[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 1671] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TERRORIST INDIAN POLICE MURDER SIKHS, KASHMIRI RICKSHAW DRIVER ______ HON. DAN BURTON of indiana in the house of representatives Thursday, February 8, 2001 Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, recently a Kashmiri rickshaw driver was killed by Sikh police officers. In retaliation, five Sikhs were killed, and later, a sixth Sikh was murdered at a peaceful protest rally. These killings are tragic, and I know every member of the U.S. House of Representatives condemns these murders. I have recently met with representatives of several minority groups from within India who claim that these murders are part of the Indian government's deliberate strategy of setting minorities against each other for the purpose of keeping them within India and under the boot of Indian tyranny. According to these representatives, the Indian police have been recruiting members of the Black Cats, a notorious criminal terrorist gang in India, into the police force. They are apparently handing out these plum positions in the police force as a reward for the ``good work'' the Black Cats have done for the government. Tragically, this ``good work'' consists mainly of killing Sikhs and other minorities. It is these Black Cats, often dressed as police, who often carry out these minority-targeted murders. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, has put out a press release condemning these murders. He points out that the killings serve no one's interest but that of the Indian government. ``When these things happen, just as in Chithi Singhpora, you have to ask the question: Who benefits?,'' Dr. Aulakh said. According to him, ``In all these cases, the answer is the same: the Indian government. Neither the Sikh Nation nor the Kashmiris benefit in any way from the murders of Sikhs or Kashmiris.'' He noted that there were some threats to destroy a Muslim mosque in retaliation for the murders. It is the Indian government that has a record of attacking, desecrating, and destroying Christian, Sikh, and Muslim religious places. Dr. Aulakh urged both communities to keep their cool and not to be sucked into the Indian government's strategy. ``The Indian government has shown its disregard for basic human rights,'' said Dr. Aulakh. Mr. Speaker, the hard-working American taxpayers should not be taxed to support this kind of a government. American principles of freedom require that we help these people. We should stop all aid to India until it stops repressing its minorities and we should put the Congress on record demanding a free and fair plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan, in Kashmir, in predominantly Christian Nagaland, and anywhere else where people seek their freedom from India. These actions will go a long way towards bringing freedom to the subcontinent. I urge this Congress and President Bush to act now in support of freedom. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following press release from the Council of Khalistan's about this terrible incident; into the Record. I urge all my colleagues to read it carefully. It is very revealing about the true nature of Indian ``democracy.'' Sikhs Condemn Killings in Kashmir, Appeal to Both Communities to Exercise Restraint--Do Not Become Part of the Indian Government's Divide and Rule Strategy--India Should Free Kashmir and Khalistan Instead of Murdering People Washington, D.C., February 6, 2001--The Council of Khalistan today condemned this week's killings of five Sikhs and the murder of a Muslim scooter driver by Indian Sikh security force personnel in Kashmir. ``These killings are reprehensible,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, which leads the Sikh Nation's struggle for independence. ``Neither Sikhs nor Muslims nor any other people should be killed because of who they are,'' he said. ``These killings only advance the Indian government's divide and rule strategy,'' he said. ``I urge both the Sikh community and the Muslim community not to get worked up and commit more violence against each other,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``When these things happen, just as in Chithi Singhpora, you have to ask the question: Who benefits?,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``In all these cases, the answer is the same: the Indian government. Neither the Sikh Nation nor the Kashmiris benefit in any way from the murders of Sikhs or Kashmiris.'' Members of the violent Black Cats commandos have been recruited into the police due to their ``good work''--killing Sikhs and other minorities. These Indian agents have infiltrated Sikh organizations and Muslim organizations. ``They were the ones who threatened to destroy a mosque in retaliation for the killings,'' Dr. Aulakh noted. ``No Sikh would ever destroy anyone's religious places. But the theocratic Hindu militant government of India has a record of doing so,'' he said. He noted that the BJP destroyed the Babri mosque and still plans to build a Hindu temple on the spot. A mosque in Kashmir was also destroyed. Hindu militants affiliated with the RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP, have burned Christian churches. The Indian government attacked the Golden Temple and 38 other Sikh Gurdwaras in Punjab in June 1984. Tens of thousands of Sikh political prisoners are rotting in Indian jails without charge or trial. India is in gross violation of international law. The government of India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, more than 200,000 Christians since 1947, over 70,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits (the aboriginal people of the subcontinent), and others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.'' Government-allied Hindu militants have murdered priests, and raped nuns. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) described the rapists as ``patriotic youth'' and called the nuns ``Nantinational elements.'' Hindu radicals, members of the Bajrang Dal, burned missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons, ages 10 and 8, to death while they surrounded the victims and chanted ``Victory to Hannuman,'' a Hindu god. ``India is not a democracy for Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, and other minorities,'' said Dr. Aulakh. The rights guaranteed in the Indian constitution are not enjoyed by non- Hindus, he said. ``Congressman Rohrabacher was right when he said that for minorities `India might as well be Nazi Germany.'' Police witnesses have confirmed that the police tortured and murdered the former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Gurdev Singh Kaunke, and human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. Sikhs ruled Punjab up to 1849 when the British conquered the subcontinent. Sikhs were equal partners during the transfer of power from the British. The Muslim leader Jinnah got Pakistan for his people, the Hindu leaders got India, but the Sikh leadership was fooled by the Hindu leadership promising that Sikhs would have ``the glow of freedom'' in Northwest India and the Sikhs took their share with India on that promise. Sikhism was not even recognized in the Indian constitution as a separate religion, while Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. were recognized. Discrimination against the Sikh Nation took place in every sphere. After the Golden Temple attack, the Sikh Nation stepped up its struggle to achieve its God-given right to be free. On October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation declared the independence of its homeland, Punjab, Khalistan. No Sikh representative has ever signed the Indian constitution. The Sikh Nation demands freedom for its homeland, Khalistan. ``Democracies don't commit genocide,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``In a democracy, the right to self-determination is the sine qua non and India should allow a plebiscite in Kashmir and Punjab, Khalistan,'' he said. ``Only freedom will bring peace and justice in South Asia.'' ____________________