[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 10496-10497] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]SIKHS REMEMBER ATTACK ON THE GOLDEN TEMPLE, THEIR MOST SACRED SHRINE ______ HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS of new york in the house of representatives Tuesday, June 12, 2001 Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, in June 1984, the Indian government attacked the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion. Attacking the Golden Temple is the equivalent of attacking Mecca or the Vatican. It is a great affront to the Sikh Nation. As the Sikh martyr Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in the Golden Temple, said, ``If the Indian government attacks the Golden Temple, it will lay the foundation of Khalistan,'' the name of the independent Sikh homeland which declared its independence on October 7, 1987. This attack included the desecration of the Sikh holy scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib, which they shot with bullets. Young Sikh boys were murdered. How can a democratic country commit this atrocity? On June 2, Sikhs from around the East Coast demonstrated in protest of the Golden Temple massacre. Sikhs came from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, and other places on the East Coast. They let it be known that the Sikhs still remember their martyrs and that the flame of freedom still burns in their hearts. This launched a wave of violence which has killed over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984. In a new report, India is quoted as admitting that it held over 52,000 Sikh political prisoners without charge or trial. India has also killed more than 200,000 Christians in Nagaland and engaged in a wave of terror against them since Christmas 1998. Over 75,000 Kashmiri Muslims have died at the hands of the Indian government, as well as thousands of people from Assam, Manipur, and Tamil people, and Dalits (the dark-skinned ``untouchables.'') America should not accept this kind of activity from a country that calls itself democratic. We should cut off aid to India until it allows full human rights for every citizen within its borders and we should support self-determination for all the peoples and nations of South Asia, such as the people of Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagalim, and others. Mr. Speaker, I submit the Council of Khalistan's very informative press release on the June 2 demonstration into the Record. Sikhs Observe Khalistan Martyrs Day Indian Attack on Golden Temple Laid Foundation of Khalistan Washington, D.C., June 2, 2001.--Sikhs of the East Coast gathered in Washington, D.C. today to observe Khalistan Martyrs Day. This is the anniversary of the Indian government's brutal military attack on the Golden Temple, the Sikh Nation's holiest shrine, and 38 other Sikh temples throughout Punjab. More than 20,000 Sikhs were killed in those attacks, known as Operation Bluestar. These martyrs laid down their lives to lay the foundation for Khalistan. On October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation declared its homeland, Khalistan, independent. ``We thank all the demonstrators who came to this important protest,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council Khalistan. ``We must remind the Indian government that Sikhs will never forget or forgive the Golden Temple desecration and the sacrifice the Sikh martyrs made for our freedom. These martyrs gave their lives so that the Sikh Nation could live in freedom,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``We salute them on Khalistan Martyrs' Day,'' he said. ``As Sant Bhindranwale said, the Golden Temple attack laid the foundation of Khalistan.'' The Golden Temple attack launched a campaign of genocide against the Sikhs that continues to this day. This genocide belies India's claims that it is a democracy. The Golden Temple attack made it clear that there is no place for Sikhs in India. ``Without political power nations perish. We must always remember these martyrs for their sacrifice,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``The best tribute to these martyrs would be the liberation of the Sikh homeland Punjab, Khalistan, from the occupying Indian forces,'' he said. Over 50,000 Sikh political prisoners are rotting in Indian jails without charge or trial. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. Since 1984, India has engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing in which thousands of Sikhs are murdered by Indian police and security forces and secretly cremated. The Indian Supreme Court described this campaign as ``worse than a genocide.'' General Narinder Singh has said, ``Punjab is a police state.'' U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has said that for Sikhs, Kashmiri Muslims, and other minorities ``India might as well be Nazi Germany.'' A report issued last month by the Movement Against State Repression (MASR) shows that India admitted that it held 52,268 political prisoners under the repressive ``Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act'' (TADA). These prisoners continue to be held under TADA even though it expired in 1995. Persons arrested under TADA are routinely re-arrested upon their release. Cases were routinely registered against Sikh activists under TADA in states other than Punjab to give the police an excuse to continue holding them. The MASR report quotes the Punjab Civil Magistracy as writing ``if we add up the figures of the last few years the number of [[Page 10497]] innocent persons killed would run into lakhs [hundreds of thousands.]'' There has been no list published of those who were acquitted under TADA. In March 2000, while former President Clinton was visiting India, the Indian government murdered 35 Sikhs in the village of Chatti Singhpora in Kashmir and tried to blame the massacre on alleged militants. Indian security forces have murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and human-rights organizations. These figures were published in The Politics of Genocide by Inderjit Singh Jaijee. India has also killed over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, over 75,000 Kashmiris since 1988, and tens of thousands of Untouchables as well as indigenous tribal peoples in Manipur, Assam and elsewhere. The Indian government has also targeted Christians. They have been victims of a campaign of terror that has been going on since Christmas 1998. Churches have been burned, Christian schools and prayer halls have been attacked, nuns have raped, and priests have been killed. Missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned alive while they slept in their jeep by militant Hindu members of the RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP. Now his widow is being expelled from India. ``The Golden Temple massacre reminded us that if Sikhs are going to live with honor and dignity, we must have a free, sovereign, and independent Khalistan,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ____________________