[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 158 (Thursday, November 15, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INDIA ILLEGALLY DETAINS WIDOW OF HUMAN-RIGHTS ACTIVIST

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 15, 2001

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I was disturbed to read that the 
Indian government has once again put its utter contempt for basic human 
rights on public display. At a time when India is posturing as an ally 
in the fight against terrorism, it is commiting more terrorism against 
the minority peoples living within its own borders.
  The Indian government is currently holding Mrs. Paramjit Kaur Khalra 
and six other Sikh human-rights activists in detention supposedly ``to 
prevent disruption,'' or in other words to prevent them from carrying 
out peaceful political activities. Mrs. Khalra is the widow of Jaswant 
Singh Khalra, the late General Secretary of the Human Rights Wing, who 
exposed India's brutal policy of picking up young Sikhs, torturing 
them, killing them, then declaring their bodies ``unidentified'' and 
secretly cremating them. Mr. Khalra published a report showing that 
there had been at least 25,000 Sikhs victimized by this brutal policy. 
The Khalra Mission Committee, which Mrs. Khalra heads, in conjunction 
with other human-rights groups, has subsequently shown that the number 
is in excess of 50,000.
  After Mr. Khalra published this report, he received a phone call from 
a police official saying, ``We made 25,000 disappear. We can make one 
more disappear.'' On September 6, 1995, while he was washing his car, 
he was abducted by the police. One eyewitness who saw him while he was 
in custody said that he was severely tortured, to the point that he 
could barely eat. In late October 1995, Khalra was murdered in a police 
station. None of the police officials responsible for this heinous 
crime has ever been punished. All the Indian government has done is 
transfer them to other police stations, where they can find new victims 
to torture.
  According to ``The Politics of Genocide'' by Inderjit Singh Jaijee, 
the Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, over 
200,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, over 75,000 Kashmiri Muslims 
since 1988, and thousands and thousands of Dalit ``Untouchables,'' 
Tamils, Manipuris, Assamese, tribal people all in pursuit of 
``Hindutva''--a Hindu state, society, and culture. Last year, a 
government official was quoted as saying that everyone who lives in 
India must either be a Hindu or be subservient to Hindus. That is not 
democracy, Mr. Speaker. It is theocracy. It takes more than elections 
to make a democracy; it takes genuine respect for basic human freedoms.
  I have serious misgivings about current U.S. plans to resume arms 
sales to India. We should very cautious in considering such an aid 
resumption, especially given India's terrible human-rights record. We 
should also support a free and fair plebiscite on independence in 
Khalistan, Kashmir, Christian Nagaland, and all the countries seeking 
their freedom from India. This is the best thing we can do for freedom, 
peace, prosperity, and stability in South Asia.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to place an article from Burning Punjab on 
the detention of Mrs. Khalra into the Record at this time.

              [From the Burning Punjab News, Nov. 2, 2001]

                            Mrs. Khalra Held

                          (Our Correspondent)

       Amritsar, November 2--The police today early morning 
     arrested Mrs Paramijit Kaur Khalra of the Khalra Mission 
     Committee to prevent disturbance of the peace in the state.
       She reportedly was arrested at 4:30 a.m. hours before the 
     arrival of the Prime Minister at 10 a.m. today reportedly 
     from her residence here. The police also rounded-up six 
     others, including Kirpal Singh Randhwa PHRO vice-president.

     

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