[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1127-E1128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INDIAN POLICEMAN IN GOLDEN TEMPLE WITH A REVOLVER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 23, 2007

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, Indian policeman in temple with revolver is 
not the solution to a game of Clue, it's the latest outrage out of 
India. As we approach the 23rd anniversary of India's brutal military 
attack on the Golden Temple, the center of the Sikh culture and 
religion, an undercover Indian policeman was found carrying a revolver 
into the Golden Temple, where these kinds of weapons are prohibited. It 
was discovered when the gun fell out of his pocket. I shudder to think 
what he may have been intending to do with it.
  The chief minister of Punjab, Paraksh Singh Badal, did nothing about 
this outrage because he is in bed with the Indian Government and in 
opposition to his Sikh constituents. This desecration of the Golden 
Temple is outrageous and a reminder that India remains an occupying 
power in the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, which declared its 
independence on October 7, 1987.
  The Council of Khalistan has published an open letter deploring this 
desecration of the Sikh nation's most sacred site. It notes that this 
is part of the Indian Government's ongoing effort to destroy the Sikh 
religion and demands that the jathedar of the Akal Takht, Joginder 
Singh Vedanti, censure chief Minister Badal for his part in allowing 
this to occur.
  We cannot continue to support such actions. They violate the 
fundamental religious freedom that all free people enjoy. We must take 
strong action. Cutting off aid and trade until these kinds of 
atrocities end would be a good first step. And we should demand a free 
and fair vote in Khalistan, in Kashmir, in Nagaland, and wherever the 
people seek freedom on the subject of independence. Self-determination 
is the essence of democracy.

       Indian Policeman Caught at Akal Takht Sahib With Revolver

       Just a few days ago, the Tribune of Chandigarh reported 
     that an Indian policeman was caught with a revolver at the 
     Akal Takht Sahib. His revolver fell on the ground. He was 
     manhandled by the Sikhs there.
       No one is allowed to take firearms inside the Golden 
     Temple. By doing so, this policeman violated the Maryada of 
     the Golden Temple. The shameful Akali government has allowed 
     undercover policemen to desecrate the Golden Temple. The 
     Khalsa Panth condemns this with full force.
       Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should be removed from 
     his position and the Akal Takht Jathedar should censure him 
     for his sacrilege and violating the Rehat Maryada of the Akal 
     Takht.
       The Indan government is determined to destroy the Sikh 
     religion by any and all means. They are trying to create 
     sects in the Sikh religion, such as Dera Sucha (Jhutha) 
     Sauda, Nirankari, Radswami, and other such cults. After Guru 
     Gobind Singh there is no living guru, as the heads of these 
     sects claim to be. That is contrary to the Sikh religion. It 
     is blasphemous. These Deras are a cancer on the Sikh 
     religion. They must not be allowed to spread their cancer and 
     the violence that they bring among the Sikhs.
       Guru Gobind Singh Sahib bestowed the guruship on the Guru 
     Granth Sahib and for political decisions transferred power to 
     the Panj Piaras (the Five Chosen Ones.) This desecration of 
     Sikhism cannot be allowed to continue. It will only stop when 
     we free Khalistan from Indian occupation.
       Badal blames Captain Amarinder Singh for this situation. He 
     cannot shirk his own responsibility. As Chief Minister, he is 
     responsible for law and order. He should prosecute this baba 
     and such cult leaders and close all Deras in Punjab. If he 
     won't do it, the Khalsa Panth will and we will find new 
     leaders who can serve the interests of the Khalsa Panth, not 
     the Indian government.
       Sikhs should have known better. In 1984, it was this Akali 
     party and this Akali leadership of Badal, Tohra, and Longowal 
     who invited the Indian army into the Golden Temple. If anyone 
     attacks the Golden Temple, Sikhs can never forgive or forget 
     it. The Congress Party attacked the Golden Temple; they 
     should not be supported by the Khalsa Panth. It was the 
     Akalis who invited them in. They should also be rejected. We 
     need new Sikh leadership which can deliver a sovereign, 
     independent Khalistan to the Sikh Nation.
       Power resides in the Khalsa Panth. Sikhs in Punjab must 
     shoulder their responsibility. Get rid of the present Akali 
     leadership and establish a new Sikh leadership. If we do not, 
     if we let this leadership linger, our misery is prolonged and 
     the Sikh Nation suffers more. It is time to stand up and free 
     the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan.
       In 1986, the Sarbat Khalsa was called. The Sarbat Khalsa 
     formed the Panthic Committee under the leadership of Baba 
     Gurcharan Singh Manochahal (who was later murdered by the 
     Indian government.) It passed a resolution for Khalistan on 
     April 29, 1986. The Panthic Committee formally declared 
     independence on October 7, 1987. It established the Council 
     of Khalistan at that time to serve as the government pro 
     tempore of Khalistan and appointed this humble sewadar as 
     President of the Council of Khalistan.
       For the past 20 years, I have worked very hard, along with 
     all the advisors and supporters of the Council of Khalistan, 
     to achieve our objective of sovereignty for Khalistan. Any 
     major event in Punjab since 1984 has been documented in the 
     Congressional Record in statements by various Members of 
     Congress. We thank them for their support for the 
     independence of Khalistan. Congressional hearings were held 
     in the U.S. Congress by Rep. Ben Blaz, Rep. Dan Burton,

[[Page E1128]]

     and others on human-rights violations and the independence of 
     Khalistan. Special orders of the U.S. Congress on human-
     rights violations and the independence of Khalistan have been 
     conducted. The Indian government is trying to alter the Sikh 
     history in Punjab since 1984. They will not succeed because 
     it is preserved in the library of the U.S. Congress. It will 
     lie there safely for a long time. Students of history will 
     find the true story of what happened to the Sikh Nation since 
     1984.
       Khalsa Ji, the time has come for Sikhs to unite and free 
     Khalistan. Remember the words of Guru Gobind Singh, ``I grant 
     sovereignty to the humble Sikhs.'' Freedom is the birthright 
     of all people and nations. It is also granted by our Gurus. 
     The Indian government is so afraid that it is planting agents 
     in Gurdwara committees and organizations that fight for 
     Khalistan. It is creating Deras and planting agents in the 
     Golden Temple to try to stoke violence. It is arresting Sikh 
     activists for protesting a statue of the repressive, 
     murderous Beant Singh, who was responsible for the murder of 
     over 50,000 Sikhs and the secret cremation of their bodies by 
     declaring them ``unidentified'', as well as the murders of 
     Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra, who exposed that brutal policy, 
     and Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, or for making pro-
     Khalistani speeches and raising the flag of Khalistan. Beware 
     of Sikh leaders who do the bidding of the Indian government.
       Just the other day in the Southall Gurdwara in the United 
     Kingdom, Sikh youth took control of the stage when the 
     present management, which is under the control of the Indian 
     Embassy, refused to do Ardas for Shaheed Bhai Kanwaljit 
     Singh, who was killed by followers of the cult leader Ram 
     Rahim when he went to confront them. We must replace these 
     management committees with pro-Sikh, pro-Khalistani 
     managements.
       Khalsa Ji, the time has come. Take responsibility and rise 
     to the occasion. Work for the freedom of Khalistan so that 
     the Sikh religion can flourish and the Sikh Nation can live 
     with honor and dignity. Only then can the future of the 
     Khalsa Panth be bright. Remember the words of the former 
     Jathedar of the Akal Takht Sahib, Professor Darshan Singh, 
     that ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh.'' Let 
     us show true Sikh spirit. We must rise up and free Khalistan 
     now.

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