[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 20, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OPEN LETTER FROM COUNCIL OF KHALISTAN CALLS ON SIKHS TO STOP SUPPORTING
INDIAN TYRANNY
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HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, July 20, 1999
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, the conflict in Kashmir has been in the news
a lot lately. The conflict stemmed from an attack on the Kashmiri
freedom fighters in Kargil. While it looks as if the conflict may be
receding, there is still fighting. The Sikhs in Punjab are afraid that
it will spread to Punjab, Khalistan. The fighting will continue as long
as India uses force to suppress the freedom movements of South Asia.
While the fighting was at its height, the Council of Khalistan, which
leads the Sikh freedom struggle, issued an open letter on the
situation. The letter told Sikh troops that if they died for India,
they would die as mercenaries, but if they died for Sikh freedom, they
would die as martyrs. It urged them to go home and join the struggle to
liberate Khalistan.
In the letter, the Council of Khalistan pointed out that an Indian
colonel said that the troops were ``dying like dogs'' and that 60
percent of the soldiers killed were Sikhs. This is typical of India's
strategy to keep the minority nations of South Asia within their
artificial borders. They send draftees from one minority to kill
another. They don't put Hindu lives at risk. ``Are you willing to die
for a country that practices a policy of mass cremations against our
Sikh brothers and sisters, a policy the Indian Supreme Court called,
`worse than a genocide'?,'' said the letter.
It is essential that we help bring real peace to South Asia. Both
India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons, and we must do what we can to
prevent these weapons from being used. So far, American involvement in
the situation has been mainly to lean on Pakistan to bring an end to
the conflict. But it is only India that can end the conflict. Only when
India stops its efforts to repress the freedom movements can the
conflict in South Asia end.
India is anti-American and has tried to organize a security alliance
against the United States, and in May the Foreign Minister organized
and led a meeting with Cuba, China, Russia, Serbia, Iraq, and Libya
``to stop the U.S.'' Amnesty International reported that thousands of
political prisoners remain in illegal detention without charge or
trial. Some have been there for 15 years. India has murdered over
250,000 Sikhs since 1984 in its quest for ``Hindutva.'' It has also
killed tens of thousands of Christians in Nagaland, Muslims in Kashmir,
Dalits, and other peoples in this pursuit. Sooner or later, India is
doomed to break up. I only hope that it does so peacefully. We must not
allow another Yugoslavia to emerge in South Asia, where nuclear weapons
are present.
Mr. Speaker, the time has come for our country to support freedom for
all the people of South Asia. If India cannot learn to respect basic
human rights as we do in this country, then it should not receive any
aid or trade from the United States. It is time for the Congress to put
itself on record in support of the freedom movements in Khalistan,
Kashmir, Christian Nagaland, and the other nations of South Asia.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to put the Council of Khalistan's open
letter on Kashmir into the Record for the information of my colleagues.
Council of Khalistan,
Washington, DC, June 16, 1999.
Open Letter to the Sikh Soldiers and Officers
Stop ``Dying Like Dogs'' for the Indian Oppressors
Will You Be a Martyr or a Mercenary?
Join the Freedom Movement to Liberate Khalistan
Khalsa Ji: The Indian attack on the Kashmiri freedom
fighters at Kargil again shows the reality of Hindutva. You
see the death of your fellow Sikhs on a daily basis. About 60
percent of the casualties are Sikhs. When India wants to
suppress a freedom movement, they send other minorities to do
the dirty work, pitting minorities against each other.
Hindustan will just use you and discard you. Do not let
yourself be a mercenary for this divide-and-rule strategy by
the Indian tyrants.
India is losing this war. Casualties are mounting. An
Indian colonel admitted that the troops are ``dying like
dogs.'' A corporal is quoted as saying. ``Even in war we
don't have such senseless casualties.'' All these deaths are
very tragic, but it is especially sad when Sikh soldiers give
their lives for the oppressor. If a Sikh soldier must die, at
least die for the Khalsa Panth. If you die for the Khalsa
Panth, you will be a martyr. If you die for India, you are
just a mercenary.
What are you dying for? Are you willing to die for a
country that has murdered over 250,000 of our Sikh brothers
and sisters since 1984? Are you willing to die for a country
that desecrated the Golden Temple, shot bullet holes through
the Guru Granth Sahib? Are you willing to die for a country
that practices a policy of mass cremations against our Sikh
brothers and sisters, a policy the Indian Supreme Court
called ``worse than a genocide''?
If you are dying anyway, come home and die for our homeland
like the martyrs who were murdered in the Golden Temple
attack. It is better to promote the freedom and glory of the
Khalsa Panth than to promote Hindutva and the ``territorial
integrity'' of India. When human-rights are being violated on
such a massive scale, ``territorial integrity'' is not an
issue.
The political creed of India is ``Hindu, Hindui, Hindutva,
Hindu Rashtra.'' As the former Speaker of the Lok Sabha,
Balram Jakhar, said, ``If we have to kill a million Sikhs to
preserve our territorial integrity, so be it.'' When India
wants to protect its artificial borders, it is Sikhs who get
killed. When we seek freedom, it is Sikhs who get killed. How
can Sikhs put their lives on the line for a country like
that?
You are all aware of the plight of Sikhs back home in
Punjab. The Indian government has bribed Sikh policemen with
cash and promotions to murder their Sikh brothers and
sisters. The U.S. State Department reported that between 1992
and 1994 the Indian government paid over 41,000 cash bounties
to policemen for killing Sikhs. One policeman collected a
bounty for murdering a three-year-old boy. Why should Sikhs
give their lives for that?
Are you aware that in 37 border villages back in Punjab,
the people have evacuated because they are afraid that his
war on the Kashmiri freedom fighters will expand to Punjab?
As the people of Kosovo fled from their homes in fear of the
Serbian government's brutality, the people of Punjab,
Khalistan--your family, friends, and neighbors--are fleeing
their homes in fear of the brutal Indian government. There
has been a new deployment of troops to Punjab, raising fears
that India will launch an attack on Pakistan from the Sialkot
sector. If that happens, more Sikhs will lose their lives.
Every day in Ardas, Sikhs pray ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa,'' the
Khalsa shall rule. Our heritage is ``Khalsa Bagi Yan
Badshah,'' the Khalsa rules or it is in rebellion. Our Gurus
teach us to oppose tyranny wherever it rears its ugly head.
How can Sikhs say that and then go fight for a country that
denies our Sikh brothers and sisters the most basic human
rights?
India's political situation is unstable and it is losing
this bloody war. In desperation, it has resorted to using
chemical weapons. This is a shame on India. It shows the
Indian government's complete disregard for the lives of
Sikhs, Muslims, and other minorities. However, the
instability provides an opportunity to liberate Khalistan.
Recently, a group of Sikhs living in Pakistan called for a
common front with our Kashmiri brothers to liberate both
Khalistan and Kashmir. They said that now is the ideal time
for such an effort. They are right. Let us make common cause
with the Kashmiri freedom fighters and liberate our countries
together.
Sikhs remember their martyrs and we also remember our
enemies. Sikhs ended the regime of the tyrant Indira Gandhi.
A brave Sikh named Delawar Singh ended the tyranny of Beant
Singh. Would you rather be remembered as a brave Sikh martyr
like Delawar Singh or as a traitor like K.P.S. Gill?
I call on Sikhs in the Indian armed forces, whether
officers or soldiers, to stop shooting at the Kashmiri
freedom fighters and join the Sikh freedom movement. Stop
``dying like dogs'' for the theocratic Indian state. These
Kashmiri freedom fighters have the same as the goal of the
Sikh Nation: to live in freedom, peace, prosperity, and
dignity.
Now is the time to join the Sikh freedom movement and
liberate Khalistan. You are trained soldiers. The Khalsa
Panth needs your services. You will be remembered as the
liberators of Khalistan. Remember Gen. Shabeg Singh who gave
his life defending the sanctity of Darbar Sahib and the honor
of the Sikh Nation. We must free Khalistan. Nations don't
survive without political power. This is the opportune time
for us. We must not let this opportunity pass.
Panth Da Sewadar,
Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,
President.
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