[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 28176-28177] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]AKALI LEADERSHIP BETRAYS SIKH NATION ______ HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS of new york in the house of representatives Tuesday, December 13, 2005 Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, on November 17, leaders of the Akali Dal, the predominant Sikh party, walked out of a seminar in Lahore after Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, Preside: of the Council of Khalistan, predicted that India will break up. The Akali leaders said ``We came to unite, not to divide India.'' In front of an audience of about 1,500 people, Dr. Aulakh predicted that Kashmir will soon be free and India will break into five or six separate countries, including Khalistan. Former Home Minister L.K. Advani, President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has said that ``if Kashmir goes, India goes.'' Steve Forbes of Forbes magazine predicted in his magazine that India will break apart as the Austro-Hungarian Empire did. The Akali leaders who walked out were clearly representing the Research and analysis Wing (RAW), the intelligence operation of the Indian government. Yet as Inderjit Singh Jaijee reported in The Politics of Genocide, more than 250,000 Sikhs were murdered by the Indian government, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy. Another 52,268 are being held as political prisoners, according to the Movement Against State Repression (MASR.) Some of these political prisoners have been held since 1984. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has apologized for the November 1984 Delhi massacres in which over 20,000 Sikhs were killed. This establishes the guilt of the Indian government beyond any doubt. If he really wants to make amends, he should end India's occupation of Khalistan, the Sikh homeland that declared its independence on October 7, 1987. India has also killed over 300,000 Christian in Nagaland, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, Manipuris, Tamils, and others. Tens of thousands of Muslims and Christians have been killed in other parts of the country. India is not a single country, but a multinational state that cannot hold together. We must do our part to see that this happens peacefully by supporting self-determination for all the people of South Asia. We should also cut off our aid to India and our trade as well until basic human rights are observed fully and enjoyed by all. Mr. Speaker, the Council of Khalistan's recently issued a press release about the betrayal of the Sikhs by the Akali Dal. I would like to put this release into the Record for the information of my colleagues and the people. [[Page 28177]] Akalis Again Betray Sikh Nation Washington, DC, Nov. 22, 2005.--On November 17, 2005, the Akali Dal again showed its true colors, as its leaders walked out of a seminar in Lahore after Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, predicted the breakup of India during a speech in support of liberating Khalistan, the Sikh homeland, Khalistan. The Sarbat Khalsa passed a resolution on April 29, 1986 for a free Khalistan and established the Panthic Committee. The Panthic Committee declared Khalistan's independence on October 7, 1987, forming the Council of Khalistan to lead the independence struggle. About 1,500 people attended the seminar. Dr. Aulakh predicted that Kashmir will soon be free and India will break up into six or seven countries' and Khalistan will be free. The Akali leaders said, ``We came to unite, not to divide India.'' This was a clear indication that those leaders were representing RAW, not those of the Sikh Nation. True Sikhs pray every morning ``Raj Kare Ga Khalsa'' (``the Khalsa shall rule.'') Former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Professor Darshan Singh has said, ``If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh. `` India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and human rights groups and reported in the book The Politics of Genocide by Inderjeet Singh Jaijee. It has also killed more than 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, and thousands of Christians and Muslims elsewhere in the country, as well as tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits (``Untouchables,'' the dark-skinned aboriginal people of South Asia), Manipuris, Tamils, and other minorities. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.'' According to a report by the Movement Against State Repression (MASR), 52,268 Sikhs are being held as political prisoners in India without charge or trial. Some have been in illegal custody since 1984! Amnesty International reported that tens of thousands of other minorities are also being held as political prisoners. We demand the immediate release of all these political prisoners. Cases were registered against dozens of Sikhs for raising the Sikh flag at the Golden Temple on the anniversary of the Golden Temple attack in the presence of over 30,000 Sikhs. Warrants have been issued for their arrest. The flag of Khalistan was also raised on Republic Day, January 26. 35 Sikhs were arrested at that time. Some of them have been denied bail. Recently, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally apologized to the Sikh Nation for the genocide against the Sikhs in November 1984 in which over 20,000 Sikhs were killed just in Delhi and surrounding areas while Sikh police were locked in their barracks and Indian radio and television called for more Sikh blood. This apology establishes the Indian government's responsibility for the genocide against the Sikh Nation. India must end its occupation of Khalistan, which is the root cause of this genocide. Sikhs are a sovereign nation and they are fighting for their freedom. Indian police arrested human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra after he exposed their policy of mass cremation of Sikhs, in which over 50,000 Sikhs have been arrested, tortured, and murdered, then their bodies were declared unidentified and secretly cremated. He was murdered in police custody. His body was not given to his family. History shows that multinational states such as India are doomed to failure. Countries like Austria-Hungary, India's longtime friend the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and others prove this point. India is not one country; it is a polyglot like those countries. Steve Forbes, writing in Forbes magazine, said that India is doomed to disintegrate like the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ``India is not a homogeneous state,'' Forbes wrote. ``Neither was the Austro- Hungarian Empire. It attacked Serbia in the summer of 1914 in the hopes of destroying this irritating state after Serbia had committed a spectacular terrorist act against the Hapsburg monarchy. The empire ended up splintering, and the Hapsburgs lost their throne.'' India is doomed to fall apart just as Austria-Hungary and the others did. ``We must continue to pray for and work for our God-given birthright of freedom,'' Dr. Aulakh said. ``We must continue to press for the liberation of Khalistan,'' he said. ``Without political power, religions cannot flourish and nations perish. India claims to be a democracy. It is time it recognized the right of self-determination for all people in South Asia.'' ____________________