[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 89 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1140-E1141]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  NO RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA

                                 ______


                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 1995
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the 
human rights situation in India. As we have reached the half-way point 
in our debate on the foreign aid authorization bill, this is a very 
appropriate time to raise this issue.
  Tuesday night, the House approved my amendment to deny development 
aid to any nation that votes against the United States more than 75 
percent of the time at the United Nations. One of the countries that 
votes against us at the U.N. 80 to 90 percent of the time every year is 
India. It is no coincidence that India is also one of the world's worst 
human rights abusers. For years, I have criticized the atrocities 
committed by Indian security forces against Sikhs in Punjab, Muslims in 
Kashmir, and Christians in Nagaland. My strong feelings about this 
issue is one of the main reasons I offered my amendment. Any country 
that consistently votes against us at the U.N. and systematically 
violates the human rights of innocent civilians should not be receiving 
foreign aid from us.
  Indian security forces in Punjab and Kashmir routinely torture 
political prisoners, gang rape women, and abduct innocent people to 
demand ransoms from their families. In Kashmir, the army just this 
month burned to the ground a centuries old mosque during a Muslim 
holiday. They routinely burn down entire neighborhoods and villages. In 
Punjab, torture and murder victims are thrown into canals, usually with 
their hands and feet still tied. Dozens of bodies are found every time 
a canal is drained for repairs.
  Mr. Speaker, we must demand that India respect the human rights of 
all people, and grant them freedom, democracy, and basic human rights. 
Until India stops the abuses and begins to vote with us, even 
occasionally, at the United Nations, we should not be giving that 
country our foreign aid.
  I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record at this point a 
summary of human rights abuses in India prepared by my office, and a 
summary prepared by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh of the Council of 
Khalistan, who has worked tirelessly on behalf of the Sikh people.
                                  ____

         Don't Support Indian Tyranny With American Tax Dollars

       Here are some relevant facts about India and Indian-
     occupied Khalistan:
       India votes against the United States at the United Nations 
     84 percent of the time, more than any other U.S. aid 
     recipient.
       India is helping Iran build up it military arsenal.


                        HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

       Indian newspapers recently reported that 25,000 Sikhs were 
     either cremated as ``unclaimed bodies.'' or thrown in canals 
     and rivers.
       The White Paper on State Terrorism in Punjab cites S.S. 
     Ray, Indian Ambassador to the U.S., as the ``butcher of 
     Bengal'' and the ``butcher of Punjab.''
       Over 41,000 cash bounties were paid to police officers for 
     killing Sikhs, according to the US State Dept.
       Over 120,000 Sikhs killed since 1984.
       Over 150,000 Christians killed since 1947. Over 43,000 
     Kashmiri Muslims killed since 1988.
       Tens of thousands more languish in Indian prisons without 
     charge or trial.
       Amnesty International reports hundreds of Sikhs have 
     disappeared.
       Asia Watch reports ``virtually everyone detained in Punjab 
     is tortured.''
       Police operate over 200 torture centers (police stations) 
     in Punjab, Khalistan.
       Police routinely pick up Sikh youths and demand ransom of 
     tens of thousands of rupees for their safe release. 
     Otherwise, the youths are tortured and killed.
       Sikhs who die of torture are listed as being killed in an 
     ``encounter'' with the police.
       Despite the recent repeal of TADA, the other ``Black 
     Laws'', giving the regime sweeping powers to detain anyone 
     for any reason and kill Sikhs without fear of persecution, 
     remain on the books.
       India has not allowed Amnesty International to conduct an 
     independent human-rights investigation in Punjab, Khalistan, 
     since 1978.
       India recently attacked an ancient mosque in Kashmir which 
     houses the mausoleum of the venerated Sheik Nooruddin Wali. 
     In December 1992, Hindus destroyed the Babri mosque in 
     Ayodhya.
       In June 1984, India attacked the Golden Temple in Amritsar, 
     the holiest shrine of the Sikh Nation.
       The Chicago Tribune reports that a nun was stabbed 36 times 
     by right-wing Hindu fundamentalists. By these actions, India 
     displays its religious intolerance.
       The Indian newspaper Hitavada reported in November that the 
     late Governor of Punjab, Surendra Nath, was paid $1.5 billion 
     by the Indian regime to foment terrorism in Punjab, 
     Khalistan, and in Kashmir.
       The State Department says that the human-rights situation 
     is getting worse.


                 india's nuclear threat to world peace

       India has recently announced successful tests of the Akash 
     antiballistic missile, India's equivalent of the Patriot.
       India has deployed Prithvi missiles, which have a range of 
     250 kilometers, on the Pakistani border and has successfully 
     tested other missiles like Agni, Thrishul, etc.
       Last year, India launched the Polar Satellite Launch 
     Vehicle, which can be made to carry nuclear warheads.
       India spends over 20 percent of its research and 
     development budget on the development of nuclear weapons. 
     Only 2 percent goes to education and health.


                khalistan's right to self-determination

       No Sikh has ever signed the Indian constitution.
       The Sikh leadership declared Khalistan independent on 
     October 7, 1987.
       The movement to liberate Khalistan is peaceful, democratic, 
     and nonviolent.
       Former Member of Parliament Simranjit Singh Mann has been 
     held in a windowless cell for four months for the ``crime'' 
     of speaking out for Khalistan.
       The Supreme Court of India ruled that asking for Khalistan 
     is not a crime.
       According to India Abroad, 96 percent of the Sikhs in 
     Punjab, Khalistan did not vote in India's February 1992 
     elections there.
       India has 500,000 troops in Punjab, occupied Khalistan, 
     alone--more than Britain had in the entire subcontinent 
     during its rule.
       Khalistan, Kashmir, and Nagaland continue to be denied 
     their right to self-determination.
       India has 18 official languages. It is a polyglot like the 
     former Soviet Union. It is not one country.
                                                                    ____

 Human Rights in India at a Glance: Disregard for Religious Sites and 
                                Figures

       May 1995--Indian troops in Kashmir burn to the ground the 
     centuries-old walnut wood mosque in Charar-e-Sharies, along 
     with hundreds of homes around it.
       December 1992--Hindu mobs destroy the historic Babri Mosque 
     in Ayodhya as Indian troops stand by and watch.
       December 1992--Gurdev Singh Kaonke, one of the most revered 
     leaders of the Sikh religion, is arrested, tortured and 
     killed in police custody.
       June 1984--Indian soldiers launch an all out attack on the 
     Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest shrine of the Sikh 
     religion. 38 other temples throughout Punjab are attacked, 
     killing thousands of Sikhs.


                      what human rights groups say

       Asia Watch: ``Virtually everyone detained in Punjab is 
     tortured.'' [[Page E1141]] 
       Amnesty International: ``Torture (in Punjab and Kashmir) 
     and illtreatment is widespread and in some cases systematic, 
     resulting in scores of deaths in police custody.''
       State Department Human Rights Report (1994): Over 41,000 
     cash bounties were paid to police in Punjab for extrajudicial 
     killings of Sikhs between 1991 and 1993.


       Graphic Examples of Torture and Murder, Punjab and Kashmir

       Extrajudicial murders of Sikh youth are a common 
     occurrence. Between 1986 and 1994, 6,017 unidentified Sikh 
     victims of Indian police were cremated in the District of 
     Amritsar alone. There are 13 districts in Punjab. It has been 
     estimated that security forces have had over 25,000 
     unidentified Sikhs cremated or dumped in rivers during this 
     period.
       In January 1995, the water level of the Sirhind Canal was 
     lowered for repair work. One dozen bodies of young Sikh 
     torture victims were found at the bottom of just one shore 
     section of the canal with the hands and feet bound. There are 
     hundreds of miles of the canals through the province.
       In January 1993, Indian paramilitary forces in Kashmir 
     burnt to death at least 65 Kashmiri civilians in the town of 
     Sopore. Soldiers deliberately set fire to five separate areas 
     of the town. They also dragged shopkeepers out of their shops 
     and shot them in the streets. The torching of entire Kashmiri 
     villages by Indian forces is a common tactic.
       In 1994, Sikh activist Kanwar Singh Dhami was imprisoned 
     along with his pregnant wife and son. He and his wife were 
     tortured in front of each other. When the police were unable 
     to extract an untrue confession from Mr. Dhami, they hung his 
     wife up by her heels (she was six months pregnant) forcing 
     her to have a miscarriage.
       In Amritsar district in 1993, Indian police brought a Sikh 
     youth they had tortured and thought was dead to the hospital 
     for an autopsy. After the police left, the doctors discovered 
     that the young man was miraculously still alive and revived 
     him. The police returned several hours later after hearing 
     that the man was alive. They took him out of the hospital, 
     killed him again, and brought him back to the same hospital 
     for his autopsy.
     

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