[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25307]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                   WORLD SHOULD SUPPORT SIKH FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN T. DOOLITTLE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 13, 1999

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, when I picked up my Washington Times on 
October 7, I was pleased to see a letter from Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, 
whom many of us know well.
  Dr. Aulakh, who is the President of the Council of Khalistan, wrote 
about the Sikh independence struggle. He noted that Sikhs are 
``culturally, religiously, and linguistically distinct from Hindu 
India'' and that they ruled Punjab independently for many years before 
the British conquered the subcontinent.
  Dr. Aulakh's letter asked why India, which prides itself on being 
democratic, doesn't hold a plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan on the 
question of independence. That is the democratic way to do things. But 
India appears to care more about achieving hegemony in South Asia than 
it does about the democratic principles it proclaims.
  It is interesting that this letter ran on the 12th anniversary of the 
day the Sikh nation declared the independence of the Sikh homeland, 
Punjab, naming their new country Khalistan.
  The recent elections in India underline the instability of India's 
multiethnic state. India has 18 official languages and Christians, 
Sikhs, Muslims, and others suffer from religious persecution. Many 
experts predict that India will soon break up.
  America and the world should support the freedom movements in 
Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, Assam, and the other nations seeking 
their freedom from India. We should cut American aid to India until it 
learns to respect human rights and we should work for an 
internationally-supervised plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan, in Kashmir, 
in Nagaland, and in all the other areas seeking independence, on the 
question of their future political status.
  Mr. Speaker, I insert Dr. Aulakh's letter into the Record. I hope 
that my colleagues will read it.

               [From the Washington Times, Oct. 7, 1999]

            Sikh Independence Deserves International Support

                        (By Gurmit Singh Aulakh)

       We appreciate Arnold Beichman's mention of the Sikh 
     struggle for an independent Khalistan (``Crossing the mini-
     state frontier,'' Commentary, Sept. 23). Sikhs are 
     culturally, linguistically and religiously distinct from 
     Hindu India, and we have a history of self-rule in Punjab. 
     Sikhs are a separate nation.
       Sikhs drove foreign invaders out of the subcontinent in the 
     18th century. Banda Singh Bahadar established Khalsa rule in 
     Punjab in 1710. The Sikh rule lasted until 1716. Sikh rule 
     was re-established in 1765, lasting until the British 
     conquest of 1849. Sikh rule extended to Kabul and was 
     considered one of the powers in South Asia. Since then, the 
     Sikh nation has been struggling to regain its sovereignty.
       No Sikh has ever signed the Indian constitution. On Oct. 7, 
     1987, the Sikh nation declared its independence, forming the 
     separate nation of Khalistan. Our effort to liberate 
     Khalistan is peaceful, democratic and nonviolent, but our 
     declaration of independence is irrevocable and nonnegotiable.
       India claims that the struggle for independence is over. If 
     that is the case, why doesn't ``the world's largest 
     democracy'' hold a plebiscite in Punjab to decide the 
     question of independence the democratic way?
       India is not one country. It is an empire of many countries 
     that was thrown together by the British for their 
     administrative convenience. Like the former Soviet Union, it 
     is destined to fall apart.
       In the June 17, 1994, issue of Strategic Investment, Jack 
     Wheeler of the Freedom Research Foundation predicted that 
     within 10 years, India ``will cease to exist as we know 
     [it].'' Stanley Wolpert, a professor at the University of 
     California in Los Angeles who wrote a biography on the late 
     Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, predicted on CNN that 
     both India and Pakistan will soon break up.
       Sikhs oppose tyranny wherever it rears its head. 
     Consequently, we support freedom for the people of Kashmir, 
     Nagaland and other countries seeking their freedom.
       The world helped East Timor achieve its freedom. The world 
     helped Kosovo achieve its freedom. It is time for the free 
     nations of the world to cut off aid to India and support an 
     internationally supervised plebiscite to help the people of 
     Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland and all nations of South Asia to 
     achieve their freedom.

     

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