[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 131 (Monday, October 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2089-E2090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING GENERAL NARINDER SINGH, A FREEDOM ACTIVIST

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 17, 2005

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I note the 
passing of General Narinder Singh, a leader in the struggle for freedom 
for the Sikhs in Punjab, Khalistan. General Narinder Singh was an army 
general who became an activist for his people in his retirement. He 
frequently spoke out against the atrocities committed against the Sikhs 
in India. On a visit to the United States, General Narinder Singh said 
that ``Punjab is a police state.'' Unfortunately, it is still a police 
state today.
  Punjab police recently have arrested numerous Sikhs, held them 
incommunicado, and tortured them on charges of militancy. This is the 
same ``militancy'' that India claimed to have eradicated several years 
ago! In June, 35 Sikhs were arrested and many more were charged for 
making speeches in support of freedom for Khalistan, the Sikh homeland, 
and raising the Sikh flag in front of over 30,000 cheering Sikhs. Even 
a former Member of Parliament was arrested for making a speech. The 
same thing happened in January at a protest on India's Republic Day. 
Mr. Speaker, does this sound like the act of a tyranny or a democracy?
  We must not just watch while India forcibly suppresses the freedom of 
Sikhs and other minorities. The time has come to stop our aid and our 
trade with India. It is also time to enact a formal resolution calling 
for a free and fair plebiscite on the question of independence. The 
essence of democracy is the right of self-determination.
  Mr. Speaker, the Council of Khalistan recently published an excellent 
press release on the passing of General Narinder Singh, which I would 
like to place in the Record.

                          Council of Khalistan


                  in memory of general narinder singh

       Washington, DC, October 12, 2005--General Narinder Singh, a 
     strong spokesman for an independent Khalistan, died recently. 
     He was 86. He served in the army and became an activist for 
     the Sikh Nation after his retirement. He spoke out for human 
     rights and for freedom for Khalistan, the Sikh homeland that 
     declared its independence on October 7, 1987. General 
     Narinder Singh travelled to countries such as the United 
     States in support of these causes. He participated in 
     political events in Punjab, Khalistan, aimed at securing 
     freedom for the Sikh nation. ``General Narinder Singh will be 
     sorely missed,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of 
     the Council of Khalistan. ``We salute his courage and we 
     honor his memory. On behalf of the Sikh Nation, I extend 
     deepest sympathies to his family,'' Dr. Aulakh said.
       General Narinder Singh correctly called Punjab ``a police 
     state,'' and it remains one to this day. India has murdered 
     over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984. In addition, India has also 
     killed more than 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, over 
     300,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, and thousands of 
     Christians and Muslims elsewhere in the country, as well as 
     tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits 
     (``Untouchables,'' the dark-skinned aboriginal people of 
     South Asia), Manipuris, Tamils, and other minorities. The 
     Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders 
     of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.'' The Movement Against 
     State Repression (MASR) reported that 52,268 Sikhs are being 
     held as political prisoners in India without charge or trial, 
     some since 1984! Amnesty International reported that tens of 
     thousands of other minorities are also being held as 
     political prisoners. We demand the immediate release of all 
     these political prisoners.
       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 more than 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.
       Recently, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 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 and surrounding areas while Sikh police were locked 
     in their barracks and Indian radio and television called for 
     more Sikh blood. This apology establishes the Indian 
     government's responsibility for the genocide against the Sikh 
     Nation. India must end its occupation of Khalistan, which is 
     the root cause of this genocide. Sikhs are a sovereign nation 
     and they are fighting for their freedom.
       In September 1995, Indian police arrested human-rights 
     activist Jaswant Singh Khalra following his report exposing 
     the government's 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.
       ``Only a sovereign, independent Khalistan will end the 
     repression and lift the standard of living for the people of 
     Punjab,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the 
     Council of Khalistan. ``Democracies don't commit genocide.''
       ``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. ``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. 
     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, 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. There have been several recent marches through 
     Punjab demanding the establishment of an independent 
     Khalistan. ``The Khalistan movement is on the rise and India 
     is on the verge of disintegration,'' Dr. Aulakh said.
       History shows that multinational states such as India are 
     doomed to failure. Countries like India's longtime friend the 
     Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and others prove 
     this point. India is not one country; it is a polyglot like 
     those countries. In Forbes magazine, Steve Forbes wrote that 
     India is doomed to disintegrate like the Austro-Hungarian 
     Empire. ``India is not a homogeneous state,'' he 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.

[[Page E2090]]

       ``The best way to honor the memory of General Narinder 
     Singh is to continue to pray for and work for our God-given 
     birthright of freedom,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``We must continue 
     to press for our God-given birthright of freedom,'' he said. 
     ``Without political power religions cannot flourish and 
     nations perish. India claims to be a democracy. It is time it 
     recognized the right of self-determination for all people in 
     South Asia.''

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