[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1750-E1751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SIKHS CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 19, 2006

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, the Council of Khalistan recently published 
an open letter showing that the effort to liberate Khalistan from 
Indian occupation is closer than ever to success. It took note of the 
speeches and the raising of the flag in support of Khalistan, of the 
seminar that was given that promoted Khalistan, and numerous other 
activities that have moved forward the peaceful effort to liberate 
Khalistan.
  The letter argues that Khalistan is the only issue facing the Sikhs. 
It cites examples of people living in tyranny who put their differences 
aside to oust the tyrants and urges the Sikh nation to learn from those 
examples and do the same. It calls on the political leaders in Punjab, 
Khalistan, to focus their attention on the issue of liberating 
Khalistan from Indian occupation rather than the lesser issues that so 
often command their attention.
  I recommend this letter highly, Mr. Speaker. It provides an excellent 
overview of the situation in Punjab, Khalistan.
  Mr. Speaker, we must do our part to ensure freedom to the people of 
Khalistan and all the oppressed people of south Asia and the world. 
This is critical if we are proclaiming the American values of freedom, 
democracy, and human rights, which are cornerstones of American foreign 
policy. In pursuit of that goal, we should end our aid to India and our 
trade with India until it respects the basic human rights of all people 
under its control, treating them fairly, equally, and with dignity. And 
we should actively support democracy for the people of Khalistan and 
all the occupied nations, such as Kashmir, Nagalim, and others, in the 
form of democracy and self-determination. They should have a free and 
fair vote on their status, the democratic way. Does India have a 
problem with democracy for the people it rules? If so, it is not worthy 
of our support.
  I would like to put the Council of Khalistan's open letter into the 
Record for the information of my colleagues and the American people.

              Sikh Leadership Must Unite to Free Khalistan

                                                  August 14, 2006.
       Dear Khalsa Ji: As I write this letter, we are again 
     approaching Indian Independence Day. Although it is a 
     celebration for the uppercaste Hindus, it is a black day on 
     the calendar for Sikhs and other minorities suffering under 
     the boot of Indian repression. Over 52,000 of our Sikh 
     brothers and sisters remain in illegal Indian custody as 
     political prisoners without charge or trial. More than a 
     quarter of a million of our fellow Sikhs have been murdered 
     by the Indian government. Similar genocide has been inflicted 
     on Christians, Muslims, and other minorities. Is this what 
     India celebrates? Are they celebrating bloodshed, violence, 
     brutality, and tyranny? Unfortunately, that is the way it 
     looks. How does a democracy justify that kind of celebration?
       The flame of freedom continues to burn brightly in the 
     heart of the Sikh Nation. No force can suppress it. The 
     arrests last year and earlier this year of Sikh activists, 
     mostly from Dal Khalsa, merely for raising the Khalistani 
     flag and making pro-Khalistan speeches shows that the 
     movement to free our homeland is on the rise. It has gotten 
     the attention of the world. The seminar organized by former 
     Member of Parliament Sardar Atinder Pal Singh, who has 
     publicly asked why we can't have Khalistan, also moved the 
     cause of freedom for Khalistan forward. We are closer to 
     freedom than ever before, despite the ongoing repression.
       Recently, a coalition of Sikh leaders led by Simranjit 
     Singh Mann has come together to oppose both Chief Minister 
     Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal. While it is good to 
     oppose both of these leaders, who are puppets of the brutal 
     Indian regime, the small, incremental proposals that the 
     Mann-led coalition is making do little to solve the basic 
     problems of the Sikh Nation. The real issue is Khalistan. 
     That is why these 35 Sikhs face charges from the Indian 
     government for raising the Khalistani flag and speaking for 
     Khalistan, not merely for opposition to Badal and Amarinder. 
     As worthwhile as it may be to oppose them, it is diverting 
     the attention of the Sikh Nation from the real issue of 
     Khalistan.
       India is trying to subvert Khalistan's independence by 
     overrunning Punjab with non-Sikhs while keeping Sikhs from 
     escaping the brutal repression in Punjab. We must redouble 
     our efforts to free our homeland, Punjab, Khalistan. That is 
     the only way to keep these atrocities from continuing and to 
     protect the Sikh Nation. This is a direct challenge to the 
     Sikh leadership, irrespective of their party affiliation. Yet 
     the new coalition wants to practice politics as usual, within 
     the Indian system. That will never achieve freedom, dignity, 
     security, or prosperity for the Sikhs of Punjab, Khalistan. 
     They must speak out forcefully for Khalistan or their efforts 
     are useless. Please do not waste the Sikh Nation's time on 
     other issues that divert our attention from liberating 
     Khalistan. Those issues can and should be dealt with after 
     Khalistan is free. But until then, no other issue matters to 
     the future of the Khalsa Panth.
       Other nations that have faced repression have taught us the 
     lesson that these politicians need to learn. When Nicaragua 
     suffered under a repressive government in the 1980s, the 
     opposition factions put aside their differences and worked 
     together to free the people from the repression of the Ortega 
     regime. A similar thing is happening in other countries 
     around the world today. They know that these differences, as 
     important as they may be, are for a later day. First, 
     they must secure freedom.
       Any organization that sincerely supports Khalistan deserves 
     the support of the Sikh Nation. However, the Sikh Nation 
     needs leadership that is honest, sincere, consistent, and 
     dedicated to the cause of Sikh freedom. But we should only 
     support sincere, dedicated, honest leaders. The Council of 
     Khalistan has stood strongly and consistently for liberating 
     our homeland, Khalistan, from Indian occupation. For over 20 
     years we have led this fight while others were trying to 
     divert the resources and the attention of the Sikh Nation 
     away from the issue of freedom in a sovereign, independent 
     Khalistan.
       Mr. Mann is not trustworthy. He is conniving with the 
     Indian government. His letter pledging support for ``the 
     constitution and territorial integrity of India'' is 
     reproduced on page 185 of Chakravyuh: Web of Indian 
     Secularism. Last year, he was escorted around America by 
     Amarjit Singh. At a Vaisakhi celebration in New York in 2000, 
     he called for the Council of Khalistan office to be closed. 
     He has accused Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon and me of being Indian 
     government agents!
       All factions of the Akali Dal are to be viewed with 
     suspicion. The Akali Dal has lost all its credibility. The 
     Akali Dal conspired with the Indian government in 1984 to 
     invade the Golden Temple to murder Sant Bhindranwale and 
     20,000 other Sikh during June 1984 in Punjab. If Sikhs will 
     not even protect the sanctity of the Golden Temple, how can 
     the Sikh Nation survive as a nation?
       The Akali leaders also walked out when I predicted at a 
     seminar around the celebration of Guru Nanak's birthday that 
     Khalistan will soon be free, a prediction that was greeted 
     with multiple enthusiastic shouts of ``Khalistan Zindabad.'' 
     How will these Akalis account for themselves? Remember the 
     words of former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Professor Darshan 
     Singh: ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh.'' 
     Khalistan is the only way that Sikhs will be able to live in 
     freedom, peace, prosperity, and dignity. It is time to start 
     a Shantmai Morcha to liberate Khalistan from Indian 
     occupation.
       Never forget that the Akal Takht Sahib and Darbar Sahib are 
     under the control of the Indian government, the same Indian 
     government that has murdered over a quarter of a million 
     Sikhs in the past twenty years. These institutions will 
     remain under the control of the Indian regime until we free 
     the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, from Indian occupation 
     and oppression and sever our relations with the New Delhi 
     government.
       The Sikhs in Punjab have suffered enormous repression at 
     the hands of the Indian regime in the last 25 years. Over 
     50,000 Sikh youth were picked up from their houses, tortured, 
     murdered in police custody, then secretly cremated as 
     ``unidentified bodies.'' Their remains were never even given 
     to their families! More than a quarter of a million Sikhs 
     have been murdered at the hands of the Indian government. 
     Another 52,268 are being held as political prisoners. Some 
     have been in illegal custody since 1984! Even now, the 
     capital of Punjab, Chandigarh, has not been handed over to 
     Punjab, but remains a Union Territory. How can Sikhs have any 
     freedom living under a government that would do these things?
       Sikhs will never get any justice from Delhi. Ever since 
     independence, India has mistreated the Sikh Nation, starting 
     with Patel's memo labelling Sikhs ``a criminal tribe.'' Wbat 
     a shame for Home Minister Patel and the Indian government to 
     issue this memorandum when the Sikh Nation gave over 80 
     percent of the sacrifices to free India.
       How can Sikhs continue to live in such a country? There is 
     no place for Sikhs in supposedly secular, supposedly 
     democratic India. Let us work to make certain that 2006 is 
     the Sikh Nation's most blessed year by making sure it is the 
     year that we shake ourselves loose from the yoke of Indian 
     oppression and liberate our homeland, Khalistan,

[[Page E1751]]

     so that all Sikhs may live lives of prosperity, freedom, and 
     dignity.
           Sincerely,
                                              Gurmit Singh Aulakh,
     President, Council of Khalistan.

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