[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 194 (Thursday, December 7, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2309-E2312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        AN INDEPENDENT KHALISTAN

                                 ______


                          HON. PHILIP M. CRANE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 6, 1995

  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform my colleagues, the 
American people, and the international community about the recent surge 
of activity that has occurred in this town regarding the Sikh struggle 
for an independent Khalistan.
  On October 19, 1995, 65 Members of Congress signed a letter to Indian 
Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao demanding the release of Sikh human 
rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. Mr. Khalra was abducted by Indian 
police in front of his home on September 6. It appears that Mr. Khalra 
represents a threat to the Indian Government because he had recently 
published a report in which he estimated that Indian police in Punjab, 
working under the direction of the Indian Government, had abducted 
murdered, and cremated over 25,000 Sikhs. Sikhs have long accused the 
Indian police in Punjab of conducting their terror campaign against the 
Sikhs according to this modus operandi. Mr. Khlara confirmed these 
accusations by tallying up the so-called unidentified bodies registered 
in municipal cremation grounds throughout Punjab. It should be known 
that in Punjab, family networks are extremely tight which would leave 
rare occasion for someone to die and not have the body identified by 
the next of kin. In the Amritsar District alone, Mr. Khalra found 6,017 
unidentified bodies registered in the municipal crematorium. These 
findings seem to support Mr. Khalra's claim that the Punjab police have 
been killing Sikh and cremating their remains as unidentified bodies in 
order to erase any evidence of police wrongdoing. Under these 
circumstances we can understand why Amnesty International states in its 
latest report, ``Determining the Fate of the `Disappeared in Punjab,'' 
that ``the Punjab Police have been allowed to commit human rights 
violations with impunity.''
  As a result of the letter of the 65 Members of Congress, President 
Clinton wrote a letter to Congressman Gary Condit, the initiator of the 
letter to express that he, too, is ``concerned by reports regarding 
Jaswant Singh Khalra.'' The President stated that the ``U.S. Embassy in 
New Delhi has already made inquiries into these allegations with 
various Indian Government agencies, and Ambassador Wisner has raiser 
the issue with high-ranking officials.''
  Turning up the pressure on India even further, Congressman Condit is 
sending a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations, 
Boutros-Boutros Ghali, in which he asks the United Nations to ``issue a 
strong statement condemning the murders of over 25,000 Sikhs'' and to 
``demand the release of Mr. Khalra by India immediately.''
  The media has been watching the congressional activity on behalf of 
the Sikhs closely. The November 28 issue of the Washington Times ran an 
article titled, ``Clinton checks India'', reporting on President 
Clinton's condemnation of India's abduction of Mr. Khalra. On November 
3, the Washington Times also reported on an encounter between Dr. 
Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan and Indian 
Ambassador S.S. Ray which occurred in the halls of the Longworth House 
Office Building. Dr. Aulakh, the article reports, ``blames Mr. Ray for 
widespread human rights abuses when the ambassador was Governor of 
Punjab in the late 1980's. During that time thousands died in violence 
linked to Sikh demands for a separate homeland.'' When Dr. Aulakh 
encountered Mr. Ray in the Longworth building, he did not hestate to 
speak his mind. As the article quotes Dr. Aulakh: ``I walked up to him 
and told him, `You are a murderer and should not be walking these 
halls.' ''
  The efforts of Dr. Aulakh and the Council of Khalistan on behalf of 
the Sikh nation in its struggle for freedom from India have been highly 
successful. According to News India-Times, ``Sikh Nation activists led 
by Gurmit Singh Aulakh perhaps pose the biggest challenge and threat to 
India's lobbying efforts in the capital.'' Mr. Speaker, I would submit 
that the reason for the success of the Sikh nation in the U.S. Congress 
is due half in part by extremely hard work on the part of the Sikhs and 
half in part to the fact that evidence against India is so 
overwhelming. Though it claims to be a democracy, India is one of the 
most brutal regimes in the world regarding its dealings with minority 
nations and people under its rule. 

[[Page E 2310]]
Against the efforts of India's lobbying machine Dr. Aulakh, has been 
able to highlight this fact. India-West, November 10, has reported that 
there is speculation that Ambassador S.S. Ray may be recalled back to 
New Delhi. This is due in part to his ineffectiveness at countering 
issues exposed by Dr. Aulakh. Perhaps Mr. Ray is not to blame. It 
appears that truth is on the side of the Sikh nation and the time has 
come for India to cease its oppression of the Sikhs and honor their 
right of freedom.
  I submit for the Record material pertinent to the recent 
congressional activity in favor of the struggle for Sikh freedom.

                                      House of Representatives

                                 Washington, DC, October 19, 1955.
     Hon. P.V. Narashima Rao,
     Prime Minister of India, Chankaya Puri, New Delhi, India.
       Dear Prime Minister Rao: According to an Amnesty 
     International ``Urgent Action'' bulletin issued on September 
     7, Punjab police abducted Sikh human rights activist Jaswant 
     Singh Khalra from his home in Amritsar on September 6. His 
     whereabouts are unknown. As the general secretary of Human 
     Rights Wing (Shiromani Akali Dal), Mr. Khalra had published a 
     report showing that the Punjab police have arrested more than 
     25,000 young Sikh men, tortured them, murdered them, then 
     declared them ``unidentified'' and cremated their bodies. 
     These atrocities are intolerable in any country, especially 
     one that calls itself a democracy. After the report was 
     published, Mr. Khalra was told by the Amritsar district 
     police chief, ``We have made 25,000 disappear. It would be 
     easy to make one more disappear.'' This abuse of police power 
     is inexcusable.
       The right to speak out and expose atrocities is one of the 
     most fundamental rights of free individuals. As long as Mr. 
     Khalra remains in detention, how can anyone in India feel 
     secure exercising his or her democratic liberties?
       Many of us wrote to you previously urging that the 
     passports of Sikh leader Samranjit Singh Mann and Dalit 
     (``black untouchable'') leader V.T. Rajshekar be restored. 
     Your government has not acted, and Mr. Mann and Mr. Rajshekar 
     remain unable to travel. The right to travel is fundamental 
     to a democratic nation.
       Mr. Prime Minister, we call upon your government to release 
     Mr. Khalra immediately. We also urge you to restore the 
     passports of Mr. Rajshekar and Mr. Mann. If India is a 
     democratic country, it must end these gross violations of 
     human rights and democratic principles. Only then can 
     democracy truly begin to flower. We await your response.
           Sincerely,
         Gary A. Condit, M.C.; James A. Traficant, M.C.; William 
           Jefferson, M.C.; Peter King, M.C.; Randy ``Duke'' 
           Cunningham, M.C.; Roscoe Bartlett, M.C.; Jack Fields, 
           M.C.; Donald M. Payne, M.C.; Dan Burton, M.C.; Phil 
           Crane, M.C.; Richard Pombo, M.C.; Karen McCarthy, M.C.; 
           Neil Abercrombie, M.C.; Wally Herger, M.C.; Dana 
           Rohrabacher, M.C.; Esteban Torres, M.C.; Ronald V. 
           Dellums, M.C.; John T. Doolittle, M.C.; Michael Forbes, 
           M.C.; Enid G. Waldholtz, M.C.; Gil Gutknecht, M.C.; 
           Victor Frazer, M.C.; John Porter, M.C.; Sam Gejdenson, 
           M.C.; Bob Livingston, M.C.; Edolphus Towns, M.C.; Chris 
           Smith, M.C.; William O. Lipinski, M.C.; Scott Klug, 
           M.C.; Lincoln Diaz-Balart, M.C.; Dick Zimmer, M.C.; 
           Collin Peterson, M.C.; Pete Geren, M.C.; Joe Skeen, 
           M.C.; Duncan Hunter, M.C.; Jim Ramstad, M.C.; Floyd 
           Flake, M.C.; Bernie Sanders, M.C.; Matt Salmon, M.C.; 
           Richard ``Doc'' Hastings, M.C.; Ileana Ros-Lehtiner, 
           M.C.; Phil English, M.C.; Richard Burr, M.C.; Connie 
           Morella, M.C.; Carlos Romero-Barcelo, M.C.; Sanford D. 
           Bishop, M.C.; Jim Moran, M.C.; Martin R. Hoke, M.C.; 
           Jack Metcalf, M.C.; Amo Houghton, M.C.; Jerry Solomon, 
           M.C.; Robert Torricelli, M.C.; Ed Whitfield, M.C.; 
           Melvin L. Watt, M.C.; Jim Kolbe, M.C.; John Shadegg, 
           M.C.; J.D. Hayworth, M.C.; James H. Quillen, M.C.; 
           Barbara Cubin, M.C.; Charlie Norwood, M.C.; Vic Fazio, 
           M.C.; Chris Cox, M.C.; Joe Scarborough, M.C.; Bill 
           Richardson, M.C.; Steve Schiff, M.C.
                                                                    ____



                                         Council of Khalistan,

                                                   Washington, DC.

 U.S. Congress Demands Release of Khalra, Murders of Over 25,000 Sikhs 
                                Exposed

       Washington, October 20.--A bipartisan group of 65 Members 
     of Congress today wrote to Indian Prime Minister P.V. 
     Narasimha Rao demanding that Sikh human rights activist 
     Jaswant Singh Khalra, the general secretary of the Human 
     Rights Wing (Shiromani Akali Dal) be released. Khalra was 
     abducted by Amritsar police on September 6 after he issued a 
     report showing that the Indian regime has abducted more than 
     25,000 young Sikh men, tortured them, murdered them, declared 
     their bodies ``unidentified'' and cremated them. ``After the 
     report was published,'' the letter says, ``Mr. Khalra was 
     told by the Amritsar district police chief, `We have made 
     25,000 disappear. It would be easy to make one more 
     disappear.' ''
       The letter was initiated by Rep. Gary Condit (D-Cal.), 
     ranking member of an Agriculture subcommittee and a longtime 
     supporter of Sikh freedom. It carried more signatures than 
     any previous letter concerning Indian tyranny. Signers of the 
     letter include members of the leadership of both parties such 
     as Rep. Gerald Solomon, chairman of the powerful House Rules 
     Committee; Appropriations Committee chairman Rep. Robert 
     Livingston (R-La.); Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), 
     chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and 
     Human Rights; Rep. Ronald Dellums (D-Cal.), ranking minority 
     member of the National Security Committee; Congressional 
     Black Caucus chairman Donald Payne (D-NJ); Rep. Philip M. 
     Crane (R-Ill.), chairman of the Ways and Means subcommittee 
     on Trade; Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Cal), chairman of the Democratic 
     Caucus; Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind), chairman of the Southern 
     Hemisphere subcommittee and a longtime friend of the Sikh 
     nation; and other prominent members too numerous to list.
       ``These atrocities are unacceptable in any country,'' the 
     letter says, ``especially one that calls itself a 
     democracy.'' India has not only murdered more than 120,000 
     Sikhs since 1984, it has also killed over 200,000 Christians 
     in Nagaland since 1947, over 43,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 
     1988, tens of thousands of Assamese, Manipuris, and others, 
     and thousands of Dalits (``black untouchables''). 
     ``Disappearances`` like M. Khalra's are routine.
       ``The right to speak out and expose atrocities is one of 
     the most fundamental rights of free individuals,'' the letter 
     says. ``As long as Mr. Khalra remains in detention, how can 
     anyone in India feel secure exercising his or her democratic 
     rights?'' It goes on to say, ``If India is a democratic 
     country, it must end these gross violations of human rights 
     and democratic principles. Only then can democracy truly 
     begin to flower.''
       ``The Sikh nation thanks these freedom-loving Members of 
     Congress for their support of Mr. Khalra's freedom,'' said 
     Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of 
     Khalistan. ``Mr. Khalra has been made to `disappear' because 
     he exposed India's brutal tyranny against the Sikh nation,'' 
     he said. ``The Sikh nation can no longer suffer under this 
     brutal regime. The time has come to start a shantmai morcha 
     (peaceful agitation) to liberate Khalistan,'' Dr. Aulakh 
     said. Khalistan is the independent Sikh country declared on 
     October 7, 1987. ``It is time for India to recognize the 
     inevitable and get out of Khalistan. Democratic principles 
     demand it.''
                                                                    ____



                                     House of Representatives,

                                Washington, DC, November 27, 1995.
     Hon. Boutros-Boutros Ghali,
     Secretary General of the United Nations, United Nations 
         Headquarters, New York, NY.
       Dear Secretary General Ghali: While I am pleased that the 
     United Nations took such strong action to condemn Nigeria for 
     its execution of nine political activists, I am concerned 
     that repression in other regions of the world continues to go 
     unnoticed. Specifically, human rights abuses in India have 
     been prevalent and must cease.
       Earlier this year, Jaswant Singh Khalra, general secretary 
     of the Human Rights Wing (Shiromani Akali Dal), issued a 
     report showing that over 25,000 young Sikh men have been 
     kidnapped by the Indian government, tortured and killed. His 
     report detailed how their bodies were then listed as 
     ``unidentified'' and cremated to cover up police 
     responsibility. These young Sikhs are among more than 150,000 
     Sikhs murdered by the Indian government in Punjab, Khalistan 
     since 1984. For this, Mr. Khalra was abducted by the police 
     in Amritsar on September 6. His whereabouts remain unknown. 
     Mr. Khalra had been previously told by the Amritsar police 
     chief that ``it would not be hard to make one more 
     disappear.'' In an Urgent Action bulletin issued on September 
     7, Amnesty International expressed fear that he may be made 
     to ``disappear'' and tortured.
       On October 19, sixty-five members of the U.S. Congress, 
     including myself, wrote to Indian Prime Minister P.V. 
     Narashima Rao demanding the release of Mr. Khalra. I am 
     enclosing a copy of that letter. No action has been taken. We 
     are concerned that Mr. Khalra will simply become one more 
     victim of Indian ``democracy.'' I am also enclosing recent 
     correspondence I received from President Clinton expressing 
     his concern about this situation.
       In light of your action against the Nigerian government, it 
     is hypocritical for the United Nations to turn a blind eye to 
     India's tyranny. I call upon you to take strong action 
     against India. Specifically, I ask that the United Nations 
     issue a strong statement condemning the murders of over 
     25,000 Sikhs and that the United Nations demand the release 
     of Mr. Khalra by India immediately.
       It is incumbent upon the U.N. under the United Nations 
     charter to defend basic human rights. Freedom is the 
     universal right of all peoples and nations. I look forward to 
     your response.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Gary A. Condit,
     Member of Congress.
                                                                    ____



                                               The White House

                                    Washington, November 15, 1995.
     Representative Gary A. Condit,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Condit: Thank you for sharing with me 
     your recent letter to Prime Minister Rao of India regarding 
     the situation in Punjab.
     
[[Page E 2311]]

       I, too, am concerned by the reports regarding Jaswant Singh 
     Khalra. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi has already made 
     inquiries into these allegations with various Indian 
     government agencies, and Ambassador Wisner has raised the 
     issue with high-ranking Indian officials. We will continue 
     these efforts. I appreciate your interest and concern on this 
     issue.
       With best wishes and warm regards.
           Sincerely,
     Bill Clinton.
                                                                    ____


                   [From India Abroad, Dec. 1, 1995]

            Clinton ``Concerned'' by Pro-Khalistani's Arrest

                           (By Aziz Haniffa)

       Washington.--In a letter that is likely to ignite yet 
     another controversy in Indo-U.S. political and diplomatic 
     relations, President Clinton has said that he shares the 
     concern of several pro-Khalistani legislators over the 
     abduction of a Sikh human rights activist.
       In a missive to Rep. Gary Condit, Democrat from California, 
     who has publicly endorsed the concept of a separate state of 
     Khalistan, Clinton said, ``I, too, am concerned by the 
     reports regarding Jaswant Singh Khalra,'' the general 
     secretary of the Human Rights Wing (Shiromani Akali Dal).
       The President, while thanking Condit ``for sharing with me 
     your recent letter to Prime Minister (Narasimha) Rao of India 
     regarding the situation in Punjab,'' said that ``the U.S. 
     Embassy in New Delhi has already made inquiries into these 
     allegations with various Indian government agencies, and 
     Ambassador Wisner has raised the issue with high-ranking 
     Indian officials.'' ``We will continue these efforts,'' 
     Clinton promised Condit, and informed the legislator that he 
     appreciated ``your interest and concern on the issue.''
       Last month, Condit initiated a letter to Rao that was co-
     signed by a bipartisan group of 64 other legislators that 
     demanded that Khalra be released.
       The letter to Rao, a copy of which was sent to Clinton, 
     said that according to Amnesty International's ``Urgent 
     Action'' bulletin issued on Sept. 7, Punjab police had 
     abducted Khalra from his home in Amritsar on Sept. 6, and his 
     whereabouts were unknown.
       The letter, written at the urging of the Council of 
     Khalistan, the leading pro-Khalistan lobbying group in the 
     United States, headed by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, noted that 
     Khalra had published a report showing that the Punjab police 
     have arrested more than 25,000 young Sikh men, tortured them, 
     murdered them, then declared them ``unidentified'' and 
     cremated their bodies.
       The letter by the 65 legislators to Rao said, ``These 
     atrocities are intolerable in any country, especially one 
     that calls itself a democracy.''
       It said that after Khalra's report was published he had 
     been told by the Amritsar district police chief, ``We have 
     made 25,000 disappear (and) it would be easy to make one more 
     disappear.''
       The lawmakers told Rao that ``this abuse of police power is 
     inexcusable.''
       ``The right to speak out and expose atrocities is one of 
     the most fundamental rights of free individuals,'' they said 
     and asserted that ``as long as Mr. Khalra remains in 
     detention, how can anyone in India feel secure exercising his 
     or her democratic liberties?''
       They noted that several of them had written to Rao 
     previously urging that the passports of Sikh leader Simranjit 
     Singh Mann and Dalit leader V.T. Rajshekar be restored.
       The letter to Rao, which was then passed on to Clinton, 
     carried more signatures than any previous letter the Council 
     of Khalistan has been able to muster in its over 10 years of 
     lobbying Congress, and included members of the leadership of 
     both parties such as Reps. Gerald Solomon, Republican from 
     New York who chairs the House Rules Committee; Robert 
     Livingston, Republican from Louisiana, chairman of the 
     Appropriations Committee; Christopher Smith, Republican from 
     New Jersey, chairman of the House International Relations 
     Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights; 
     Ronald Dellums, Democrat from California, ranking minority 
     member of the National Security Committee; Donald Payne, 
     Democrat from New Jersey, chairman of the Congressional Black 
     Caucus; Philip Crane, Republican from Illinois, chairman of 
     the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade; and Vic Fazio, 
     Democrat from California, chairman of the Democratic Caucus.
       Aulakh was elected over Clinton's expression of concern in 
     his letter to Condit, saying, ``President Clinton's letter 
     once again exposes the Indian regime's true face and explodes 
     the myth of Indian democracy.''
       ``We appreciate the support of President Clinton in this 
     issue,'' Aulakh declared. ``India cannot withstand this kind 
     of pressure. This scrutiny should make the regime release Mr. 
     Khalra soon.''
       Diplomatic observers acknowledged that Clinton's expression 
     of concern in reply to a letter from a pro-Khalistani 
     legislator, and an assurance that his Ambassador to India was 
     looking into the matter, was a clear indication that the pro- 
     Khalistanis in the U.S. had scored another coup in terms of 
     trying to embarrass New Delhi.
       One diplomatic observer noted that, when Punjab Chief 
     Minister Beant Singh was assassinated Aug. 31, Clinton had 
     not publicly condemned the killing nor had the White House or 
     the State Department issued any statement. It was left to 
     Indian correspondents here to elicit a statement out of a 
     spokesman for the South Asia Bureau, saying that the U.S. 
     regrets ``the lives lost'' and that Washington deplores 
     ``this senseless act of violence.''
       Even then, the spokesman refused to assign any blame to 
     Sikh terrorists, saying the Administration had seen only news 
     reports about the murder and had no information on whether it 
     was a terrorist act.
       Later in the week, Condit, obviously buoyed by the letter 
     from Clinton and egged on by the Council of Khalistan, also 
     wrote to U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali calling 
     for U.N. intervention to seek the release of Khalra.
       He urged the U.N. to ``take strong action against India, 
     and wrote specifically that the U.N.'' issue a strong 
     statement condemning the murders of over 25,000 Sikhs and 
     that the United Nations demand the release of Mr. Khalra by 
     India immediately.'' In his message to the U.N. Secretary-
     General, Condit also enclosed a copy of the Oct. 19 letter he 
     and 64 other U.S. legislators wrote to Rao regarding Khalra.
       Condit also enclosed a copy of the letter he received from 
     Clinton expressing his concern about Khalra's case.
                                                                    ____


               [From the Washington Times, Nov. 28, 1995]

                          Clinton Checks India

                          (By James Morrison)

       President Clinton has taken a personal interest in the fate 
     of an Indian human rights activist held by the government in 
     New Delhi.
       Following a letter-writing campaign from 65 members of 
     Congress, Mr. Clinton says his envoy to India has made 
     inquiries into the fate of Jaswant Singh Khalra.
       U.S. Ambassador Frank Wisner has made it known in New Delhi 
     that Washington is watching.
       ``I, too, am concerned by the reports regarding Jaswant 
     Singh Khalra,'' Mr. Clinton wrote this month to Rep. Gary A. 
     Condit.
       The California Democrat organized the congressional letter 
     to Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, a copy of which 
     was sent to the White House.
       Mr. Condit cited an Amnesty International bulletin of Sept. 
     7 that accused Indian police of abducting Mr. Khalra for 
     investigating accusations that police in Punjab murdered 
     thousands of Sikh men.
       ``The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi has already made inquiries 
     into these allegations with various Indian government 
     agencies, and Ambassador Wisner has raised the issue with 
     high-ranking Indian officials,'' Mr. Clinton wrote.
       ``We will continue these efforts.''
       Mr. Condit's letter to the Indian prime minister noted that 
     Mr. Khalra ``had published a report showing that the Punjab 
     police have arrested more than 25,000 young Sikh men, 
     tortured them, murdered them, then declared them 
     `unidentified' and cremated their bodies.
       ``These atrocities are intolerable in any country, 
     especially one that calls itself a democracy. * * *
       ``This abuse of police power is inexcusable.''
       The congressional letter was the product of effective 
     lobbying by Gurmit Singh Aulakh of the Council of Khalistan, 
     which represents Sikhs pressing for a separate homeland.
                                                                    ____


               [From the Washington Times, Nov. 3, 1995]

                         ``Murderer,'' He Cried

                          (By James Morrison)

       Whatever the Indian Embassy might think of Gurmit Singh 
     Aulakh, it would agree he is not a shy man.
       Consider a recent encounter with Indian Ambassador 
     Siddhartha Shankar Ray.
       Mr. Aulakh, a leader of Sikh expatriates, spotted Mr. Ray 
     in the Longworth House Office Building one day last month.
       ``I walked up to him and told him, `You are a murderer and 
     you should not be walking these halls,' '' Mr. Aulakh said, 
     describing the brief confrontation.
       Mr. Aulakh, president of the Council of Khalistan, blames 
     Mr. Ray for widespread human rights abuses when the 
     ambassador was governor of the Indian state of Punjab in the 
     late 1980s. During that time thousands died in violence 
     linked to Sikh demands for a separate homeland.
       Mr. Ray could not be reached for comment yesterday.
       Mr. Aulakh has most recently been busy on two fronts 
     directed at India.
       He is organizing a rally scheduled for tomorrow at noon in 
     Lafayette Park to march on the Indian Embassy on the 
     anniversary of a 1984 confrontation in Delhi in which 
     thousands of Sikhs were killed.
       Mr. Aulakh has also been publicizing a letter signed by 65 
     members of Congress, calling on Indian Prime Minister P.V. 
     Narasimha Rao to release Sikh human rights activist Jaswant 
     Singh Khalra. The letter cites an Amnesty International 
     bulletin of Sept. 7, accusing Indian police of abducting Mr. 
     Khalra.
       Mr. Khalra ``had published a report showing that the Punjab 
     police have arrested more than 25,000 young Sikh men, 
     tortured them, murdered them, then declared them 
     `unidentified' and cremated their bodies,'' the letter said.
       ``These atrocities are intolerable in any country, 
     especially one that calls itself a democracy. . . .This abuse 
     of police power is inexcusable.''
       The letter, organized by Rep. Gary Condit, California 
     Democrat, drew wide bipartisan congressional support, from 
     lawmakers including conservative Republican Dan Burton of 
     Indiana, liberal Democrat Ronald Dellums 

[[Page E 2312]]
     of California and socialist independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont.
                                                                    ____


               [From the News India-Times, Nov. 10, 1995]

                   Biggest Threat to Lobbying Efforts

       Washington.--``Sikh nation'' activists led by Gurmit Singh 
     Aulakh perhaps pose the biggest challenge and threat to 
     India's lobbying efforts in the capital, only next to the 
     anti-India campaign funded by pro-Pakistan forces.
       Aulakh got some print mileage last week in the conservative 
     daily paper, Washington Times, which promptly published his 
     offensive ``encounter'' with his bete noir, none other than 
     the Indian ambassador to the US, Siddhartha Shankar Ray. The 
     juicy part of the report is that Aulakh called Ray ``a 
     murderer.''
       According to the paper, Aulakh, ``a leader of Sikh 
     expatriates'', spotted Ray in the Longworth House Office 
     Building one day last month. ``I walked up to him and told 
     him, you are a murderer and you should not be walking these 
     halls,'' Aulakh told the paper describing his brief 
     confrontation.
       Aulakh, president of the Council of Khalistan, blames Ray 
     for ``widespread human rights abuses'' when the ambassador 
     was governor of Punjab in the late 1980s. ``During that time 
     thousands died in violence linked to Sikh demands for a 
     separate land,'' the paper said in its ``embassy row'' 
     column, adding that `'Ray could not be reached for comment.''
       News India-Times learned that Ray, who was caught unawares 
     by the intruder, had reportedly shot back, ``Who are you?'' 
     Later an escort took Aulakh aside and asked him not to spoil 
     the Hill meeting scheduled by Ray.
       The Washington Times further said that Aulakh was 
     organizing a rally in front of the White House at Lafayette 
     Park on Nov. 4, culminating in a march to the Indian Embassy 
     on the anniversary of a 1984 confrontation in Delhi in which 
     thousands of Sikhs were killed.
       Aulakh has also been publicizing a letter signed by 65 
     members of US Congress, calling on Indian Prime Minister 
     Narasimba Rao to release ``Sikh human rights activist'' 
     Jaswant Singh Khalra. The letter cites an Amnesty 
     International bulletin of September 7, accusing Indian police 
     of abducting Khalra.
       Khalra ``had published a report showing that the Punjab 
     police have arrested more than 25,000 young Sikh men, 
     tortured them, murdered them, then declared them unidentified 
     and cremated their bodies,'' the letter said.
       ``These atrocities are intolerable in any country, 
     especially one that calls itself a democracy. . . . This 
     abuse of police power is inexcusable.''
       The letter, organized by Rep. Gary Condit, California 
     Democrat, drew wide bipartisan congressional support, from 
     lawmakers including conservative Republican Dan Burton of 
     Indiana, liberal Democrat Ronald Dellums of California and 
     socialist independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont.
       The anti-India signature drive by the Council of Khalistan 
     in terms of the number of lawmakers on the Hill it had 
     mobilized, was simply too big to be overwhelmed by a pro-
     India signature drive such as the one mobilized by the India 
     Caucus against the Brown amendment as only 40 house members 
     had signed the caucus letter.

                          ____________________