[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 7440-7441]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                              VAISAKHI DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 8, 2001

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the Sikhs recently celebrated 
their important holiday of Vaisakhi Day. It is the 302nd birthday of 
the Sikh Nation. On Vaisakhi Day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the last 
of the Sikh gurus, formed the Khalsa Panth. He blessed them with the 
blessing ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa,'' which means, ``the Khalsa shall 
rule.''
  The Sikhs consider Vaisakhi a very important holiday. It is 
effectively the Sikh national holiday. As this Vaisakhi Day passed, 
however, the Sikh Nation still lives in slavery.
  Sikhs ruled Punjab from 1765 to 1849. They ran a secular state with 
religious tolerance. Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus participated in the 
government. When the British vacated the subcontinent, the Sikhs were 
to receive sovereign power, but they were taken in by the false 
promises of Nehru and Gandhi that they would have freedom in Punjab. No 
Sikh representative has ever signed the Indian constitution, and many 
Sikhs are demanding their independence, as declared on October 7, 1987. 
Although they seek this peacefully, India considers anyone who speaks 
out for a separate Sikh state, called Khalistan, to be a ``terrorist.'' 
Instead, it is India that has used the tools of terrorism.
  A new report from the Movement Against State Repression shows that 
the Indian government holds, by its own admission, at least 52,268 
political prisoners under the illegal and expired ``Terrorist and 
Disruptive Activities Act,'' called TADA. Both the Movement Against 
State Repression and Amnesty International have confirmed that tens of 
thousands of political prisoners are being held without charge or 
trial. Some of them have been in jail since 1984. According to The 
Politics of Genocide by respected human-rights worker Inderjit Singh 
Jaijee, the Indian government since 1984 has murdered over 250,000 
Sikhs. They join thousands of Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and others 
who have been killed at the hands of the Indian government.
  In the spirit of Vaisakhi, the U.S. Congress should support freedom 
for the Sikh Nation and the other nations of South Asia who are seeking 
their sovereignty and independence. We must support a free and fair 
plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan, on the question of independence and 
also plebiscites for Kashmir, as India promised in 1948, for Nagalim, 
and for all the nations living under Indian occupation. We should also 
cut off American aid until India learns to respect its own laws and the 
basic human rights of all people. Let the Sikhs, celebration of 
Vaisakhi remind us that the freedom is the birthright of all peoples 
and nations.

                                             Council of Khalistan,
                                   Washington, DC, April 16, 2001.

   Open Letter to the Sikh Nation: Political Prisoners Should Run in 
                               Elections


    Form Khalsa Raj Party, Start a Stantmai Morcha to Free Khalistan

       Several reports, including a recent one from Amnesty 
     International, confirm that tens of thousands of Sikh 
     political prisoners are being held in illegal detention in 
     India without charge or trial. Democracies do not hold 
     political prisoners, yet tens of thousands of political 
     prisoners are being held in ``the world's largest 
     democracy.''
       Recently, 19 Members of the U.S. Congress wrote to 
     President Bush asking him to get involved in the effort to 
     secure freedom for these political prisoners. These political 
     prisoners are being held for peaceful activities in support 
     of a sovereign, independent Khalistan and/or activities in 
     support of human rights. Some of these political prisoners 
     have been held since 1984. We must secure their freedom.
       Sovereignty is essential to the survival of the Sikh 
     Nation. As long as we live under Indian rule, these political 
     prisoners will continue to be held and we will all continue 
     to live as slaves. The only way that Sikhs can live in 
     freedom is to liberate our homeland. Self-determination is 
     the right of all peoples and nations.
       We must tell the Indian government that we demand our 
     freedom. In order to do so, the political prisoners should 
     run for Parliament and for the Legislative Assembly under the 
     banner of the Khalsa Raj Party. The primary plank of the 
     Khalsa Raj Party should be freedom for Khalistan. The Khalsa 
     Panth must be prepared to pay any price, whatever it may be, 
     to free ourselves from the occupation of the Indian 
     government.
       We must have a full and fair plebiscite on the status of 
     Khalistan and we must launch a Shantmai Morcha to liberate 
     Khalistan. If the political prisoners run for office, Sikhs 
     will have someone to vote for who is committed to freedom. 
     None of the current parties will make any effort to liberate 
     Khalistan.
       If the political prisoners will not run for office from 
     their jail cells, then their family members should be given 
     the Khalsa Raj Party ticket in the elections. We must have a 
     real choice that will allow us to demand our freedom. Only 
     then can our ve make any difference. Let us vote for a free 
     Khalistan, not just for a change of faces among the 
     oppressors.
       Guru Gobind Singh Sahib gave sovereignty to the Khalsa 
     Panth. ``In Grieb Sikhan Ko Deon Patshahi'', that is ``Khalsa 
     shall rule and is sovereign.'' Guru gave the Sikh Nation 
     sovereignty. Nations that do not have sovereignty perish. 
     Nations that do not have political power vanish from the face 
     of the Earth. Sikhs are instructed to remain free always. It 
     is time to reclaim freedom that is our birthright. In a free 
     Khalistan Sikhs will enjoy freedom and respect the world 
     over. For the survival of Sikh Nation, we must regain our 
     lost sovereignty. It is our duty as Sikhs.
       The present Akali government and its leadership is corrupt 
     to its bone. The Akalis are in alliance with the militant 
     Hindu fundamentalist BJP, which has recently been rocked by a 
     corruption scandal as well. They are agents of the Indian 
     government. They take their orders from Delhi rulers. They 
     lie to the Sikh Nation. We must discard them now and replace 
     them with a new committed, honest, pro-Khalsa Panth 
     leadership.
       As instructed by the Guru, Banda Singh Bahadar established 
     the first Khalsa Raj in 17 10 after the complete destruction 
     of city of Sirhand where the two younger sons of Guru Sahib 
     were beheaded after immobilizing them in a wall. Sikhs 
     regained political power in the second half of the 18th 
     century and ruled Punjab until the mid-19th century. It was 
     the Golden Age of Punjab. Under the rule of Maharajah Ranjit 
     Singh, all the people living in Punjab shared power. Muslims, 
     Hindus, and Christians were ministers in his government. The 
     people of Punjab were treated equally and fairly. Justice was 
     done without any prejudice to anyone. All citizens of Punjab 
     were equal partners in the administration of Khalsa Raj. The 
     same principle of justice, fairness, and equality will be the 
     foundation stones of a soverign, independent Khalistan and 
     Khalistan will be free from bribes.
       In 1947, when India was divided, the cunning and deceitful 
     Hindu leadership of Nehru and Gandhi promised that Sikhs 
     would have the glow of freedom in Punjab and that no law 
     affecting Sikh rights would be passed without Sikh consent. 
     As soon as the transfer of power had occurred and India was 
     free, those promises were broken. Instead, India began its 
     effort to wipe out the Sikh people, the Sikh Nation, and the 
     Sikh religion. The Home Ministry even sent a circular to the 
     deputy commissioners of Punjab saying that Sikhs are ``a 
     criminal tribe'' and should be carefully watched. Since 
     independence, Sikhs have been persecuted, betrayed, robbed of 
     their natural resources, and discriminated against. We must 
     stand up against the oppressors and say enough is enough. We 
     will no longer live under your oppressive regime.
       Badal did not even fulfill the promises he made before the 
     election. How can they call themselves an Akali government 
     when more than 50,000 people have been tortured, murdered, 
     declared unidentified, and cremated by the police? There is 
     no accountability for them and no police official has been 
     punished. How can they call themselves an Akali government 
     when they have not punished Swaran Singh Ghotna, the murderer 
     of Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, and the other police 
     officers who kidnapped and murdered human-rights activist 
     Jaswant Singh Khalra? With a Khalsa Raj Party and with the 
     political prisoners elected, these people can be brought to 
     justice.
       In pursuit of its divide and rule strategy, the Indian 
     government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs in their effort to 
     create fear psychosis and destroy the Sikh freedom movement. 
     Tens of thousands of Sikh youth are being held as political 
     prisoners without charge or trial. Recently, it has tried to 
     set the Sikhs and the Kashmiri Muslims against each other by 
     creating incidents between the communities. Over 20,000 
     people were murdered in Delhi alone after Indira Gandhi's 
     assassination. So far, the perpetrators of these heinous 
     crimes roam free in Delhi. The Khalsa Raj Party must demand 
     accountability for the perpetrators of these atrocities.
       After the Golden Temple attack in June 1984 by the Indian 
     government it was clear to the Sikhs that the Indian 
     government is determined to destroy Sikhism completely. The 
     attack on the Golden Temple was conducted to crush the Sikh 
     aspirations of Khalsa Raj. It doesn't matter whether Congress 
     or the BJP runs the government. Former Indian Prime Minister 
     Chandra Shekhar said that there is no difference between 
     Congress and the BJP. He is right. The party label on the 
     Hindu majority does not matter. Congress and BJP are equally 
     anti-Sikh. Only a Khalsa Raj Party will work to break the 
     cycle of tyranny and oppression.

[[Page 7441]]

       Do you want to live as slaves and jeopardize the future of 
     your children and your children's children, disobeying the 
     Guru's order of Raj Kare Ga Khalsa, or do you want to free 
     yourself from the slavery of the Indian government and enjoy 
     the blessings and happiness of Guru by freeing Khalistan? 
     Always remember that the Guru gave the Sikh Nation Charhdi 
     Kala.
       For the Charhdi Kala of the Khalsa Panth, let's join hands 
     to form a Khalsa Raj Party to free our homeland, Khalistan. 
     We pray and ask the blessing of the Guru to help us achieve 
     the pious, God-given right to freedom for the Sikh Nation. 
     The Khalsa Panth prays for the well being of the whole human 
     race. We wish every human being in the world, including South 
     Asia, well. We hope that the entire world will live in peace 
     and freedom and let the Sikh Nation also flourish, prosper, 
     and enjoy the glow of freedom in a free Khalistan.
       Khalsa Ji, always remember ``Khalsa Bagi Yan Badhshah'' and 
     ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa.''
           Sincerely,
                                         Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakch,
                                   President Council of Khalistan.

     

                          ____________________