[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 83 (Friday, June 23, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1266-E1267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SIKHS IN PUNJAB DEMAND INDEPENDENCE WHILE OBSERVING ANNIVERSARY OF 
                         GOLDEN TEMPLE MASSACRE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 22, 2006

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, June 3 through June 6 marked the anniversary 
of a very dark chapter in history, the Indian government's military 
invasion of the Golden Temple, the seat of the Sikh religion, in 1984. 
That atrocity was commemorated by Sikhs and others all over the world. 
There were demonstrations here in Washington and in many cities.
  At the Golden Temple in Amritsar they had a ceremony to commemorate 
the occasion. The Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Joginder Singh Vedanti, 
the highest Sikh religious leader, led the commemoration. During his 
remarks, he did not mention Saul Jamail Singh Bhindranwale, the leader 
of the Sikhs who was murdered at the Golden Temple, or General Shabeg 
Singh or any of the others who were murdered. This displeased the 
crowd.
  The Sikhs in attendance, hundreds of them, chanted slogans of 
``Khalistan Zindabad,'' which means ``Long live Khalistan,'' Khalistan 
is the Sikh homeland which declared itself independent from India on 
October 7, 1987. These chants show that the movement to liberate 
Khalistan is still alive in Punjab. Last year, there were speeches and 
flag-raisings on the Golden Temple anniversary. There were similar 
events this past January. Those events resulted in arrests and criminal 
complaints, even though the Indian courts have ruled that speaking out 
[or Khalistan is not a crime, In spite of these intimidation tactics, 
the Sikhs spoke out again for Khalistan.
  Over 20,000 Sikhs were killed in the Golden Temple attack and the 
attacks on 37 other Gurdwaras around Punjab, known as Operation 
Bluestar. During Operation Bluestar, the Indian army shot bullet holes 
in the Sikh holy scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib. Young boys were 
taken outside and summarily shot. The Golden Temple itself was 
ransacked and severely damaged. Do these sound like the acts of a 
democracy?
  If India were truly committed to democratic values, at the very 
least, the Indian government would issue a public apology to the Sikhs 
and pay compensation to the victims' families.
  The Golden Temple attacks show that there is no place for Sikhs in 
India, and other minorities also feel the massive repression of ``the 
world's largest democracy.'' More than a quarter of a million Sikhs 
have been killed and over 52,000 continue to be held as political 
prisoners. India has killed over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland and 
tens of thousands more in the rest of the country, as well as more than 
90,000 Kashmiri Muslims, thousands more Muslims around India, and tens 
of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Manipuris, Tamils, and other 
minorities. For minority peoples and nations, India is one of the 
world's worst tyrannies. It is a democracy for the Brahmins and a 
police state for the minorities.
  This is not acceptable, Mr. Speaker. I would like to express the 
sympathy of the Congress to the Sikh Nation for the Golden Temple 
massacre. In light of this atrocity and the ongoing atrocities of the 
Indian government, I wonder why the United States continues to fund 
such a country. The time has come, Mr. Speaker, to stop our aid and 
trade with India and to support self-determination for all peoples and 
nations in South Asia. This is the best way to bring about stability, 
peace, freedom, and prosperity in the subcontinent, to defuse the 
troubles there, and to make sure that every person's rights are 
protected.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to place a couple of very good articles on 
the chanting of Khalistan slogans at the Golden Temple into the Record 
for the information of my colleagues.

             [From the Tribune (Chandigarh), June 7, 2006]

                    Radicals Raise Khalistan Slogans

       Amritsar, June 6.--Activists of various radical Sikh 
     organizations raised slogans in favour of Khalistan on 
     Ghallughara divas (genocide day) to mark the 22nd anniversary 
     of Operation Bluestar in front of Akal Takht here today.
       Mr. Parkash Singh Badal, president, SAD, distanced himself 
     from it.

[[Page E1267]]

       As soon as Mr. Simranjit Singh Mann, president, SAD (A), 
     came out from Akal Takht after participating in ardas, 
     radicals started raising slogans for an independent Sikh 
     state and showed pages containing statements in favour of 
     Khalistan and posters displaying damaged Akal Takht in the 
     military operation. However, Mr. Badal accused those who 
     indulged in sloganeering of being agents of the Congress, 
     which was responsible for the infamous Army operation. He 
     said Mr. Mann was well aware that Punjab had to suffer 
     greatly because of this.
       Mr. Mann said though they were not allowed to continue 
     their peaceful struggle to attain independence, they would 
     contest the next elections democratically.
       Commenting on the recent judgments and coverage in 
     newspapers, he claimed that judges and the English media had 
     also saffronised. He asked people to raise their hands if 
     they wanted revival of Anandpur Sahib's resolution of 1973 
     and for severing of relations with the Congress and the BJP.
       Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathcdar, Akal Takht, said 
     the real tribute to those killed in the operation would be to 
     protect the Sikh history and culture, and to stop apostasy 
     and addiction among the Sikh youth.
       He said the Sikh religion was formed to safeguard human 
     ideal's of truth, righteousness and values. He added at for 
     this reason it had to fight against rulers who forgot their 
     duties towards the masses.
       Among those present on the occasion were Mr. Avtar Singh, 
     president, SGPC, Bibi Jagir Kaur, former SGPC president, and 
     senior Akali leaders, including Mr. Gurdev Singh Badal, Mr. 
     Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Mr. Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Mr. Sucha 
     Singh Langah, Mr. Bikramjit Singh Majithia and Mr. Guljar 
     Singh Ranike.

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