[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E921-E922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FREEDOM FOR THE SIKHS OF KHALISTAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 2000

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, the Council of Khalistan recently issued an 
open letter about the deplorable situation in Punjab, the Sikh homeland 
which declared its independence on October 7, 1987, as Khalistan.
  The Sikhs are under attack from a militant Hindu organization called 
the RSS. The RSS was formed during World War II in support of the 
Fascists. It is the parent organization of the ruling BJP and many 
other organizations also come under its umbrella. Its agenda is to

[[Page E922]]

promote fundamentalist Hindu nationalism. Two members of the ruling 
BJP, which is a part of the RSS, were quoted in the newspapers as 
saying that everyone who lives in India should be Hindu or subservient 
to Hinduism.
  Now the RSS is trying to form a satellite organization called the 
Rashtriya Sikh Sangat which is designed to subsume Sikhs under Hinduism 
and wipe out their religion. Since the ruling party is part of the RSS, 
it is implicitly part of this effort to eliminate the Sikh religion. As 
people who believe in freedom of religion, this assault on anyone's 
freedom of religion ought to concern all of us.
  The recent massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chatti Singhpora is just another 
chapter in this campaign. Two recent investigations have proven that 
the Indian government was responsible for that massacre. There are 
still 50,000 Sikhs political prisoners rotting in Indian jails without 
charge or trial. The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs. 
Punjab is a police state. The only way to end this campaign against the 
Sikhs is to support self-determination and freedom for Punjab, 
Khalistan.
  Mr. Speaker, there are measures the United States can take to promote 
freedom for Khalistan and throughout South Asia. I urge the President 
to declare India a terrorist nation. We can cut off American aid and 
trade to India until all people there enjoy their basic human rights. 
And in accord with American principles, we must declare our support for 
self-determination for the people of Khalistan, the people of Kashmir, 
the people of Nagaland, and the other peoples and nations of South 
Asia. This can be achieved by allowing the people to vote in a free and 
fair plebiscite under international supervision on the question of 
independence. Such a plebiscite is similar to the periodic votes in 
Puerto Rico and Quebec on their political futures. This is how 
democratic nations do it and it is how great powers do it. If India 
wants to be taken seriously as a member of the family of democratic 
nations, it must allow self-determination and human rights for all 
peoples and nations within its artificial borders.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to place the Council of Khalistan's open 
letter on the situation in Punjab into the Record.

         Council of Khalistan, Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth 
           Master,
                                     Washington, DC, May 12, 2000.

               A Sovereign Khalistan Is the Only Solution


   All Sikh Institutions and Present Leadership in Punjab Are Under 
                           Government Control

       Khalsa Ji: The militant Hindu fundamentalists of the RSS 
     are now attacking the Sikh Nation. They are trying to 
     insinuate themselves into the Sikh Nation by forming the 
     ``Rashtriya Sikh Sangat.'' They are trying to bring Sikhs 
     under the Hindu umbrella by any means necessary. The Sikh 
     Nation must stay alert and fight back against these efforts.
       The only way to stop these efforts is political power. 
     Without political power, nations perish. If we cannot reclaim 
     our lost sovereignty, the RSS will succeed in its efforts to 
     wipe out the Sikh Nation and the Sikh religion. Every day, we 
     pray ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa.'' Do we mean it? A true Sikh 
     cannot lie to Guru. If we mean what we say, we must do 
     everything we can to establish Khalsa Raj.
       The turmoil of the Akal Takht and the SGPC, and the other 
     problems of the Sikh Nation are the result of the fact that 
     we have lost the sovereignty that the Guru gave us. These 
     problems have come about because the entire Sikh leadership 
     and the Sikh institutions in Punjab are under Indian 
     government control. We can only solve these problems by 
     liberating our homeland, Khalistan.
       Why are there still 50,000 Sikhs rotting in Indian jails 
     without charge or trial? Why have the Sikh leaders in Punjab 
     been silent about the murders of over 250,000 Sikhs at the 
     hands of the Indian government? There is an Akali government 
     and there are other Akali parties like Mann's Akali Dal. Why 
     can't they start a Shantmai Morcha to free those political 
     prisoners? Why can't they demand that Amnesty International 
     be allowed into Punjab to conduct an independent human-rights 
     investigation?
       The government previously sent Professor Manjit Singh to 
     destroy the Khalistan movement abroad. Now it has sent 
     Simranjit Singh Mann. No Sikh leader who speaks for Khalistan 
     will be allowed to leave the country and come here. There is 
     moral degeneration of the Sikh character due to the lack of 
     political power.
       Four years ago, the Sikh leadership passed the Amritsar 
     Declaration. It said that if India did not grant Punjab 
     complete autonomy within six months, they would start a 
     peaceful agitation for Khalistan. Four years later, Mann 
     still supports the Amritsar Declaration. He still says that 
     there should be a federation with India controlling defense, 
     foreign affairs, and finances. These are the things that 
     define your political status. The other Sikh leaders in 
     Punjab have backed away from even that position. On February 
     12 at the celebration of Sant Bhindranwale's birthday, Mann 
     opposed the speakers who spoke for Khalistan, saying that 
     they spoke only for themselves and that Bhindranwale 
     supported secularism.
       The proposal for a federated India still keeps Hindustan in 
     control. That is why Mann made it. At the Sikh Day parade, 
     U.S. Congressman Major Owens raised slogans of ``Khalistan 
     Zindabad,'' yet Mann would not even use the word Khalistan. 
     He has long posed as a Khalistani. Even last year at the 
     300th anniversary celebration, he raised slogans of 
     ``Khalistan Zindabad'' but now he has changed his stand. He, 
     too, is clearly under government control. There is only one 
     solution: a sovereign, free, and independent Khalistan, as 
     declared on October 7, 1987. Only in a free Khalistan can 
     Sikhs live in freedom, dignity, prosperity, and peace.
       The Sikh Nation will not achieve its legitimate aspirations 
     with any of the current political parties in Punjab. None of 
     these parties will bring us a free Khalistan. Whether the 
     Akalis, Congress, or the Akali Dal Mann is elected, elections 
     under the Indian constitution will not free Khalistan and 
     they will not end the slavery of the Sikh Nation and the 
     corruption in the Punjab government. Badal made three 
     promises to get elected: that he would release all political 
     prisoners, that he would punish guilty police officers, and 
     that he would appoint a commission to look into the excesses 
     by the Indian government against the Sikh Nation. He could 
     not even keep these modest promises. Instead, he put the heat 
     on the People's Commission and shut it down.
       The massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chatti Singhpora shows that 
     without sovereignty, the Indian oppression of the Sikh Nation 
     will continue. An investigation by the Ludhiana-based 
     International Human Rights Organization, led by D.S. Gill, 
     showed that the Indian government was responsible for the 
     massacre. A recent report by the Justice Ajit Singh Bains, 
     chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization, Sardar 
     Inderjit Singh Jaijee, convenor of the Movement Against State 
     Repression, and General Kartar Singh Gill, also found that 
     the government counterinsurgency forces were responsible. 
     This atrocity underlines the need for a sovereign, 
     independent Khalistan.
       Punjab is a police state. None of the political parties 
     will bring us Khalistan. The Sikh Nation needs new leadership 
     and a new party that are committed to liberating Khalistan. 
     We need a Khalsa Raj Party. The Khalsa Raj Party should be 
     committed to self-determination. It should demand freedom for 
     Khalistan and any peaceful, democratic, nonviolent means 
     should be used to achieve this goal, whether it is a 
     plebiscite or any other democratic means.
       The only way to escape Indian slavery is to liberate 
     Khalistan. New Sikh leadership emerge to free the Sikh 
     Nation. They should raise the slogan ``India Quit Khalistan'' 
     and start a Shantmai Morcha until we achieve freedom. We have 
     now seen how the Indian government controls Sikh institutions 
     and the entire Sikh leadership in Punjab.
       Unless the Sikh Nation brings back the Sikh spirit and 
     fight for truth and justice, the Khalsa Panth will not 
     prosper. Remember the Guru Ka Bag Morcha and the Jaito 
     Morcha. We did it then and we can do it now. Only in a free 
     Khalistan can the Sikh religion flourish. Only in a free 
     Khalistan will Sikhs be able to live in freedom and dignity. 
     Only then can the Sikh Nation finally enjoy the glow of 
     freedom that was promised to us so many years ago.
       Khalsa Ji, the onus is on us. The time is now. We must 
     start a Khalsa Raj Party and begin a Shantmai Morcha to 
     liberate Khalistan. We must reclaim our lost sovereignty. 
     New, young leadership which has dedication and the spirit of 
     sacrifice must emerge. Support only these new leaders who are 
     honest, dedicated, fearless, and committed to freedom for 
     Khalistan. India is on the verge of disintegration. Kashmir 
     is going to be free from Indian control. Let us make use of 
     this opportunity to free Khalistan.
           Sincerely,
                                          Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,
                                  President, Council of Khalistan.

     

                          ____________________