[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 116 (Thursday, September 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


INDIAN PRIME MINISTER APOLOGIZES TO SIKHS FOR GENOCIDE OF 1984--INDIAN 
            MUST FREE KHALISTAN AND ALL OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 15, 2005

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, recently the Prime Minister of India, 
Manmohan Singh, apologized to the Sikhs for the massacres of Sikhs that 
took place in November 1984. Over 20,000 Sikhs died in that massacre 
just in Delhi. Meanwhile, Sikh police officers were locked in their 
barracks and the state television and radio were encouraging more Sikh 
bloodshed.
  This is a sad chapter in the history of India and it is appropriate 
that the Government has finally admitted its own culpability and 
apologized for this atrocity. These kinds of admissions are always 
welcome. But Prime Minister Singh's apology is 21 years too late and it 
is only a baby step in the direction of justice. And an apology for the 
military attack on the Golden Temple in June of that year is still not 
forthcoming.
  Mr. Speaker, there are families of those who died in this massacre 
who have still never been compensated in any way. We know that no 
compensation can bring back their loved ones, but at least it can help 
make their lives better. India must compensate the victims' families if 
this apology is serious. It must also bring to justice the officials 
responsible for the massacre. These are necessary steps for the apology 
to be taken as anything more than mere empty words.
  But there is something else that India must do as well. It must make 
proper restitution to the whole Sikh Nation for this massacre and its 
many other atrocities against the Sikhs.
  How do you pay such a huge debt, Mr. Speaker? How do you pay back an 
entire nation for atrocities against it? On October 7, 1987, the Sikh 
Nation declared its independence, declaring the new country of 
Khalistan. Since then, India has continued to occupy Khalistan. Over 
half a million Indian troops still carry out this brutal occupation to 
this day. These troops must be withdrawn and India must recognize the 
sovereignty of a free and independent Khalistan. That is how it can 
compensate the Sikh Nation.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, the Indian Government maintains that there is no 
support for Khalistan among the Sikhs in Punjab, despite large marches 
that have occurred as recently as June demanding Khalistan. In June, 35 
Sikhs were charged with a crime. Their offense? They made some speeches 
and raised the Khalistani flag. To quote my friend Dr. Gurmit Singh 
Aulakh, president of the Council of Khalistan, ``Is asking for freedom 
a crime in a democracy?''
  So if India is democratic and there is no support for Khalistan, then 
why is the Indian Government afraid to have a vote on the matter? Why 
not simply have a vote and prove it? It is time for the United States 
to hold India's feet to the fire on its proclaimed democratic 
principles. We must stop our aid to India until it respects human 
rights and ceases activities such as the Delhi massacre, the arrests of 
activists for raising a flag, and the like. And we must demand self-
determination for the people of Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, and all 
the suppressed, captive nations of South Asia. In a democracy you 
cannot rule against the will of the people, and the essence of 
democracy is the right to self-determination. It is time to press 
India, the self-proclaimed ``world's largest democracy,'' to do the 
right thing and let the people have their freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert the Council of Khalistan's press 
release on Prime Minister Singh's apology into the Record at this time. 
Thank you.

       Washington, DC, Sept. 14, 2005.--Indian Prime Minister 
     Manmohan Singh has formally apologized to the Sikh Nation for 
     the genocide against the Sikhs in November 1984 in which over 
     20,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone while Sikh police 
     were locked in their barracks and Indian radio and television 
     called for more Sikh blood.
       ``We appreciate the Prime Minister's apology,'' said Dr. 
     Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. 
     ``It is more than any other Indian leader has done, but it is 
     too little, too late--21 years too late, in fact.'' The 
     Council of Khalistan leads the struggle to liberate the Sikh 
     homeland, Khalistan, which declared its independence from 
     India on October 7, 1987. ``We need to see if this apology is 
     sincere or just another propaganda ploy by the Indian 
     government.'' However, he noted that the Indian government's 
     military attack on the Golden Temple, the center and seat of 
     Sikhism, in June 1984 was more important to the Sikh Nation. 
     ``Where is the apology for that?,'' he asked.
       ``India must pay full and appropriate restitution to the 
     families and bring the officials responsible to justice,'' 
     Dr. Aulakh said. ``But the most appropriate and important 
     restitution that can be made to the Sikh Nation is to 
     withdraw all Indian forces from Khalistan and allow it to 
     enjoy its independence,'' he said. ``Only then can the Sikh 
     Nation live in peace, dignity, and freedom, secure in the 
     knowledge that these kinds of incidents will not happen 
     again,'' he said. ``If India and Prime Minister Singh truly 
     believe in freedom and democracy, they have a moral 
     obligation to withdraw from Khalistan and all the nations 
     they occupy, such as Kashmir, Nagaland, and others,'' he 
     said.
       Professor Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal 
     Takht, has said, ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a 
     Sikh.'' The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs 
     since 1984, more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland since 
     1948, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of 
     thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Bodos, Manipuris, Dalits, and 
     others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian 
     government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.'' 
     According the Movement Against State Repression (MASR), 
     52,268 Sikhs are being held as political prisoners in India 
     without charge or trial.
       ``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,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``Last year, Punjab 
     Chief Minister Amarinder Singh signed a bill cancelling the 
     agreements that allowed the diversion of Punjabi water to 
     non-riparian states. The bill asserted the sovereignty of 
     Punjab. Sardar Atinder Pal Singh, another 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,'' he said. ``There have been several marches through 
     Punjab demanding the establishment of an independent 
     Khalistan. India is on the verge of disintegration,'' he 
     said.
       Cases were registered against dozens of Sikhs for raising 
     the Sikh flag at the Golden Temple on the anniversary of the 
     Golden Temple attack in the presence of over 30,000 Sikhs. 
     Warrants have been issued for their arrest. The flag of 
     Khalistan was also raised on Republic Day, January 26. 35 
     Sikhs were arrested at that time. Some of them have been 
     denied bail. Dr. Aulakh demanded that India release all the 
     people arrested for hoisting the flag and drop all charges 
     against all these individuals. ``Is it a crime to demand 
     freedom in a democracy?,'' he asked. ``Is this the freedom of 
     speech that is guaranteed under India's constitution?''
       History shows that multinational states such as India are 
     doomed to failure. The collapse of countries like Austria-
     Hungary, India's longtime friend the Soviet Union, 
     Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and others prove this point. 
     India is a polyglot like those countries, thrown together for 
     the convenience of the British colonialists. It has never 
     been a single nation. It is doomed to break up as they did. 
     Steve Forbes, writing in Forbes magazine, said that India is 
     a multinational, multiethnic, multireligious, multicultural, 
     multilinguistic state that is doomed to disintegrate like the 
     Austro-Hungarian Empire. ``India is not a homogeneous 
     state,'' Forbes wrote. ``Neither was the Austro-Hungarian 
     Empire. It attacked Serbia in the summer of 1914 in the hopes 
     of destroying this irritating state after Serbia had 
     committed a spectacular terrorist act against the Hapsburg 
     monarchy. The empire ended up splintering, and the Hapsburgs 
     lost their throne.'' India is doomed to fall apart just as 
     Austria-Hungary and the others did.
       ``We must continue to pray for and work for our God-given 
     birthright of freedom,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``While this 
     apology is a small first step, only a free Khalistan will 
     satisfy the Sikh Nation,'' he said. ``We must continue to 
     work until this goal is achieved.''

                          ____________________