[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 159 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2512-E2513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  AKALI LEADERSHIP BETRAYS SIKH NATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2005

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, on November 17, leaders of the Akali Dal, the 
predominant Sikh party, walked out of a seminar in Lahore after Dr. 
Gurmit Singh Aulakh, Preside: of the Council of Khalistan, predicted 
that India will break up. The Akali leaders said ``We came to unite, 
not to divide India.''
  In front of an audience of about 1,500 people, Dr. Aulakh predicted 
that Kashmir will soon be free and India will break into five or six 
separate countries, including Khalistan. Former Home Minister L.K. 
Advani, President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has said that ``if 
Kashmir goes, India goes.'' Steve Forbes of Forbes magazine predicted 
in his magazine

[[Page E2513]]

that India will break apart as the Austro-Hungarian Empire did.
  The Akali leaders who walked out were clearly representing the 
Research and analysis Wing (RAW), the intelligence operation of the 
Indian government. Yet as Inderjit Singh Jaijee reported in The 
Politics of Genocide, more than 250,000 Sikhs were murdered by the 
Indian government, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State 
Magistracy. Another 52,268 are being held as political prisoners, 
according to the Movement Against State Repression (MASR.) Some of 
these political prisoners have been held since 1984.
  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has apologized for the November 1984 
Delhi massacres in which over 20,000 Sikhs were killed. This 
establishes the guilt of the Indian government beyond any doubt. If he 
really wants to make amends, he should end India's occupation of 
Khalistan, the Sikh homeland that declared its independence on October 
7, 1987.
  India has also killed over 300,000 Christian in Nagaland, over 90,000 
Muslims in Kashmir, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, 
Manipuris, Tamils, and others. Tens of thousands of Muslims and 
Christians have been killed in other parts of the country. India is not 
a single country, but a multinational state that cannot hold together. 
We must do our part to see that this happens peacefully by supporting 
self-determination for all the people of South Asia. We should also cut 
off our aid to India and our trade as well until basic human rights are 
observed fully and enjoyed by all.
  Mr. Speaker, the Council of Khalistan's recently issued a press 
release about the betrayal of the Sikhs by the Akali Dal. I would like 
to put this release into the Record for the information of my 
colleagues and the people.

                    Akalis Again Betray Sikh Nation

       Washington, DC, Nov. 22, 2005.--On November 17, 2005, the 
     Akali Dal again showed its true colors, as its leaders walked 
     out of a seminar in Lahore after Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, 
     President of the Council of Khalistan, predicted the breakup 
     of India during a speech in support of liberating Khalistan, 
     the Sikh homeland, Khalistan. The Sarbat Khalsa passed a 
     resolution on April 29, 1986 for a free Khalistan and 
     established the Panthic Committee. The Panthic Committee 
     declared Khalistan's independence on October 7, 1987, forming 
     the Council of Khalistan to lead the independence struggle.
       About 1,500 people attended the seminar. Dr. Aulakh 
     predicted that Kashmir will soon be free and India will break 
     up into six or seven countries' and Khalistan will be free. 
     The Akali leaders said, ``We came to unite, not to divide 
     India.'' This was a clear indication that those leaders were 
     representing RAW, not those of the Sikh Nation. True Sikhs 
     pray every morning ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa'' (``the Khalsa shall 
     rule.'') Former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Professor Darshan 
     Singh has said, ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a 
     Sikh. ``
       India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according 
     to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and human 
     rights groups and reported in the book The Politics of 
     Genocide by Inderjeet Singh Jaijee. It 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.'' 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! 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 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.
       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 
     just 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.
       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. 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 one country; it is a 
     polyglot like those countries. Steve Forbes, writing in 
     Forbes magazine, said that India 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. ``We must continue 
     to press for the liberation of Khalistan,'' 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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