[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 47 (Wednesday, April 26, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E620-E621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SIKH ACTIVIST ARRESTED FOR MAKING SPEECH--BETRAYAL OF DEMOCRATIC 
                     PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 26, 2006

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I was distressed to note that on April 20, 
Sikh activist Daljit Singh Bittu was arrested after making a speech. He 
was charged with sedition and ``making inflammatory speeches.'' Mr. 
Bittu spoke out against the acquisition of the land of poor farmers by 
Punjab on behalf of private business firms. We have had cases in this 
country where the government has taken land by eminent domain for 
private usage, Mr. Speaker, and no one ever gets arrested for speaking 
out against it. Radio and television commentators across the spectrum 
have opposed this and they are still on the air. Yet in India, speaking 
out against this can now get you arrested.
  Mr. Bittu is a proponent of freedom for Khalistan, the Sikh homeland 
that declared its independence from India on October 7, 1987. Recently, 
Dr. Jagjit Singh Chohan, another Sikh activist, was arrested for 
predicting on television that Khalistan will be free by 2007. All he 
did was make a prediction. Is that a crime? If that is a crime, then 
the jails will overflow with sportscasters, weather reporters, 
psychics, and others who predict things routinely.
  In addition, leaders of Dal Khalsa have been arrested for holding 
marches, making speeches, and raising a flag. A former member of 
Parliament was also arrested. It looks like the late General Narinder 
Singh was right when he said that ``Punjab is a police state.''
  This is unacceptable, Mr. Speaker, especially as the United States 
and India move towards greater cooperation in numerous endeavors. We 
must insist on the full expression of democracy and basic human rights 
there if we are going to do business with India as a normal member of 
the family of free nations. And the essence of democracy is the right 
to self-determination.
  The time has come to stop our aid and trade with India until it stops 
arresting people for making speeches, raising flags, and holding 
marches. The time has come for the U.S. Congress to put itself on 
record in support of freedom and self-determination for all the nations 
of South Asia. In 1948, India promised a free and fair plebiscite on 
the status of Kashmir. No such vote has ever been held in ``the world's 
largest democracy.'' Why don't we insist on a simple democratic vote, 
with monitors, in Kashmir, in Punjab, Khalistan, in predominantly 
Christian Nagalim, and wherever people seek their freedom from India? 
As long as we turn a blind eye to the repression, the repression will 
continue. We must be the ones to strike a blow for freedom. Only when 
all people in the subcontinent enjoy freedom fully will there be 
stability and peace there.
  Mr. Speaker, the Council of Khalistan recently published a press 
release on the arrest of Daljit Singh Bittu. I would like to place it 
in the Record at this time.

  Daljit Singh Bittu Arrested for Making Speech--Where Is Freedom of 
                            Speech in India?

       Washington, DC., April 26, 2006.--Indian police arrested 
     Daljit Singh Bittu. leader of the Shiromani Khalsa Dal, on 
     charges of sedition and ``delivering inflammatory speeches'' 
     at Fatehgarh Channa. Sardar Bittu was arrested on April 21 
     from his home in Ludhiana. He was held by the police, who 
     sought ``foreign currency'' and a CD of his speeches.
       ``Where is the freedom of speech in India?'' asked Dr. 
     Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. 
     ``How can a democratic state arrest people for making 
     speeches? This shows us again that there is no place for 
     Sikhs in India.''
       India proudly bills itself as ``the world's largest 
     democracy'' and its constitution guarantees freedom of 
     speech. But the arrest of Sardar Bittu is the latest incident 
     in which people have been arrested for making speeches, 
     holding marches, or raising a flag. ``The drive for freedom 
     is alive and strong in Punjab,'' he said. ``What kind of 
     democracy arrests people for demanding freedom?'' asked Dr. 
     Aulakh.
       Leaders of Dal Khalsa have been arrested for sponsoring 
     marches in Punjab in support of a free Khalistan, the Sikh 
     homeland that declared its independence from India on October 
     7, 1987. In addition, Dr. Jagjit Singh Chohan was arrested 
     for making a statement in which he made the prediction that 
     Khalistan will be free by 2007. ``Since when is making a 
     prediction a crime in India?'' Dr. Aulakh asked. ``Will the 
     weathermen in Delhi now be arrested for predicting rain?''
       ``The time is now to begin a Shantmai Morcha to liberate 
     Khalistan,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``India is showing its weakness 
     with these arrests,'' he said. ``As Professor Darshan Singh, 
     a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Sahib, said, `If a Sikh 
     is not for Khalistan, he is not a Sikh.' '' Every day in 
     prayer Sikhs recite ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa,'' which means ``The 
     khalsa shall rule.''

[[Page E621]]

       The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 
     1984, more than 300,000 Christians since 1948 as well as tens 
     of thousands of Christians throughout the country, over 
     90,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, 2,000 to 5,000 Muslims 
     in Gujarat, tens of thousands of Muslims elsewhere in India, 
     and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, Manipuris, 
     Tamils, and others. An Indian newspaper reported that the 
     police in Gujarat were ordered to stand aside in that 
     massacre and not to get involved, a frightening parallel to 
     the Delhi massacre of Sikhs in 1984. 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 
     S. Gurdev Singh Kaunke after SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna murdered 
     him. No one has been brought to justice for the Khalra 
     kidnapping and murder or for the murder of Jathedar Kaunke. 
     Yet 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 since 1984!
       Recently, a new wave of violence has erupted against 
     Christian churches. States are enacting laws prohibiting 
     Hindus from converting to any other religion. Missionary 
     Graham Staines was murdered along with his two sons, ages 8 
     and 10, by a mob of militant, fundamentalist Hindu 
     nationalists who set fire to the jeep, surrounded it, and 
     chanted ``Victory to Hannuman,'' a Hindu god. None of the 
     people involved has been tried. The persons who have murdered 
     priests, raped nuns, and burned Christian churches have not 
     been charged or tried. The murderers of 2,000 to 5,000 
     Muslims in Gujarat have never been brought to trial.
       ``Only in a free Khalistan will the Sikh Nation prosper and 
     get justice,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``India's illegal occupation 
     of our homeland, Khalistan, must end,'' he said: ``India 
     should act like a democracy and allow a free and fair 
     plebiscite on independence for all the nations of South 
     Asia,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``We must free Khalistan now.''
                                  ____


 Sikhs Celebrating 307th Anniversary of Revelation of Khalsa Nation by 
                        Guru Gobind Singh Sahib

       Washington, D.C., April 26, 2006.--Sikhs all over the world 
     have been celebrating Vaisakhi Day, the anniversary of the 
     revelation of the Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. 
     There have been parades in Washington, D.C., Vancouver, 
     Stockton, Seattle, London, and may other cities. There will 
     be an annual Sikh Day parade in New York on April 29. Dr. 
     Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, 
     will be speaking at the New York parade. In previous years, 
     Dr. Aulakh's speeches have been punctuated by chants of 
     ``Khalistan Zindabad.''
       Vaisakhi Day is one of the most joyous days in the Sikh 
     calendar. celebrating the emergence of the Khalsa Panth as a 
     distinct people. Sikhs have been celebrating with devotion 
     and reverence. Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed the sovereignty 
     of the Sikh Nation: ``In grieb Sikhin ko deon patshahi.'' 
     Every morning and evening Sikhs recite ``Raj Kare Ga 
     Khalsa,'' meaning ``the Khalsa shall rule,'' and ``Khalsa 
     Bagi Yan Badshah,'' meaning ``either the Khalsa is in 
     rebellion or the ruler.'' Sovereignty is the birthright of 
     all people, and it is the heritage of the Sikh nation. As 
     former Akal Takht Jathedar Professor Darshan Singh has said, 
     ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh.''
       ``We must remind ourselves of our heritage by raising 
     slogans of `Khalistan Zindabad' and beginning a Shantmai 
     Morcha to liberate our homeland, Khalistan,'' said Dr. 
     Aulakh. ``Whoever is honest and dedicated in leading that 
     Shantmal Morcha deserves our support.''
       India is stepping up its efforts to repress the Sikh 
     Nation's demand for freedom. Recently, Sardar Daljit Singh 
     Bittu, leader of the Shiromani Khalsa Dal, was arrested for 
     making a speech. Sikh activist Dr. Jagjit Singh Chohan was 
     arrested after he said on India's Zee TV that Khalistan will 
     be free by 2007. Leaders of Dal Khalsa have been arrested for 
     leading marches, making speeches, and raising the Khalistani 
     flag. In January, Sikh farmers were expelled from Ultaranchal 
     Pradesh and their land was seized. They were beaten up by the 
     police. Their homes were bulldozed by paratroopers. Their 
     homes in many cases were built using their life savings and 
     by their own hands.
       ``It is evident that the Indian government is scared of the 
     increasing amount of peaceful activism in Punjab in support 
     of Khalistan,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``The Ume of Khalistan's 
     liberation is near. India will fall apart soon,'' he said. 
     ``This office has worked unwaveringly for a sovereign 
     Khalistan for over 20 years,'' he noted.
       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, thrown together for the 
     convenience of the British colonialists. It is doomed to 
     break up as they did. ``We only hope that the breakup will be 
     peaceful like that of Czechoslovakia and not violent like 
     that of Yugoslavia,'' said Dr. Aulakh.
       The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 
     1984, more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 90,000 
     Muslims in Kashmir, tens of thousands of Christians and 
     Muslims throughout the country, and tens of thousands of 
     Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, 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 
     S. Gurdev Singh Kaunke after SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna murdered 
     him. No one has been brought to justice for the Khalra 
     kidnapping and murder. Yet 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 since 1984!
       ``Only in a free Khalistan will the Sikh Nation prosper and 
     get justice,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``India's illegal occupation 
     of our homeland. Khalistan, must end,'' he said. ``India 
     should act like a democracy and allow a free and fair 
     plebiscite on independence for all the nations of South 
     Asia,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``We must free Khalistan now.''

                          ____________________