[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 85 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1153-E1154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF GOLDEN TEMPLE ATTACK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 17, 2004

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 20th 
anniversary of one of the most brutal attacks in history, the Indian 
government's military attack on the Golden Temple, which is the center 
and seat of the Sikh religion. Attacking the Golden Temple is the 
equivalent of attacking the Vatican or Mecca.
  The Golden Temple was under siege from June 3 to June 6, 1984, under 
a Congress Party government led by Indira Gandhi, whose daughter-in-law 
Sonia Gandhi is now the President of the Congress Party and its floor 
leader in Parliament.
  As you know, the supposedly secular Congress Party was recently swept 
back into power in India's elections. But for minorities, it doesn't 
really matter whether the Congress Party or the just-ousted Hindu 
nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power. Either way, the 
repression continues. Although there is a Sikh Prime Minister in India, 
he has no real power. He is at the mercy of Mrs. Gandhi. India 
continues to hold 52,268 Sikh political prisoners without charge, 
trial, or access to legal counsel, according to the Movement Against 
State Repression (MASR.) India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 
June 1984. Another 50,000 have ``disappeared.'' These are not the 
tactics of a democracy, Mr. Speaker. They are the tactics of a police 
state. What is India afraid of? Are they scared of a little free 
speech?
  125 other Sikh Gurdwaras were also attacked at the same time. In all, 
over 20,000 Sikhs were murdered in this brutal attack, known as 
Operation Bluestar. These included major spokesmen for Sikh freedom 
such as Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, General Shabeg Singh, and 
others. The Sikh holy scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib, written in the 
time that the ten Sikh Gurus lived, was shot full of bullet holes by 
the Indian forces. Young Sikh boys, ages 8 to 13, were taken out in the 
courtyard and asked whether they supported Khalistan, the independent 
Sikh state. When they answered with the Sikh religious incantation 
``Bole So Nihal,'' they were shot to death.
  The Golden Temple attack made it clear that there is no place for 
Sikhs in supposedly secular and democratic India. As Bhindranwale 
himself said, ``If India attacks the Golden Temple, it will lay the 
foundation stone for Khalistan.'' On October 7, 1987, Khalistan 
formally declared itself independent from India. India claims that 
there is no support for Khalistan. Then let them test the issue 
democratically at the ballot box by holding a free and fair plebiscite 
in Punjab, Khalistan on the subject of independence.

  The Sikh Nation had sovereignty before, from 1710 to 1716 and from 
1765 to 1849. No Sikh representative has ever signed India's 
constitution. The Sikhs have a heritage of freedom from their Gurus and 
they will be free again. Iraq is becoming a free country and will soon 
have a representative government. In the 21st century, you cannot 
suppress people for long. The people must determine their own fate. 
Only a free Khalistan will enable the Sikhs to live in peace, freedom, 
dignity, and prosperity. This cannot happen as long as their homeland 
is under Indian control.
  If the Sikhs were the only victims of Indian repression, that would 
be bad enough. They are not. India has killed over 300,000 Christians 
in Nagaland since 1947. It has killed priests, raped nuns, attacked 
Christian schools, prayer halls, and festivals, expelled and killed 
missionaries, and carried out other atrocities against the Christian 
community. In short, it is not safe to be a Christian in India today. 
India has killed over 87,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988. Between 
2,000 and 5,000 Muslims were massacred in Gujarat while the police were 
ordered to stand aside. Even India's own Human Rights Commission found 
evidence that the government pre-planned the Gujarat massacre. Amnesty 
International says that tens of thousands of minorities are being held 
as political prisoners.
  This is unacceptable in any country, Mr. Speaker, especially a 
country that proclaims itself democratic. The Sikhs cannot forget or 
forgive the brutal Golden Temple attack. Neither can the other 
minorities forget the brutality that has been done to them. That is why 
America must act. Not one dollar of U.S. aid should be provided to 
India until basic human rights are respected. India can start by 
releasing all its political prisoners. We should also

[[Page E1154]]

demand that India hold a free and fair plebiscite on the issue of 
independence for Khalistan, for Kashmir, for Nagaland, and for all the 
nations seeking their freedom. Multinational states like India are 
inherently unstable, as the examples of Austria-Hungary and the Soviet 
Union show. And the essence of democracy is the right to self-
determination. It is time for the United States to take a stand for 
democracy, freedom, and stability.
  Mr. Speaker, on June 5, the Council of Khalistan sponsored a 
demonstration to commemorate the Golden Temple attack. I would like to 
have the text of the Council of Khalistan's Press Release regarding 
this event placed into the Congressional Record following my statement.

       [Press Release from the Council of Khalistan June 5, 2004]

       Sikhs Commemorate 20th Anniversary of Golden Temple Attack

       Washington, D.C.--Sikhs from Philadelphia, Florida, New 
     Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and elsewhere on the East Coast 
     came to Washington, D.C. to commemorate the twentieth 
     anniversary of the Indian government's brutal military attack 
     on the Golden Temple, the center and seat of the Sikh 
     religion, and 125 other Sikh Gurdwaras throughout Punjab, in 
     which over 20,000 Sikhs were murdered. They chanted slogans 
     such as ``India out of Khalistan'', ``Khalistan Zindabad'', 
     and others.
       During the attack, young boys ages 8 to 13 were taken 
     outside and asked if they supported Khalistan, the 
     independent Sikh country. When they answered with the Sikh 
     religious incantation ``Bole So Nihal,'' they were shot. The 
     Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scriptures, written in the 
     time of the Sikh Gurus, were shot full of bullet holes and 
     burned by the Indian forces.
       The Golden Temple attack was a brutal chapter in India's 
     repression of the Sikhs, according to Dr. Gurmit Singh 
     Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, the government 
     pro tempore of Khalistan, which leads the struggle for 
     Khalistan's independence. ``This brutal attack clarified that 
     there is no place in India for Sikhs,'' Dr. Aulakh said. On 
     October 7, 1987, Khalistan declared its independence from 
     India.
       ``Sant Bhindranwale said that attacking the Golden Temple 
     would lay the foundation stone of Khalistan, and he was 
     right,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``Instead of crushing the Sikh 
     movement for Khalistan, as India intended, the attack 
     strengthened it,'' he said. ``Just last year, Sardar Atinder 
     Pal Singh, a former Member of Parliament, held a seminar on 
     Khalistan in Punjab. It was well attended and featured 
     outstanding presentations, including one by Professor Gurtej 
     Singh, IAS, Professor of Sikhism,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``The 
     flame of freedom still burns bright in the hearts of Sikhs 
     despite the deployment of over half a million Indian troops 
     to crush it,'' he said. ``Dal Khalsa, a Sikh political party, 
     held marches through Punjab demanding the establishment of an 
     independent Khalistan.''
       History shows that multinational states such as India are 
     doomed to failure. Countries like Austria-Hungary, India's 
     longtime friend the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, 
     and others prove this point. India is not a single country; 
     it is a polyglot like those countries, thrown together for 
     the convenience of the British colonialists. It is doomed to 
     break up as they did.
       The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 
     1984, more than 300,000 Christians since 1948, over 87,000 
     Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of thousands of 
     Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits, and others. The Indian 
     Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs 
     ``worse than a genocide.''
       Indian police arrested human-rights activist Jaswant Singh 
     Khalra after he exposed their policy of mass cremation of 
     Sikhs, in which over 50,000 Sikhs have been arrested, 
     tortured, and murdered, then their bodies were declared 
     unidentified and secretly cremated. He was murdered in police 
     custody. His body was not given to his family. The police 
     never released the body of former Jathedar of the Akal Takht 
     Gurdev Singh Kaunke after SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna murdered 
     him. Ghotna has never been brought to trial for the Jathedar 
     Kaunke murder. No one has been brought to justice for the 
     kidnapping and murder of Jaswant Singh Khalra.
       According to a report by the Movement Against State 
     Repression (MASR), 52,268 Sikhs are being held as political 
     prisoners in India without charge or trial. Some have been in 
     illegal custody since 1984! ``These prisoners never committed 
     any crime but peacefully speaking out for Sikh freedom,'' 
     said Dr. Aulakh. ``What is a democracy doing holding 
     political prisoners?,'' he asked. ``This alone shows that for 
     Sikhs and other minorities, there is no democracy, no freedom 
     of speech.''
       ``As Professor Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal 
     Takht, said, `If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a 
     Sikh','' Dr. Aulakh noted. ``We must continue to pray for and 
     work for our God-given birthright of freedom,'' he said. 
     ``Without political power, religions cannot flourish and 
     nations perish.''

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