[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 8, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E752-E753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VAISAKHI DAY
______
HON. DAN BURTON
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 8, 2001
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the Sikhs recently celebrated
their important holiday of Vaisakhi Day. It is the 302nd birthday of
the Sikh Nation. On Vaisakhi Day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the last
of the Sikh gurus, formed the Khalsa Panth. He blessed them with the
blessing ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa,'' which means, ``the Khalsa shall
rule.''
The Sikhs consider Vaisakhi a very important holiday. It is
effectively the Sikh national holiday. As this Vaisakhi Day passed,
however, the Sikh Nation still lives in slavery.
Sikhs ruled Punjab from 1765 to 1849. They ran a secular state with
religious tolerance. Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus participated in the
government. When the British vacated the subcontinent, the Sikhs were
to receive sovereign power, but they were taken in by the false
promises of Nehru and Gandhi that they would have freedom in Punjab. No
Sikh representative has ever signed the Indian constitution, and many
Sikhs are demanding their independence, as declared on October 7, 1987.
Although they seek this peacefully, India considers anyone who speaks
out for a separate Sikh state, called Khalistan, to be a ``terrorist.''
Instead, it is India that has used the tools of terrorism.
A new report from the Movement Against State Repression shows that
the Indian government holds, by its own admission, at least 52,268
political prisoners under the illegal and expired ``Terrorist and
Disruptive Activities Act,'' called TADA. Both the Movement Against
State Repression and Amnesty International have confirmed that tens of
thousands of political prisoners are being held without charge or
trial. Some of them have been in jail since 1984. According to The
Politics of Genocide by respected human-rights worker Inderjit Singh
Jaijee, the Indian government since 1984 has murdered over 250,000
Sikhs. They join thousands of Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and others
who have been killed at the hands of the Indian government.
In the spirit of Vaisakhi, the U.S. Congress should support freedom
for the Sikh Nation and the other nations of South Asia who are seeking
their sovereignty and independence. We must support a free and fair
plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan, on the question of independence and
also plebiscites for Kashmir, as India promised in 1948, for Nagalim,
and for all the nations living under Indian occupation. We should also
cut off American aid until India learns to respect its own laws and the
basic human rights of all people. Let the Sikhs, celebration of
Vaisakhi remind us that the freedom is the birthright of all peoples
and nations.
[[Page E753]]
Council of Khalistan,
Washington, DC, April 16, 2001.
Open Letter to the Sikh Nation: Political Prisoners Should Run in
Elections
Form Khalsa Raj Party, Start a Stantmai Morcha to Free Khalistan
Several reports, including a recent one from Amnesty
International, confirm that tens of thousands of Sikh
political prisoners are being held in illegal detention in
India without charge or trial. Democracies do not hold
political prisoners, yet tens of thousands of political
prisoners are being held in ``the world's largest
democracy.''
Recently, 19 Members of the U.S. Congress wrote to
President Bush asking him to get involved in the effort to
secure freedom for these political prisoners. These political
prisoners are being held for peaceful activities in support
of a sovereign, independent Khalistan and/or activities in
support of human rights. Some of these political prisoners
have been held since 1984. We must secure their freedom.
Sovereignty is essential to the survival of the Sikh
Nation. As long as we live under Indian rule, these political
prisoners will continue to be held and we will all continue
to live as slaves. The only way that Sikhs can live in
freedom is to liberate our homeland. Self-determination is
the right of all peoples and nations.
We must tell the Indian government that we demand our
freedom. In order to do so, the political prisoners should
run for Parliament and for the Legislative Assembly under the
banner of the Khalsa Raj Party. The primary plank of the
Khalsa Raj Party should be freedom for Khalistan. The Khalsa
Panth must be prepared to pay any price, whatever it may be,
to free ourselves from the occupation of the Indian
government.
We must have a full and fair plebiscite on the status of
Khalistan and we must launch a Shantmai Morcha to liberate
Khalistan. If the political prisoners run for office, Sikhs
will have someone to vote for who is committed to freedom.
None of the current parties will make any effort to liberate
Khalistan.
If the political prisoners will not run for office from
their jail cells, then their family members should be given
the Khalsa Raj Party ticket in the elections. We must have a
real choice that will allow us to demand our freedom. Only
then can our ve make any difference. Let us vote for a free
Khalistan, not just for a change of faces among the
oppressors.
Guru Gobind Singh Sahib gave sovereignty to the Khalsa
Panth. ``In Grieb Sikhan Ko Deon Patshahi'', that is ``Khalsa
shall rule and is sovereign.'' Guru gave the Sikh Nation
sovereignty. Nations that do not have sovereignty perish.
Nations that do not have political power vanish from the face
of the Earth. Sikhs are instructed to remain free always. It
is time to reclaim freedom that is our birthright. In a free
Khalistan Sikhs will enjoy freedom and respect the world
over. For the survival of Sikh Nation, we must regain our
lost sovereignty. It is our duty as Sikhs.
The present Akali government and its leadership is corrupt
to its bone. The Akalis are in alliance with the militant
Hindu fundamentalist BJP, which has recently been rocked by a
corruption scandal as well. They are agents of the Indian
government. They take their orders from Delhi rulers. They
lie to the Sikh Nation. We must discard them now and replace
them with a new committed, honest, pro-Khalsa Panth
leadership.
As instructed by the Guru, Banda Singh Bahadar established
the first Khalsa Raj in 17 10 after the complete destruction
of city of Sirhand where the two younger sons of Guru Sahib
were beheaded after immobilizing them in a wall. Sikhs
regained
In 1947, when India was divided, the cunning and deceitful
Hindu leadership of Nehru and Gandhi promised that Sikhs
would have the glow of freedom in Punjab and that no law
affecting Sikh rights would be passed without Sikh consent.
As soon as the transfer of power had occurred and India was
free, those promises were broken. Instead, India began its
effort to wipe out the Sikh people, the Sikh Nation, and the
Sikh religion. The Home Ministry even sent a circular to the
deputy commissioners of Punjab saying that Sikhs are ``a
criminal tribe'' and should be carefully watched. Since
independence, Sikhs have been persecuted, betrayed, robbed of
their natural resources, and discriminated against. We must
stand up against the oppressors and say enough is enough. We
will no longer live under your oppressive regime.
Badal did not even fulfill the promises he made before the
election. How can they call themselves an Akali government
when more than 50,000 people have been tortured, murdered,
declared unidentified, and cremated by the police? There is
no accountability for them and no police official has been
punished. How can they call themselves an Akali government
when they have not punished Swaran Singh Ghotna, the murderer
of Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, and the other police
officers who kidnapped and murdered human-rights activist
Jaswant Singh Khalra? With a Khalsa Raj Party and with the
politicl prisoners elected, these people can be brought to
justice.
In pursuit of its divide and rule strategy, the Indian
government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs in their effort to
create fear psychosis and destroy the Sikh freedom movement.
Tens of thousands of Sikh youth are being held as political
prisoners without charge or trial. Recently, it has tried to
set the Sikhs and the Kashmiri Muslims against each other by
creating incidents between the communities. Over 20,000
people were murdered in Delhi alone after Indira Gandhi's
assassination. So far, the perpetrators of these heinous
crimes roam free in Delhi. The Khalsa Raj Party must demand
accountability for the perpetrators of these atrocities.
After the Golden Temple attack in June 1984 by the Indian
government it was clear to the Sikhs that the Indian
government is determined to destroy Sikhism completely. The
attack on the Golden Temple was conducted to crush the Sikh
aspirations of Khalsa Raj. It doesn't matter whether Congress
or the BJP runs the government. Former Indian Prime Minister
Chandra Shekhar said that there is no difference between
Congress and the BJP. He is right. The party label on the
Hindu majority does not matter. Congress and BJP are equally
anti-Sikh. Only a Khalsa Raj Party will work to break the
cycle of tyranny and oppression.
Do you want to live as slaves and jeopardize the future of
your children and your children's children, disobeying the
Guru's order of Raj Kare Ga Khalsa, or do you want to free
yourself from the slavery of the Indian government and enjoy
the blessings and happiness of Guru by freeing Khalistan?
Always remember that the Guru gave the Sikh Nation Charhdi
Kala.
For the Charhdi Kala of the Khalsa Panth, let's join hands
to form a Khalsa Raj Party to free our homeland, Khalistan.
We pray and ask the blessing of the Guru to help us achieve
the pious, God-given right to freedom for the Sikh Nation.
The Khalsa Panth prays for the well being of the whole human
race. We wish every human being in the world, including South
Asia, well. We hope that the entire world will live in peace
and freedom and let the Sikh Nation also flourish, prosper,
and enjoy the glow of freedom in a free Khalistan.
Khalsa Ji, always remember ``Khalsa Bagi Yan Badhshah'' and
``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa.''
Sincerely,
Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakch,
President Council of Khalistan.
____________________