughout Punjab, Khalistan. During the 4 days of 
slaughter, 20,000 Sikhs were killed by troops of the regime that claims 
to be the world's largest democracy.
  The intense religious persecution and the intolerable human rights 
abuses against the Sikhs continue in Punjab, Khalistan. The Indian 
Government currently stations 500,000 heavily armed troops in Punjab, 
Khalistan. Detention without charge or trial, a shoot-on-sight policy, 
and torture are the tools the Indian Government uses to maintain its 
brutal grip on the Sikh nation.
  I urge the American people, in the spirit of our Nation's 
longstanding record of supporting human rights and freedom around the 
world, to join the Sikh nation in remembering the brutal attack on the 
Golden Temple.

                    End Indian Tyranny in Khalistan


                 support freedom for the sikh homeland

       Today the Sikh nation faces merciless oppression at the 
     hands of the Indian government. The man pictured above, Avtar 
     Singh, was tortured to death with hot irons and electric 
     shocks by the Indian police. Unfortunately, Avtar Singh is 
     only one of thousands of Sikh men, women and children who 
     have suffered torture, murder, rape and humiliation under the 
     brunt of Indian government brutality.


                             untold horrors

       In the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, Indian security 
     forces possess wide powers to make arrests, jail people 
     without trial, and shoot to kill. Indian security forces in 
     Punjab, Khalistan kill 20 to 30 Sikhs everyday in 
     extrajudicial killings and faked encounters. Last year, over 
     41,000 police officials received cash rewards for killing 
     Sikhs.
       Since 1984, over 115,000 Sikhs have been murdered by Indian 
     security forces. According to the Movement Against State 
     Repression, 60,000-70,000 Sikhs are in Indian jails without 
     trial under laws declared ``disturbing'' and ``completely 
     unacceptable'' by the U.N. Human Rights Commission. 
     Regrettably, Amnesty International has been banned from 
     conducting human rights investigations in India since 1978.
       In the face of such oppression, the Sikh nation declared 
     independence on October 7, 1987 forming the sovereign country 
     of Khalistan. Like all nations, the Sikh nation desires 
     freedom, democracy, humans rights, self-determination and 
     rule of law.


     average people suffer: sarabjit singh the man ``twice killed''

       On the morning of October 30, 1993, believe it or not, 
     young Sarabjit Singh Waltoha was killed two times by the 
     Indian police. Claiming that Sarabjit Singh was caught in the 
     crossfire of a police ``encounter,'' officers brought his 
     supposedly dead body to Patti hospital in Punjab, Khalistan 
     and order a postmortem examination.
       Doctors at the hospital, however, found that Sarabjit was 
     alive and transferred him to another ward. By the time 
     Sarabjit Singh regained consciousness, word of his recovery 
     had spread. Police, learning of their blunder, returned to 
     the hospital, abducted Sarabjit Singh and reappeared three 
     hours late with this dead body. Thus Sarabjit Singh as 
     ``twice killed.'' After doctors performed the postmortem, 
     Sarabjit Singh's body was cremated by the police without 
     returning it to his relations. Sadly, in Khalistan, such 
     excesses are an everyday reality.


                            sikhs are unique

       Many members of the Sikh religion are recognizable by their 
     colorfully turbans, and steel bracelets. Founded in 1469, the 
     Sikh religion believes in one all powerful loving God, It 
     requires full equality for women and rejects the caste 
     system. Truth is held as the highest virtue, but still higher 
     is truthful living. Sikhism preachers against pride, greed, 
     anger, lust, and worldly attachment. Sikh belief holds that 
     no intermediaries should stand between the creator and 
     creation.


                  india: nightmare of majority tyranny

       The popular conception of India as the ``world's largest 
     democracy'' must be set aside when dealing with India's 
     minority nations. India's political structure provides no 
     safeguards for minorities, there is no American-style Bill of 
     Rights, and so long as the Indian government can appeal to 
     the over 80 percent Hindu population, accountability to 
     minorities is neither required not politically advisable. For 
     Sikhs and other minority nations, such as the oppressed 
     Christians of Nagaland and Muslims of Kashmir, there has 
     never been a secular India, there is only Hindustan--a 
     country created by Hindus, for Hindus, with the goal of 
     making the entire subcontinent Hindu.


                         some political history

       Many are unaware that the state called ``India'' was never 
     historically one nation. When the British took the 
     subcontinent in the mid 1800's, they conglomerated what is 
     today called ``India'' simply for administrative purposes. In 
     fact, the word ``India'' is not indigenous to its natives. It 
     is a western term for the subcontinent. In actuality, India 
     is a conglomerate of Nations held together by the nexus of 
     oppression. It has as many as 18 official languages.
       Directly before the era of British colonial rule, the Sikh 
     nation ruled Punjab (in the Northwest corner of India) from 
     1765 to 1849. In British history books from the era, 
     references to negotiations with the ``Sikh nation'' abound. 
     In 1947, when Britain left India, the British again 
     recognized Sikh sovereignty by negotiating the transfer of 
     power to three nations: the Hindus, the Muslims and the 
     Sikhs. The Muslims got Pakistan and the Hindu took India. The 
     Sikhs, though they had ample opportunity, did not opt for a 
     separate country.
       Instead the Sikhs joined India with their homeland, Punjab, 
     conditioned upon the solemn assurances by Indian leaders that 
     the Sikhs would enjoy ``the glow of freedom'' and that no 
     constitution would be adopted that was not expressly ratified 
     by the Sikhs. But instead of the ``glow of freedom,'' the 
     Sikh nation has only suffered the shadow of oppression in 
     India. When India's constitution was framed, it was so 
     inimical to Sikh interests that Sikh representatives refused 
     to append their signatures to the document. To this day no 
     Sikh leader has ever signed India's constitution.


    the golden temple attack: the straw that broke the camel's back

       From June 4-6, 1984, the Indian government led an all out 
     military attack on the Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh 
     shrines, and thirty eight other Sikh shrines throughout 
     Punjab. The magnitude of this attack cannot be 
     underestimated. It is comparable to an attack on the Vatican 
     or Mecca.
       The death and destruction inside the Golden Temple and 
     throughout Punjab was disastrous. Over twenty thousand people 
     were murdered, most of them innocent worshippers. The Indian 
     army took pains to burn and destroy the Sikh library which 
     continued countless original, holy and historic manuscripts. 
     Newspaper reports chronicled mass executions of worshippers 
     who were shot at point blank range. Even worse, after the 
     attack, one hundred children between the ages of eight to 
     twelve were lined up on the grounds of the Goldern Temple and 
     asked if they supported a free Khalistan. As each one 
     answered in the affirmative, Indian security forces shot them 
     dead.


                        the council of khalistan

       When the Sikh nation declared independence on October 7, 
     1987, it named Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh as the President of 
     the Council of Khalistan to lead the Sikh struggle for 
     independence. Based in Washington, D.C., the Council of 
     Khalistan has brought the Sikh freedom struggle to the 
     attention of world leaders. The Council advocates liberating 
     Khalistan through peaceful, non-violent means. Because of its 
     efforts, numerous forms of legislation have come before the 
     U.S. Congress in support of Sikh independence.


       political milestones achieved by the council of khalistan

       1. On December 27, 1993, President Clinton wrote to Members 
     of Congress, telling them he supports a `peaceful solution' 
     to the crisis in Punjab, Khalistan that `protects Sikh 
     rights.' He also said that human rights `abuses still occur' 
     in the Sikh homeland.
       2. On November 17, 1993, 24 Members of Congress wrote to 
     President Clinton, asking him to ``diplomatically resolve the 
     crisis in Khalistan.''
       3. On October 1, 1993, President Clinton signed the Foreign 
     Aid Appropriations Bill. The bill included a $4.1 million cut 
     in developmental aid to India in protest of its ongoing human 
     rights violations against the Sikhs, and the freedom seeking 
     Muslims of Kashmir.
       4. On August 5, 1993 Congressman Pete Geren introduced 
     House Concurrent Resolution 134. The resolution calls for a 
     U.N.-sponsored plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan so ``Sikhs'' 
     may determine for themselves, under fair and peaceful 
     conditions, their political future. It has the bi-partisan 
     support of 16 influential members of the House of 
     Representatives.
       5. On January 24, 1993, Khalistan was admitted as a full 
     member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization 
     (UNPO), a world wide body dedicated to advancing the freedom 
     aspirations of its member nations.


                 khalistan: a natural ally of the west

       A sovereign, democratic Khalistan will be the West's 
     strongest ally in South Asia. Freedom for Khalistan, which 
     would neutralize India's military power, will be a 
     stabilizing force in South Asia. Free Khalistan will 
     encourage India and Pakistan to sign the Nuclear Non-
     proliferation Treaty and will work for a nuclear-free South 
     Asia. Furthermore, Khalistan will trade with the rest of the 
     world in an open market economy. Lastly, all people, Sikh and 
     non-Sikh, will have full democratic rights and liberties in 
     Khalistan.


     what you can do to help the sikh nation to liberate khalistan

       You can help end the murder, rape and torture in Khalistan 
     by contacting your local House Representatives and Senators.
       Tell them:
       1. Not a single U.S. tax dollar should go to fund the 
     brutal Indian regime.
       2. In the interests of lasting peace in South Asia, they 
     should support freedom for Khalistan and specifically House 
     Concurrent Resolution 134.
       Contact:
       The U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515. 
     (202) 225-3121
       The U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-3121


                      the sikhs want independence

       In light of our suffering, the Sikh nation demands outright 
     independence from India. The Sikh nation feels that the only 
     way it will be able to enjoy ``life, liberty, and the pursuit 
     of happiness'' is in a free and sovereign Khalistan. After 
     reading this we hope you will support independence for 
     Khalistan. Thank you for your support. God bless you.
       For Further Information write to: Council of Khalistan, 
     2025 Eye St., N.W. #922, Washington, D.C. 20006. Telephone: 
     Dr. G.S. Aulakh (202) 833-3262. Fax: (202) 452-9161

                          ____________________