Republic Day: What Is There to Celebrate?
“In grieb Sikhin ko deon Patshahi.” -- Guru Gobind Singh Sahib. (“I grant sovereignty to the humble Sikhs.”) Sikhs are a sovereign nation.
Today is Republic Day, the anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution. India’s constitution is supposed to guarantee freedom for all [paople and a democratic, secular form of government. But while India proclaims itself a democracy, it has engineered a genocide against Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, and other minorities. India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, about 89,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, and tens of thousands of other minorities, including Christians and Muslims in other parts of the country as well as tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, Manipuris, Tamils, and others. They attacked the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and 37 other Gurdwaras throughout India in June 1984, killing 20,000 Sikhs in that single operation.
The Movement Against State Repression (MASR) reported that India holds 52,268 Sikhs in illegal custody as political prisoners without charge or trial. Some of them have been held since 1984! Tens of thousands of other minorities are also being held as political prisoners, according to Amnesty International. WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS.
Sikhs ruled Punjab as an independent, secular country from 1765 to 1849. Sikhs have never accepted the Indian constitution. At the time of the transfer of power, Sikhs were equal partners who were to receive sovereignty along with Muslims and Hindus. When the Indian constitution was adopted in 1950, no Sikh representative signed it and no Sikh representative has signed it to this day.
How can this happen in a democracy?
“For the people of Jammu and Punjab and Kashmir, India might as well not be a democracy. For them, India might as well be Nazi Germany.” – U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-Cal.)
A Pattern of Repression Against the Sikh Nation
This is the state of freedom in Punjab, Khalistan under Indian rule.
“The mere fact that they have the right to choose their oppressors does not mean they live in a democracy.” – U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
THE REPRESSION CONTINUES WHILE INDIA PROCLAIMS ITS SECULARISM AND DEMOCRACY
Half a million Indian forces have been sent to Punjab, Khalistan to subdue the freedom movement there. Another 700,000 are deployed in Kashmir. They join with the police in carrying out the kinds of atrocities described above. India calls this “protecting its territorial integrity.”
In March 2000 in the village of Chithisinghpora, 35 Sikhs were massacred. Two studies of this massacre, one by the International Human Rights Organization, based in Ludhiana, and the other conducted jointly by the Punjab Human Rights Organization and the Movement Against State Repression, concluded that the massacre was the work of Indian forces, a conclusion supported by reporter Barry Bearak in the December 31, 2000 issue of the New York Times Magazine. In another village in Kashmir, Indian troops were caught red-handed trying to set fire to several Sikh houses and the local Gurdwara. Sikh and Muslim villagers joined together to stop this atrocity before it could be carried out.
Sikhs ruled Punjab as an independent, secular country from 1765 to 1849. Sikhs have never accepted the Indian constitution. At the time of the transfer of power, Sikhs were equal partners who were to receive sovereignty along with Muslims and Hindus. When the Indian constitution was adopted in 1950, no Sikh representative signed it and no Sikh representative has signed it to this day.
Recently, the Punjab Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a bill revoking all water agreements and reclaiming Punjab’s water for Punjab’s farmers. They explicitly asserted Punjab’s sovereignty. The Indian government took the Punjab government to court to overturn this act.
On October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation formally declared its independence from India, naming their new country Khalistan. Since then, Khalistan has been under illegal occupation by the Indian government and its forces.
“If a Sikh is not for Khalistan, he is not a Sikh.” – Professor Darshan Singh, former Jathedar of the Akal Takht
Unfortunately, Sikhs are not the only victim of India’s brutal tyranny.
DEMOCRACIES DON’T COMMIT GENOCIDE.
Support Self-Determination in South Asia
The right to self-determination is the essence of democracy. Please urge your representatives to support self-determination for Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, and all the nations seeking their freedom. Demand the release of all political prisoners, a free and fair plebiscite on the question of independence, and an end to foreign aid to India until human rights are respected.
For further information, please contact the Council of Khalistan, 730 24th St. NW, #310, Washington, DC 20037 USA (202) 337-1904 or visit our website, www.khalistan.com
This material is circulated by the Council of Khalistan, which is registered with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as an agent of the Council of Khalistan, Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab. The material is filed with the DOJ where the required registration is available for inspection. Registration does not indicate approval of the contents by the U.S. Government.