[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1628-E1629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SIKHS CELEBRATE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR HOLY SCRIPTURES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2004

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month Sikhs around the world 
celebrated the 400th anniversary of the first installation of their 
holy scriptures, known as the Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru Granth Sahib, 
written in the lifetimes of the 10 Sikh Gurus, contains the writings of 
the Sikh Gurus as revealed to them and some writings by other saints 
who share their basic philosophy. When the Indian military attacked the 
Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sikhism's holiest shrine, in June 1984, they 
shot bullet holes through the Guru Granth Sahib.
  There was a major celebration of the anniversary in Amritsar, which 
was attended by the Indian President, Abdul Kalam; by the Prime 
Minister, Manmohan Singh; and by the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader 
of Buddhism, among many others. Apparently, India was trying to 
maintain its false front of secularism. But the people of South Asia 
know better.
  The Guru Granth Sahib established Sikhism as a monotheistic religion 
that believes in the equality of all people. Guru Gobind Singh, the 
last of the Sikh Gurus, who consecrated the Guru Granth Sahib, made 
independence a basic principle of the religion.
  As you know, India continues to oppress the Sikhs. Over 250,000 Sikhs 
have been murdered at the hands of the Hindu militant Indian 
government. In addition, the Indian regime has murdered over 89,000 
Muslims in Kashmir, over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, and tens

[[Page E1629]]

of thousands of other minorities. They are holding over 52,000 Sikhs as 
political prisoners, according to the Movement Against State Repression 
(MASR) and tens of thousands of other minorities, according to Amnesty 
International.
  The only way to preserve basic human rights for minorities in India 
is to stop all aid and trade until India observes these basic 
liberties. And we should also go on record in support of self-
determination for the Sikhs of Punjab, Khalistan, the Muslims of 
Kashmir, the Christians of Nagaland, and the minority nations of South 
Asia. That will help bring freedom, prosperity, peace, and stability to 
this troubled region.
  Mr. Speaker, I'd like to place the Council of Khalistan's press 
release on the celebration into the Record for the information of my 
colleagues.

                 400th Anniversary of Guru Granth Sahib

       Washington, DC, Sept. 10, 2004.--On September 1, Sikhs 
     gathered in Anuitsar to observe the 400th anniversary of the 
     first installation of the Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy 
     scriptures, at Darbar Sahib, the holiest of Sikh shrines. 
     Indian President Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 
     and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Buddhism, 
     attended the celebration. Sikhs remember that bullets pierced 
     through the Guru Granth Sahib during Operation Bluestar, the 
     Indian government's military attack on the Golden Temple in 
     Amritsar, in 1984.
       The Guru Granth Sahib was written by the Sikh Gurus as 
     revealed to them by God. It was written at the time in which 
     they lived. It also includes the writing of other saints of 
     that time which fit the philosophy of the Sikh Gurus.
       ``This anniversary is a joyous occasion for the Sikh Nation 
     as we celebrate the Sikh way of life as given to us by the 
     Gurus,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the 
     Council of Khalistan. The Council of Khalistan, the 
     government pro tempore of the Sikh homeland, Khalistan, leads 
     the struggle to liberate Khalistan, which declared its 
     independence from India on October 7, 1987.
       Sikhism is an independent, monotheistic religion that 
     believes in the equality of the whole human race. The tenth 
     and last Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, declared the blessing 
     ``In Grieb Sikhin Ko Deon Patshahi,'' conferring sovereignty 
     on the Sikh Nation, which is culturally, linguistically, and 
     religiously distinct from any other people in the world, 
     including Hindu India. ``We must honor the Guru by reclaiming 
     our lost sovereignty,'' Dr. Aulakh said.
       The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 
     1984, more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, 
     over 89,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of 
     thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits, and others. 
     Christians and Muslims have also been murdered in other parts 
     of the country. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian 
     government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.'' 
     According to a study by the Movement Against State 
     Repression, 52,268 Sikhs are being held in illegal detention 
     as political prisoners without charge or trial. Some of them 
     have been held since 1984!
       Christian missionary Joseph Cooper was expelled from India 
     after a mob of militant Hindu nationalists allied with the 
     Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a fundamentalist, pro-
     Fascist organization that is the parent organization of the 
     BJP, beat him so severely he had to spend a week in the 
     hospital. In 2002, 2,000 to 5,000 Muslims were murdered in 
     Gujarat while police were ordered to stand aside, reminiscent 
     of the 1984 Delhi massacres of Sikhs. Indian newspapers 
     reported that the government planned the Gujarat massacre in 
     advance.
       India is not one country; it is a polyglot thrown together 
     by the British for their administrative convenience. Sikhs 
     ruled Punjab until 1849 when the British conquered the 
     subcontinent. Sikhs were equal partners during the transfer 
     of power from the British. The Muslim leader Jinnah got 
     Pakistan, the Hindu leaders got India, but the Sikh 
     leadership was fooled by the Hindu leadership promising that 
     Sikhs would have ``the glow of freedom'' in Northwest India. 
     The Sikhs took their share with India on that promise. For 
     that mistake, Sikhs are suffering now. ``As Professor Darshan 
     Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, said, `If a Sikh 
     is not for Khalistan, he is not a Sikh','' Dr. Aulakh noted.
       ``Democracies don't commit genocide,'' Dr. Aulakh said. 
     ``Only in a free and sovereign Khalistan will the Sikh Nation 
     prosper. In a democracy, the right to self-determination is 
     the sine qua non and India should allow a plebiscite for the 
     freedom of the Sikh Nation,'' he said.
       ``The Guru Granth Sahib is the reigning Guru of the Sikh 
     Nation and reminds us of our heritage of freedom,'' Dr. 
     Aulakh said. ``It is appropriate that it received a fitting 
     celebration.''

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