[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 246]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              NEW YEAR'S WISHES FOR FREEDOM FOR THE SIKHS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 21, 2004

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, recently my friend Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, 
the President of the Council of Khalistan, issued a New Year's message 
to the Sikhs. In it, he took note of the progress that has been made 
towards freedom for the Sikhs and other minority nations in South Asia. 
He also wrote that the effort to liberate the Sikh homeland, Khalistan, 
must continue.
  As you may know, the Sikhs declared their independence from India on 
October 7, 1987. They named their country Khalistan. Since that time, 
tens of thousands of Sikhs have been murdered to suppress the Sikh 
freedom movement and tens of thousands more have been held as political 
prisoners.
  Dr. Aulakh noted that seminars on Khalistan were held openly last 
year. He noted the ceremony honoring Sikh martyrs Satwant Singh, Beant 
Singh, and Kehar Singh. He wrote about recent initiatives by the Khalsa 
Panchayat to move the cause of freedom for the Sikhs forward.
  Mr. Speaker, the right to self-determination is the cornerstone of 
democracy. It is time for the United States, founded on the principle 
of self-determination, to support self-determination for the Sikhs. We 
can do this by cutting off our aid to India until the Sikhs of 
Khalistan, the Muslims of Kashmir, the Christians of Nagaland, and all 
the minorities enjoy full rights and freedom and by putting the 
Congress on record in support of self-determination for Khalistan, 
Kashmir, Nagaland, and the other nations seeking their freedom in the 
form of a free and fair plebiscite on the question of independence.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to place Dr. Aulakh's letter into the 
Record at this time for the information of my colleagues.

                 New Year's Message to the Khalsa Panth

       Washington, Jan. 19.--Happy New Year to you and your family 
     and the Khalsa Panth. May 2004 be your best year ever.
       The Guru gave sovereignty to the Sikh Nation. (``In Grieb 
     Sikhin Ko Deon Patshahi.'') The Sikh Nation must achieve it. 
     We always remember it by reciting every morning and evening, 
     ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa.'' Now is the time to act on it. Do we 
     mean what we say every morning and evening?
       The fire of freedom still burns strong and bright in the 
     heart of the Sikh Nation. 2003 was an encouraging year for 
     the Sikh freedom struggle. Sikhs openly held seminars in 
     Punjab on the subject of Khalistan. This is a very good sign 
     and we salute the people who participated in these seminars. 
     They are keeping the flame of freedom lit. Now I urge Sikhs 
     to unite and take action to liberate our homeland, Punjab, 
     Khalistan. It is time to start a Shantmai Morcha to liberate 
     Khalistan from Indian occupation.
       Never forget that the Akal Takht Sahib and Darbar Sahib are 
     under the control of the Indian government, the same Indian 
     government that has murdered over a quarter of a million 
     Sikhs in the past twenty years. The Jathedar of the Akal 
     Takht and the head granthi of Darbar Sahib toe the line that 
     the Indian government tells them. They are not appointed by 
     the Khalsa Panth. The SGPC, which appoints them, does not 
     represent the Sikh Nation anymore. They have become the 
     puppets of the Indian government and have lost credibility 
     with the Sikh Nation. Otherwise they would behave like a real 
     Jathedar, Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, rather than like 
     Indian government puppet Jathedar Aroor Singh, who gave a 
     Siropa to General Dyer for the massacre at Jalianawa Bagh. 
     These institutions will remain under the control of the 
     Indian regime until we free the Sikh homeland, Punjab, 
     Khalistan, from Indian occupation and oppression and sever 
     our relations with the New Delhi government.
       The Sikh Nation is a nation of martyrs. It is encouraging 
     that the SGPC and the Akal Takht honored the Sikh martyrs S. 
     Satwant Singh, S. Beant Singh, and S. Kehar Singh. Recent 
     initiatives by the Khalsa Panchayat to bring the Sikh 
     tradition and glory to the Khalsa Panth are highly 
     appreciated. This is a good start to establishing Khalsa Raj 
     as the Akali movement in the 1920s freed the Sikh Gurdwaras 
     from the Mahants who were puppets of the Indian government. 
     Today, the Akali leaders are the new Mahants.
       The Akali Dal conspired with the Indian government in 1984 
     to invade the Golden Temple to murder Sant Bhindranwale and 
     20,000 other Sikh during June 1984 in Punjab. If Sikhs will 
     not even protect the sanctity of the Golden Temple, how can 
     the Sikh Nation survive as a nation?
       The Akali Dal has lost all its credibility. The Badal 
     government was so corrupt openly and no Akali leader would 
     come forward and tell Badal and his wife to stop this 
     unparalelled corruption. That is why the Akali Dal was 
     defeated in the elections by the Congress Party.
       Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has done one good thing for 
     which we must appreciate him. He is prosecuting Badal, his 
     son, and his wife for their corruption during their five 
     years in power, 1997-2002. How could a Chief Minister of 
     modest means amass over Rs4300 crore? He should pay the taxes 
     on this wealth and account to the Sikh Nation where he got 
     it. This ill-gotten wealth should be confiscated.
       Badal has destroyed the moral fabric of the Sikh religion. 
     What happened to the concept of fairness and honesty? Because 
     Sikhs are slaves in India, there is nobody to defend the Sikh 
     interests internationally. Recently, an issue came up of the 
     French banning the wearing of turbans in school. If Khalistan 
     were free, the Sikh Nation could call the French Ambassador 
     and tell him to stop this harassment of Sikhs. Our Ambassador 
     to France would tell the French government the same thing: 
     the turban is part of the Sikh religion and Sikhs should not 
     be harassed.
       When Sikhs ruled Punjab, a French general, General Ventura, 
     commanded the Sikh artillery. He himself wore a beard and a 
     turban. In World War II, the Sikh army wearing turbans helped 
     to liberate France so that France could enjoy freedom.
       Khalsa Ji, let's pray to Guru for freedom, unity, 
     sovereignty, prosperity, and happiness for the Sikh Nation 
     around the world and for everyone. The Khalsa Panth is 
     determined to establish Khalsa Raj, as the events of this 
     past year show.
       India is not one country. It has 18 official languages. 
     Soon Kashmir will be free from Indian occupation. Now America 
     is involved in it. As L.K. Advani predicted, ``When Kashmir 
     goes, India goes.'' We agree with him.
       When I met President Bush on December 5, he personally told 
     me, ``I am aware of the Sikh and Kashmiri problem and we 
     stopped India and Pakistan from going to nuclear war.'' The 
     Sikh diaspora has a moral responsibility to help the Sikh 
     Nation to achieve its sovereignty by freeing Khalistan from 
     Indian occupation.
       As President of the Council of Khalistan, I wish everybody 
     a 2004 that brings freedom, prosperity, and happiness to you 
     and to the Khalsa Panth. A free Khalistan is a must for the 
     survival of the Sikh nation and will provide an optimal 
     environment for the Sikh Nation to progress to its optimum 
     potential politically, religiously, and economically.
           Panth Da Sewadar,
                                          Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,
     President, Council of Khalistan.

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