[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10690-10691]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   WAR CLOUDS GATHERING IN SOUTH ASIA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 2002

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the danger of war in South Asia 
concerns us all. Such a war would be useless, dangerous, and a disaster 
for Pakistan, India, the minorities of the subcontinent, and the world.
  Many South Asia's watchers speculate that India needs a war to keep 
its multinational empire together and to divert attention away from its 
other internal problems. They have even speculated that India's 
collapse is not a fantasy, and that even L.K. Advani, the militant 
Hindu Home Minister of India, is worried about India's territorial 
integrity.
  However, a war in South Asia could become the trigger that brings 
freedom to the minority nations such as the Sikh homeland of Khalistan, 
predominantly Christian Nagaland, Kashmir, and others, just as World 
War I brought independence to many nations living under the rule of the 
Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The end of the Cold War 
brought freedom to many nations which had been living under Soviet 
rule, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and others. A war in South 
Asia could have a similar effect on the nations and peoples of the 
subcontinent.
  The Council of Khalistan recently called on Sikh soldiers not to 
fight for India, but to fight to free their homeland, Khalistan. Given 
the oppression that has killed over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984 according 
to the Punjab State Magistracy, that continues to hold 52,268 political 
prisoners, which the Movement Against State Repression reported that 
the Indian government has admitted to, that has killed over 80,000 
Muslims, over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland, thousands upon thousands 
of other minorities like Bodos, Dalit ``Untouchables,'' Tamils, 
Assamese, Manipuris, and others. Why should any of these minorities 
fight for the Indian state?
  The Council of Khalistan's recent Open Letter contains much more 
information on this. To help my colleagues and constituents stay fully 
informed about the sentiments of many Sikhs within India, I would like 
to put that open letter into the Record at this time.

                                         Council of Khalistan,

                                      Washington DC, May 21, 2002.

                     Open Letter to the Sikh Nation


Clouds of War Between India and Pakistan Gather; India Is on the Verge 
  of Disintegration--Sikh Soldiers and Officers Should Not Fight for 
India But to Free Khalistan; Now Is the Perfect Time to Launch Shantmai 
                      Morcha to Liberate Khalistan

       Dear Khalsa Ji: WAHE GURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHE GURU JI KI 
     FATEH!
       War clouds are gathering in South Asia. War between India 
     and Pakistan looks imminent. It is expected to break out this 
     fall. Troops have been gathering on the borders, and the 
     recent killings in Kashmir provide the Indian government with 
     an excuse to attack Pakistan. The killing of Abdul Ghanni 
     Lone, a leader of the Kashmiri freedom movement, merely 
     heightens the tensions.
       Remember that the fanatic BJP leaders are on record that 
     they want to make an ``Akand Bharat'' by defeating Pakistan 
     and incorporating it into India. Their aggression in Kashmir 
     is internationally known. They will not hold a plebiscite in 
     Kashmir, as they promised to do in 1948. It is India that 
     launched the nuclear arms race in South Asia and has nuclear 
     weapons pointed at Pakistan. Despite the militant Hindu 
     nationalist government's statement that they do not intend to 
     attack Pakistan, it is clear that their drive for hegemony 
     over all of South Asia continues.
       If war breaks out, Sikh soldiers and officers should not 
     fight for India. Instead, Sikhs should take this opportunity 
     to reclaim our lost sovereignty and liberate our homeland, 
     Punjab, Khalistan, from Indian occupation.
       L.K. Advani has said that when Kashmir goes, India will 
     fall apart, and he is right. We must take advantage of this 
     situation to reclaim our lost sovereignty. Sovereignty is our 
     birthright. The Guru gave sovereignty to the Khalsa Panth. 
     (``In grieb Sikhin ko deon Patshahi.'') Banda Singh Baliadur 
     established the first Khalsa rule in Punjab from 1710 to 
     1716. Then there was a period of persecution of the Sikhs. 
     Again Sikhs established a sovereign, independent rule from 
     1765 to 1849, when the British annexed the Sikh homeland, 
     Punjab, into British India.
       This is a wake-up call for the Sikh Nation. The massacre of 
     Muslims in Gujarat is a testament to this. The fanatic Vishav 
     Hindu Parishad (VHP) burned Christian missionary Graham 
     Staines and his two young sons alive. They murdered priests, 
     raped nuns, and burned churches. They are assimilating 
     Christianity, Islam, and every other minority into Hinduism. 
     The Sikh Nation must free itself from India to ensure its 
     survival as a nation and to enjoy a prosperous future. 
     Without political power, nations perish.
       About 80 percent of the sacrifices during the fight to 
     regain freedom from the British were Sikhs, even though Sikhs 
     formed only 1.5 percent of the Indian population at the time. 
     At the time of India's independence, Sikhs were equal 
     signatories to the transfer of power from the British. The 
     Sikh leadership should have gotten an independent country for 
     the Sikhs at that time, but they were fooled by the Hindu 
     leadership of Nehru and Gandhi so Sikhs took their share and 
     joined India on the promise that they would have the glow of 
     freedom.
       We have seen this ``glow of freedom'' in the form of the 
     attack on the Golden Temple in June 1984, when over 20,000 
     Sikhs were killed in Punjab in a single month. Sikhs can 
     never forgive or forget the desecration of the Golden Temple. 
     This is the history and tradition of the Sikh Nation.
       The next massacre of Sikhs occurred after the assassination 
     of Indira Gandhi in Delhi. There was a mass murder of Sikhs 
     throughout India, including Delhi. The Sikhs were pulled out 
     of trains and burned alive. Sikh truck drivers were pulled 
     out of their trucks. Hindu militants put tires around their 
     necks and burned them to death. Sikh police officers were 
     disarmed and confined to their barracks. This is very similar 
     to what happened recently to the Muslims in Gujarat.
       Human Rights Watch Asia has clearly stated that the Indian 
     government orchestrated the recent genocide in Gujarat. 
     Policemen stood and watched while Muslims were attacked and 
     murdered. One policeman said that he was ordered not to stop 
     the violence. This is the same modus operandi that the Indian 
     government used in 1984 to burn the Sikhs alive and destroy 
     their property. For the Sikh Nation to ensure their safety, 
     we must free our homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, from Indian 
     occupation. We pray every day ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa.'' We must 
     do our best to realize our God-given right to be free.
       The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 
     1984. The U.S. State Department reported in 1994 that the 
     Indian government paid out over 41,000 cash bounties to 
     police officers for killing Sikhs. According to a report by 
     the Movement Against State Repression MASR), the Indian 
     government admitted that 52,268 are rotting in Indian jails 
     under TADA, which expired in 1995. Many of them have been in 
     illegal custody since Operation Bluestar in 1984. In 
     February, 42 Members of the U.S. Congress from both political 
     parties wrote to President Bush to get these political 
     prisoners released. The U.S. government recently added India 
     to its ``watch list'' of violators of religious freedom. It 
     should impose sanctions to stop the oppression of Sikhs, 
     Christians, Muslims, and others.
       Jaswant Singh Khalra, who exposed the government killing of 
     Sikhs in fake encounters, became a victim of the Indian 
     police himself. He was kidnapped outside his house and 
     murdered in police custody. Even Akal Takht Jathedar Sardar 
     Gurdev Singh Kaunke was murdered by SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna 
     and then his body was disposed of. The Badal government was 
     forced to conduct an inquiry by three Punjab police officials 
     under the leadership of DIG Tiwari into the killing of 
     Jathedar Kaunke. As of today that report has not been made 
     public.
       The only solution is the formation of a Khalsa Raj Party 
     under new, honest, dedicated, and committed leadership. Now 
     is the time to do it. Let's not waste time and prolong the 
     suffering and agony of the Sikh Nation. The only remedy is to 
     sever our relationship with Delhi completely, declare 
     independence from India and start a peaceful agitation to 
     free the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan. The present Akali 
     leadership of Badal, Tohra, Mann, and others are under Indian 
     government control. Their betrayal of the Sikh Nation is well 
     documented in the Book Chakravyuh: Web of Indian Secularism 
     by S. Gurtej Singh.
       Siklis are a sovereign, independent nation and ruled Punjab 
     until 1849. The only way the Sikh Nation can protect itself 
     from the Indian government's ongoing efforts to destroy the 
     Sikh religion is to achieve independence for our homeland, 
     Khalistan. Guru gave sovereignty to the Khalsa Panth. The new 
     Sikh leadership must launch a Shantmai Morcha to liberate our 
     homeland. The only way the Sikh Nation can prosper is to free 
     the Sikh homeland, Punjab, Khalistan. The freedom of the Sikh 
     Nation will bring prosperity, stability, and peace to Punjab 
     and to South Asia.
           Panth Da Sewadar,
                                          Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,
                                  President, Council of Khalistan.


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