[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 158 (Thursday, October 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2178-E2179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     INDIA IS A DEFICIENT DEMOCRACY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 18, 2007

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I was extremely disappointed 
today to see the Human Rights Watch had to issue a statement calling on 
the Government of India to finally take concrete steps to hold 
accountable members of its security forces who killed, ``disappeared,'' 
and tortured thousands of Sikhs during its military campaign in the 
Punjab. I was disappointed because India should already be doing this. 
I was disappointed because this call to action is simply further proof 
that India--which prides itself on being the

[[Page E2179]]

world's most populous democracy--is in reality a highly deficient 
democracy; and that it has yet to do what it legally and morally must 
do; which is to clean up its atrocious human rights record.
  The massive human rights violations of the Indian Government have 
been well documented. In fact, according to the Department of State's 
2006 Human Rights Report for India: ``Major problems included 
extrajudicial killings of persons in custody, disappearances, torture 
and rape by police and security forces. The lack of accountability 
permeated the government and security forces, creating an atmosphere in 
which human rights violations often went unpunished. Although the 
country has numerous laws protecting human rights, enforcement was lax 
and convictions were rare.'' Again, these are not my words; this is 
from the State Department's official report on Human Rights.
  Although relations between India and the United States have been 
rocky in the past, since 2004 Washington and New Delhi have been 
pursuing a ``strategic partnership'' based on shared values such as 
democracy, multi-culturalism, and rule of law. In addition, numerous 
economic, security and globally focused initiatives, including plans 
for ``full civilian nuclear energy cooperation,'' are currently 
underway. I support these initiatives but I remain deeply concerned 
about the numerous serious problems that remain when it comes to 
India's respect for the rights of all of her citizens.
  Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to place a copy of the Human 
Rights press release into the Record at this time. I urge my colleagues 
to read it and remember it and as the United States and India move 
towards greater cooperation in numerous endeavors to insist that India 
live up to its moniker and adhere to the full expression of democracy 
and basic human rights; especially for members of ethnic or religious 
minorities.

        India: Time To Deliver Justice for Atrocities in Punjab

       Delhi.--The Indian government must take concrete steps to 
     hold accountable members of its security forces who killed, 
     ``disappeared,'' and tortured thousands of Sikhs during its 
     counterinsurgency campaign in the Punjab, Human Rights Watch 
     and Ensaaf said in a new report released today.
       In order to end the institutional defects that foster 
     impunity in Punjab and elsewhere in the country, the 
     government should take new legal and practical steps, 
     including the establishment of a commission of inquiry, a 
     special prosecutor's office, and an extensive reparations 
     program.
       The 123-page report, ``Protecting the Killers: A Policy of 
     Impunity in Punjab, India,'' examines the challenges faced by 
     victims and their relatives in pursuing legal avenues for 
     accountability for the human rights abuses perpetrated during 
     the government's counterinsurgency campaign. The report 
     describes the impunity enjoyed by officials responsible for 
     violations and the near total failure of India's judicial and 
     state institutions, from the National Human Rights Commission 
     to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to provide 
     justice for victims' families.
       Beginning in the 1980s, Sikh separatists in Punjab 
     committed serious human rights abuses, including the massacre 
     of civilians, attacks upon Hindu minorities in the state, and 
     indiscriminate bomb attacks in crowded places. In its 
     counterinsurgency operations in Punjab from 1984 to 1995. 
     Indian security forces committed serious human rights abuses 
     against tens of thousands of Sikhs. None of the key 
     architects of this counterinsurgency strategy who bear 
     substantial responsibility for these atrocities have been 
     brought to justice.
       ``Impunity in India has been rampant in Punjab, where 
     security forces committed large-scale human rights violations 
     without any accountability,'' said Brad Adams, Asia director 
     at Human Rights Watch. ``No one disputes that the militants 
     were guilty of numerous human rights abuses, but the 
     government should have acted within the law instead of 
     sanctioning the killing, `disappearance,' and torture of 
     individuals accused of supporting the militants.''
       A key case discussed in detail in the report is the Punjab 
     ``mass cremations case,'' in which the security services are 
     implicated in thousands of killings and secret cremations 
     throughout Punjab to hide the evidence of wrongdoing. The 
     case is currently before the National Human Rights 
     Commission, a body specially empowered by the Supreme Court 
     to address this case. However, the commission has narrowed 
     its efforts to merely establishing the identity of the 
     individuals who were secretly cremated in three crematoria in 
     just one district of Punjab. It has rejected cases from other 
     districts and has ignored the intentional violations of human 
     rights perpetrated by India's security forces. For more than 
     a decade, the commission has failed to independently 
     investigate a single case and explicitly refuses to identify 
     any responsible officials.
       ``The National Human Rights Commission has inexplicably 
     failed in its duties to investigate and establish exactly 
     what happened in Punjab,'' said Adams. ``We still hold out 
     hope that it will change course and bring justice to victims 
     and their families.''
       The report discusses the case of Jaswant Singh Khalra, a 
     leading human rights defender in Punjab who was abducted and 
     then murdered in October 1995 by government officials after 
     being held in illegal detention for almost two months. 
     Despite credible eyewitness testimony that police chief KPS 
     Gill was directly involved in interrogating Khalra in illegal 
     detention just days prior to Khalra's murder, the Central 
     Bureau of Investigation has thus far refused to investigate 
     or prosecute Gill. In September 2006, Khalra's widow, 
     Paramjit Kaur, filed a petition in the Punjab & Haryana High 
     Court calling on the CBI to take action against Gill. More 
     than a year later, she is still waiting for a hearing on the 
     merits.
       ``Delivering justice in Punjab could set precedents 
     throughout India for the redress of mass state crimes and 
     superior responsibility,'' said Jaskaran Kaur, co-director of 
     Ensaaf. ``Indians and the rest of the world are watching to 
     see if the current Indian government can muster the political 
     will to do the right thing. It if fails, then the only 
     conclusion that can be reached is that the state's 
     institutions cannot or will not take on the security 
     establishment. This has grave implications for Indian 
     democracy.''
       Victims and their families seeking justice face severe 
     challenges, including prolonged trials, biased prosecutors, 
     an unresponsive judiciary, police intimidation and harassment 
     of witnesses, and the failure to charge senior government 
     officials despite evidence of their role in the abuses.
       Tarloehan Singh described the hurdles he has faced in his 
     now 18-year struggle before Indian courts for justice for the 
     killing of his son, Kulwinder Singh:
       ``I used to receive threatening phone calls. The caller 
     would say that they had killed thousands of boys and thrown 
     them into canals, and they would also do that to Kulwinder 
     Singh's wife, kid, or me and my wife . . .
       ``The trial has been proceeding . . . with very little 
     evidence being recorded at each hearing, and with two to 
     three months between hearings. During this time, key 
     witnesses have died.''
       After Mohinder Singh's son Jugraj Singh was killed in an 
     alleged faked armed encounter between security forces and 
     separatists in January 1995, he pursued numerous avenues of 
     justice. He brought his case before the Punjab & Haryana High 
     Court and the CBI Special Court, but no police officer was 
     charged. A CBI investigation found that Jugraj Singh had been 
     killed and cremated by the police. However, 11 years and a 
     few inquiry reports later, the CBI court ended Mohinder 
     Singh's pursuit for accountability by dismissing his case in 
     2006. Mohinder Singh describes his interactions with the CBI:
       ``On one occasion when [the officer] from the CBI came to 
     my house, he told me that I wasn't going to get anything out 
     of this. Not justice and not even compensation. He further 
     said that: `I see you running around pursuing your case. But 
     you shouldn't get into a confrontation with the police. You 
     have to live here and they can pick you up at any time.' He 
     was indirectly threatening me.''
       Human Rights Watch and Ensaaf expressed concern that the 
     Indian government continues to cite the counterinsurgency 
     operations in Punjab as a model for preserving national 
     integrity.
       ``The government's illegal and inhuman policies in the name 
     of security have allowed a culture of impunity to prevail 
     that has brutalized its police and security forces,'' said 
     Kaur.
       The report suggests a comprehensive framework to address 
     the institutionalized impunity that has prevented 
     accountability in Punjab. The detailed recommendations 
     include establishing a commission of inquiry, a special 
     prosecutor's office, and an extensive reparations program.
       ``The Indian government needs to send a clear message to 
     its security services, courts, prosecutors, and civil 
     servants that it neither tolerates nor condones gross human 
     rights violations under any circumstances,'' said Adams. 
     ``This requires a comprehensive and credible process of 
     accountability that delivers truth, justice, and reparations 
     to its victims, who demand nothing more than their rights 
     guaranteed by India's constitution and international law.''

                          ____________________