[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E204-E205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COUNCIL OF KHALISTAN URGES SIKH ORGANIZATIONS TO TAKE STRONG STAND FOR 
                                FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 24, 2004

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, recently, the French National Assembly 
enacted a law banning religious symbols such as ``conspicuous 
crosses,'' yarmulkes, Muslim headscarves, and Sikh turbans from 
schools. Many religious organizations spoke out against it, including 
many Sikh organizations. Belgium is thinking about such a law also.
  The Council of Khalistan wrote a letter on February 11 noting that 
none of the other Sikh organizations mentioned the persecution of Sikhs 
in India or their struggle for freedom in their communications about 
this law. Yet a free and sovereign Sikh homeland, Khalistan, would have 
put the Sikhs in a much stronger position to protest these 
discriminatory and unfair rules.
  The letter, brought to me by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, the tireless 
fighter for freedom in South Asia, calls on Sikh organizations to stand 
up to the repression by working for freedom for the Sikh people.
  In my years of public service, I have had the privilege of knowing 
many Sikhs. They are hardworking people and they are very supportive of 
the cause of freedom. Yet the Indian government's response is to step 
up the repression in the name of Hindutva--total Hindu domination of 
every facet of life in the subcontinent. An Indian Cabinet minister 
even said that everyone who lives in India must either be a Hindu or be 
subservient to Hindus.
  Over a quarter of a million Sikhs have been killed by the Indian 
government in the last 20 years, Mr. Speaker. More than 52,000 are 
political prisoners. Even one political prisoner is unacceptable, Mr. 
Speaker. Even one government murder is unacceptable, especially when no 
one is punished for it and especially when the country where it happens 
proudly proclaims its commitment to democratic values.
  Over 200 years ago, Americans fought to achieve our independence from 
an overbearing British monarchy. Today, the Sikhs fight for their 
freedom by peaceful means, which the Indian government falsely 
describes as terrorist. We are the beacon of hope for the freedom-
loving people of the world, Mr. Speaker. We owe it to them and to 
ourselves to help them if we can.
  One way to help is to stop aid to India as long as these egregious 
human rights violations continue. Everyone is entitled to live in peace 
and freedom, to go to work and enjoy life with the family and friends. 
Yet minorities in India are unable to do that because militant Hindus 
aligned with the RSS, the parent organization of the ruling party, and 
the government itself in many cases commit terrible acts

[[Page E205]]

of violence against Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits, Assamese, 
Bodos, Tamils, Manipuris, and other minorities. This is unacceptable 
and the hardworking taxpayers of our country should not be called upon 
to support it.
  Another measure that we can take is to declare our strong support for 
freedom through a free and fair plebiscite on independence where it is 
sought. India is a multinational state and history shows that such 
states do not survive. By helping to ensure that democracy is allowed 
to work for the cause of freedom and self-determination, we can make 
sure that whatever changes occur in the subcontinent happen peacefully.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't mean to be long-winded, so I will stop here and 
place the Council of Khalistan's excellent open letter into the Record.


                                         Council of Khalistan,

                                Washington, DC, February 11, 2004.

     Open Letter to Sikh Organizations and Institutions:

                     An Appeal to the Khalsa Panth


  only in a free khalistan can sikhs prosper--every sikh must work to 
                           liberate khalistan

       Dear Khalsa Panth: Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki 
     Fateh!
       Recently, France passed a law banning the wearing of 
     turbans and other religious symbols such as yarmulkes, Muslim 
     head scarves, and ``conspicuous crosses'' in schools. This is 
     a major violation of religious rights. Belgium is considering 
     a similar law. Sikhs must do whatever we can to protest this 
     unfair, discriminatory action.
       Because Sikhs are slaves in India, there is nobody to 
     defend the Sikh interests internationally. Recently, an issue 
     came up of the French banning the wearing of turbans in 
     school. If Khalistan were free, the Sikh Nation could call 
     the French Ambassador and tell him to stop this harassment of 
     Sikhs. Our Ambassador to France would tell the French 
     government the same thing: the turban is part of the Sikh 
     religion and Sikhs should not be harassed.
       When Khalistan is free, we will be in a much stronger 
     position to fight such offenses against our religion. We will 
     be able to exert influence that we cannot bring to bear now. 
     This is just one more reason that the liberation of Khalistan 
     is essential. Yet prominent Sikh organizations like the Sikh 
     Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), SMART, the Sikh 
     Coalition, and other organizations refuse to mention the 
     oppression of the Sikhs by the Indian regime and the struggle 
     to liberate Khalistan. They are more concerned about their 
     positions than about the Sikh people. These organizations are 
     heavily infiltrated and often controlled by operatives of the 
     Indian government. We appreciate the British Sikh Federation, 
     which continually promotes the cause of Sikh rights and 
     freedom for Khalistan. These other organizations must promote 
     the cause of Sikh freedom as well. Whenever they have the 
     opportunity to communicate with the outside world, they 
     should promote freedom and independence for Khalistan.
       The Guru granted sovereignty to the Sikh Nation, saying 
     ``In Grieb Sikhin Ko Deon Patshahi.'' The Sikh Nation must 
     achieve its independence to fulfill the mandate of the Guru. 
     We always remember it by reciting every morning and evening, 
     ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa.'' Now is the time to act on it. Do we 
     mean what we say every morning and evening? I urge Sikhs to 
     unite and take action to liberate our homeland, Punjab, 
     Khalistan. It is time to start a Shantmai Morcha to liberate 
     Khalistan from Indian occupation.
       Never forget that the Akal Takht Sahib and Darbar Sahib are 
     under the control of the Indian government, the same Indian 
     government that has murdered over a quarter of a million 
     Sikhs in the past twenty years. The Jathedar of the Akal 
     Takht and the head granthi of Darbar Sahib toe the line that 
     the Indian government tells them. They are not appointed by 
     the Khalsa Panth. The SGPC also is controlled by the Indian 
     government that has brutally murdered our people. These 
     institutions will remain under the control of the Indian 
     regime until we free the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, 
     from Indian occupation and oppression and sever our relations 
     with the New Delhi government.
       The Indian government invaded and desecrated the Golden 
     Temple and 125 other Sikh Gurdwaras throughout Punjab to 
     murder Sant Bhindranwale and 20,000 other Sikhs during June 
     1984 in Punjab. If Sikhs will not even protect the sanctity 
     of the Golden Temple, how can the Sikh Nation survive as a 
     nation?
       The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 
     1984, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State 
     Magistracy and human rights groups. These figures were 
     published in Inderjit Singh Jaijee's excellent book, The 
     Politics of Genocide. According to the Movement Against State 
     Repression (MASR), the Indian regime admitted to holding 
     52,268 Sikhs as political prisoners. They are being held 
     without charge or trial, some of them since 1984!
       How can a democratic state hold political prisoners? The 
     regime has made over 50,000 Sikhs ``disappear'' by picking 
     them up, torturing and murdering them, and then secretly 
     cremating them, declaring them ``unidentified.'' Their bodies 
     are not given to their families. The bodies of Jathedar 
     Gurdev Singh Kaunke and Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra, who were 
     murdered by the police, were never given to their families.
       Other minorities also feel the lash of Indian repression. 
     India has killed over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland since 
     1947 and murdered priests, raped nuns, burned churches, and 
     destroyed Christian schools and prayer halls. They expelled 
     missionary Joseph Cooper from the country after militant 
     Hindu nationalists beat him up so badly that he had to be in 
     the hospital for a week. Missionary Graham Staines and his 
     two young sons were burned to death while sleeping in their 
     jeep by a mob of militant Hindus chanting ``Victory to 
     Hannuman,'' a Hindu god. Since they were allied with the pro-
     Fascist RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP, they 
     were able to commit this atrocity with impunity. Muslims were 
     massacred in Gujarat while the police were under orders to 
     stand aside and let the massacre occur, a frightening 
     parallel to the 1984 Delhi massacres of Sikhs. A policeman 
     told an Indian newspaper that the Gujarat massacre was 
     planned in advance by the government.
       This kind of treatment of its minorities only confirms the 
     kind of country that India, is. It is a fundamentalist Hindu 
     theocracy, not secular or democratic at all. Remember what 
     Narinder Singh, a spokesman for the Golden Temple, told 
     America's National Public Radio in 1997: ``The Indian 
     government, they are always boasting that they are 
     democratic, that they are secular. They have nothing to do 
     with a secularism, nothing to do with a democracy. They just 
     kill Sikhs just to please the majority.''
       Remember the words of Professor Darshan Singh, former 
     Jathedar of the Akal Takht: ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, 
     he is not a Sikh.'' The time to achieve our independence is 
     now. India is not one country. It is a polyglot empire thrown 
     together under one roof for the administrative convenience of 
     the British colonialists. It has 18 official languages. 
     History shows that such countries are doomed to fall apart. 
     India will collapse just like the AustroHungarian Empire, the 
     Soviet Union, and other multinational states.
       Soon Kashmir will be free from Indian occupation. Now 
     America is involved in it. As L.K. Advani predicted, ``When 
     Kashmir goes, India goes.'' We agree with him and we urge the 
     Indian government to hold a free and fair plebiscite on the 
     question of independence and to sit down with representatives 
     of the Sikh Nation to negotiate the boundaries of a 
     sovereign, independent Khalistan. We want to make sure that 
     India's collapse happens peacefully like that of 
     Czechoslovakia, not violently like the breakup of Yugoslavia. 
     The essence of democracy is self-determination. It is time 
     for India to act like the democracy it claims to be.
       When I met President Bush on December 5, he personally told 
     me, ``I am aware of the Sikh and Kashmiri problem and we 
     stopped India and Pakistan from going to nuclear war.'' The 
     Sikh diaspora has a moral responsibility to help the Sikh 
     Nation to achieve its sovereignty by freeing Khalistan from 
     Indian occupation.
       The time has come to liberate our homeland. Sikhs must 
     claim their birthright by liberating Khalistan. Only by 
     freeing Khalistan will we put an end to this corruption and 
     restore control of Punjab and its assets to the people, to 
     whom it rightfully belongs. A free Khalistan is a must for 
     the survival of the Sikh nation and will provide an optimal 
     environment for the Sikh Nation to progress to its optimum 
     potential politically, religiously, and economically.
           Panth Da Sewadar,
                                          Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,
     President, Council of Khalistan.

                          ____________________