Dal Khalsa Alliance
President
Parmjit Singh Sekhon

Dear Khalsa Ji,
Please read below the text of the key-note address of S. Satnam Singh Paonta Sahib – President Dal Khlalsa at '60 years of Sikhs in India' seminar held on August 22nd, 2007 at Jallandher, Punjab. Dal Khalsa has once again made a strong case for Sikh freedom on the soil of Punjab by making a detailed charge sheet against Indian State for crimes committed against Sikhs. Please visit Dal Khalsa website for picture of the seminar and more news.

http://www.dalkhalsa.com/

My utmost thanks to Dal Khalsa, Punjab Executive Committee for their courage to expose the misdeeds of the Indian State and their demand for re-establishment of Sarkar-e-Khalsa using peaceful means.

Sincerely,


Harjinder Singh
NJ- USA

Sikhs are unhappy with India
that is responsible for being unfair and unjust to them

August 22nd, 2007

“The Sikhs are not happy with India and that they await their tryst with destiny under a new dispensation was the message emanating from the seminar organized by the organization to deliberate on ‘60 years of Sikhs in India at a hotel in Jalandhar on August 22.
A galaxy of Sikh scholars and political leaders present at the meet repeatedly castigated the Indian government for discriminating against the Sikh people.

Presenting its case, the Dal Khalsa released a list of 60 incidents and cases of discrimination and proposed to take up these cases at an appropriate international forum in the future for justice to the Sikhs.

Opening the debate on the subject party’s senior leader H.S. Dhami ridiculed the 60-year celebrations and urged the gathering not to forget the various actions taken by India against the Sikhs.

Speaker after speakers rued the decision of their forefathers who tied the destiny of the Sikhs with India.

Party president Satnam Singh Paonta Sahib while speaking on the occasion appealed to the audience to support their efforts for the glory of the Khalsa and the re-establishment of Sarkar-e-Khalsa. Another leader of the Dal Khalsa Harcharnjit Singh Dhami while speaking on the occasion

He said Sikhs faced subjugation, repression, humiliation, fear, uncertainty, agony and deaths in
the last 60 years. He said the genesis of the Sikh problem was in the betrayal of commitments and promises Congress leaders made before the partition.

“Whenever we had asked for our rights, we had to face bullets, detention and hardships, said Kanwarpal Singh, general secretary. He said freedom of expression and right to have a dissent has always been denied to us. “It was the Sikhs who had to prove that they are not traitors of the country, rued Kanwarpal Singh.

He said it was ironic that Sikhs were being treated has a second class citizen, rather like slaves. Installing individuals at the higher ranking constitutional post is a ploy to deceive the world that the country was “secular” in real sense, he pointed out.

The message of Gajinder Singh, an exiled leader of the Dal Khalsa and Dr Amarjit Singh from USA was also read.

Former MP Harinder Singh Khalsa and former minister Manjit Singh calcuta also addressed the gathering. Dr Gurdharshan Singh Dhillon, Karamjit Singh (Former Astt Editor Punjabi Tribune), Karnail Singh Panjoli (Member SGPC) also spoke on the occasion. Others who shared their views include Bhai Mohkam Singh convenor of the Khalsa Action Committee, Paramjit Singh Gazi (SSF president), SKP chairman Rajinder Singh and Bhai Narien Singh.

Full report of the seminar on '60 years of Sikhs in India' by Dal Khalsa held at Jalandhar on August 22
…..in the quest for Sikh sovereignty

(Full text of the statement read by Satnam Singh Paonta Sahib (President))

We are fortunate that we have been bestowed sovereignty by our Gurus. Sikhs are a sui-generis people. In a short span of 500 years, Sikh Gurus and Sikh historical personalities have built and demonstrated the sovereign character of the Sikhs. The unique social, cultural and religio-political aspects of Sikh thought are the fundamental foundations of the Sikh nation. Sikh nationhood is exemplified in the defiant, rebellious and sovereign nature and way of living of the Sikh people. Historically, Sikhs have had their share of political sovereignty till the late fifties of the nineteenth century. It is another matter that geographical boundaries are not a limiting factor to Sikh nationhood.
In its earlier and present format, Dal Khalsa has been an unequivocal proponent and fighter for Sikh freedom. It will continue to be so. Dal Khalsa is the voice of a small but determined section of the Sikh nation, which strongly feels and advocates the formation of a separate Sikh state by peaceful and democratic means, under the aegis of various provisions of UN treaties and conventions.

Today India is celebrating its 60th birth anniversary with a multitude of activities and functions all over the country. However, Dal Khalsa places on record that by tying their destiny with India in 1947, the Sikhs literally enslaved themselves again.

The last 60 years have been tumultuous years of denial, torment, torture, mayhem, destruction, vandalism and death. Of course, there have been individual success stories, which were only natural because of the gregarious character of the Sikhs. Interestingly for reasons of state, the Indian state heaped and perpetuated hate, animosity and discrimination on the one hand and on the other afforded opportunity and provided sponsorship to some individuals to rise to heights of glory, creating a façade of satisfaction and inculcating a misplaced sense of glory and welfare of the whole Sikh corpus.

Nobody can deny that a small segment of top-notch Brahmins continue to dominate the Indian political scene. A handful of Brahmins, sitting in the corridors of power in the north and south block of Delhi, using all devious means and policies continue to play politics of hate and repression. Any one who does not fall in line with them is treated as an enemy.
Independent India has killed more of its citizens struggling for political rights than British India killed during its regime to perpetuate its rule. All nationalities annexed to India since 1947 are living a life of ignominy and suppression. Their religious ethos and cultural identity is on the verge of assimilation in the vast pantheon of Indianism.

I am very clear that such a hypothesis is against the fundamental tenets of my religion and the vision of my Gurus. I would like to live that day when I would look up and say, "this is my sky, this is my land and this is my dream and I will fulfill it without fear or obstruction ". Along with my colleagues and many other Sikh activists, I have spent years in prison beholding the dream that I would live such a day before I leave this planet.

Some may think that we are always negative, that we see the darker side of things. It is not so. We are always positive about our own lives. We are only reiterating our fundamental freedom to be masters of our own destiny, exactly in the same way as others have done so far. Our tryst with destiny is beckoning us since the day our sovereignty was superceded in 1849.

The litany of broken promises and grievances against Sikhs in India does not seem to end. If the neo-Nirankari is dead, a Gurmeet Ram Rahim is born. If he goes in prison, another Ashutosh will be propped up. If the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal has been stopped, then the state of Haryana builds the Hansi-Butana canal and the Punjab government quietly acquiesces into it. Every year is a new story of hate and repression. Year after year, the list continues to grow. Still, these grievances are not the central cause, but only an additive supplementary to the primary, fundamental and conceptual yearning for Sikh sovereignty.

Dal Khalsa is committed to continue on the path of Sikh freedom. Dal Khalsa appeals to all Sikhs and all freedom-loving peoples to join us in this holy pursuit for the Glory of the Khalsa and the re-establishment of Sarkar-e-Khalsa.

Charge Sheet of the Sikh Nation Against the Indian State
The Indian State Versus The Sikh nation

This is a statement of charges by Dal Khalsa -one of the representative bodies of the Sikh nation against the Indian State, which has violated a wide range of Indian and International laws, rules, regulations, treaties and conventions. Dal Khalsa indicts India on these charges and submits a 60-point charge sheet delineating an outline of acts of omission and commission by India against the Sikhs.

Guru Nanak laid the foundations of a distinct nation and the successor Gurus perfected the ideological base culminating in the creation of the Khalsa –the true citizen, living with the Grace of Waheguru and completely submitted to growth and welfare of society.

Guru Nanak challenged the fundamentals of Brahaminism and other schools of social, religious and cultural domination. This confrontation continues. The Sikh religio-political ideology is clear and unambiguous. The Sikhs are a nation sui-generis. The Sikh Commonwealth crafted and nurtured by the Gurus can grow and prosper in an environment devoid of hindrances and subjugation. The Sikh Commonwealth will not submit itself to another state authority. This is the genesis of the Sikh case, hitherto fore not understood by the Indian media and deliberately shunned and ignored by Indian political thinkers and analysts.

Over the last 60 years, India has pursued a pre-meditated colonial policy against the Sikh people. In the decade after 1947, our language and economic prosperity was attacked. In the second decade, our territory and natural resources were usurped. Simultaneously, our religious identity was besmirched and schismatic forces were sponsored. During this period, with an unabashed use of Article 356 of the Indian constitution legitimately formed governments in Punjab were brought under President's rule. Sikh leadership continues to be hauled under trumped up sedition charges from time to time. To break our backs and "to teach us a lesson", during the fourth decade of "independence", the holiest of our holies, Darbar Sahib was attacked, Akal Takht was demolished and using the full might of the state, a physical destruction of the Sikhs was carried out on a gigantic scale. Subsequently, the unique identity of the Sikh religion was questioned and challenged by right-wing forces. Presently the demography of Punjab is being systematically ruined. Every step has been directed towards decimation of Sikhs and Sikhism.

The Sikhs rue the decision of their forefathers who tied the destiny of the Sikhs with India. Nothing has gone right for the Sikhs as a people. Each clause mentioned below is a testimony of hate, discrimination, repression, subjugation perpetuated by India, irrespective of the political party in power.

Below are 60 charges:

1. On the midnight of 14 August 1947, British India was partitioned and Sikhs as a people underwent the trauma and rigours of one of the biggest transfers of population in world history from West Punjab to East Punjab. Home and hearth were lost and the economy of the Panjabis was ruined. The Sikhs were made to leave their most cherished and sacred place, Nankana Sahib -the birthplace of Guru Nanak. According to one estimate, the Sikhs lost more than forty percent of their territory and more than six percent of their total population. The Sikhs decided to join India after Congress leaders made certain commitments and promises not only to safeguard Sikh interest but also to give equal opportunities in the larger polity. But once India gained independence they backtracked and refused to honour their promises.

2. On 10th October 1947, a secret circular by the Punjab Governor, Sir Chandu Lal Trivedi, declared that Sikhs are a criminal tribe. The circular addressed to deputy commissioners of Punjab, labeled the Sikhs a criminal tribe, threat to peace and that the activities of Sikhs should be kept under watch.

3. In the month of February, 1948, right-wing Hindu members of the Jalandhar Municipal Committee officially resolved to adopt the Hindi language as the medium of instruction in schools of the district, to taunt the Sikhs and to decimate the importance of mother tongue Punjabi. In the same year, the Dar Commission submitted its report against the formation of linguistic states.

4. On 19th February, 1949, Sikh leader and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Master Tara Singh was arrested at Narela, under charges similar to sedition in nature disallowing him to participate in a religious ceremony.

5. On 26 January, 1950, the Constitution of India as framed by the Constituent Assembly was adopted. As the Constitution failed to be truly federal in character and did not give special rights to ethnic peoples and nationalities, the two Sikh members in the Constituent Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Mann and Hukam Singh declared that, " The Sikhs do not accept this constitution. The Sikhs reject this constitution."

6. The Government of India enters into a pact with the pseudo-Nirankaris to subvert the separate and distinct entity of the Sikh religion.

7. In 1951, in the first census in 'independent' India, under explicit and implicit orders of the state machinery, Hindi was preferred over Punjabi. The ruling Congress party went to the extent of issuing an advertisement in newspapers asking non-Sikh residents of Punjab to return Hindi (in Devnagari script) as their mother tongue, even though Punjabi had been their mother tongue since ages.

8. On 4th January, 1952 Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, opposed the formation of Punjabi Suba. This was in total contrast to the commitment to demarcate India on a linguistic basis made by the Congress party in 1929, 1946 and 1947.

9. On 4th March, 1953, the Akali-led government of PEPSU province was dismissed without any ground. Upset over the misuse of Article 356 of the Constitution by the Congress government, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the founding father of the Indian constitution, while speaking in the Upper house of the Indian parliament, roared, "I wish to set fire to such a constitution." This was the first non-Congress government that was dismissed and President's rule was imposed.

10. On 6th April, 1955, a ban was imposed on the raising of the slogan "Punjabi Suba Zindabad". Subsequently, the police under the command of DIG Ashwani Kumar entered the Darbar Sahib Complex and raided the offices of the Shiromani Akali Dal to detain Akali leaders. The Head priest of Akal Takht Sahib was arrested and tear gas shells were thrown in the perambulation around the Darbar Sahib. The Head pries of Darbar Sahib and Akal Takht Sahib were detained.

11. In 1957, in continuation of the anti-Punjabi language tirade, a cross-section of Hindu fundamentalists (Jan Sangh) floated Hindi Raksha Samiti under the leadership of Yag Dutt Sharma that launched a violent "Save Hindi Struggle" campaign which comprised of throwing cigarette buts in holy water tanks, tearing of pages of Sikh religious texts and shearing of hair of Sikhs by waylaying them. Discrimination was evident as Hindu hooliganism was not stopped whereas Sikhs were beaten up.

12. On 15th March, 1959 peaceful protestors of the Shiromani Akali Dal, on their way to the Indian parliament to protest the violation of their rights were detained, harassed, maltreated and arrested.

13. In 1960, the biggest Morcha for Punjabi Suba was launched. 57,000 Sikhs courted arrest. Master Tara Singh was arrested. In the same year, on June 12, a silent march was taken in Delhi protesting the arrest of Master Tara Singh. For the first time, the Delhi administration ordered that any Sikh entering Delhi or walking the streets of the city should be given a thrashing. Harbans Singh Frontier who led the first Jatha was mercilessly beaten up when he came out of the Gurdwara Sisganj Sahib.

14. In the sixties, the Indian state patronised and assisted the left movement in Punjab to destroy Sikh culture, Sikh traditions, Sikh religion and Sikh ethos. On 22 May, 1960, 11 Sikhs of Tarna Dal were gunned down at Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh by Mahant Gurdial Singh's henchmen who was entrenched in the Gurdwara with logistical support from police and the district administration.

15. The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 was passed, which dealt a death-blow to the territorial and water rights of the people of Punjab. Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Panjab Reorganisation Act placed the irrigation and hydel-power projects of the Panjab geographically in Himachal Pradesh. These provisions also gave exclusive overall control of these projects to the Central government. It was in total contravention of Article 246 of the Indian constitution and universally accepted riparian principles.

16. In 1967, the Congress conspired to topple the first Akali-led government by engineering defection and thereafter withdrawing its support, and imposing President's rule.

17. In 1970, Sikhs settled in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh were forcibly evicted from there under one pretext or the other. In recent times, the Sikh-majority district of Udham Singh Nagar was also forcibly attached to the newly carved state of Uttaranchal Pradesh against the express wish of Sikh residents in that area.

18. In 1971, in a move to scuttle the importance of martial races in the Indian armed forces, the defence ministry under Jagjivan Ram, took a policy decision, to recruit army personnel on the basis of population rather than merit. The percentage of Sikh participation in the Indian Armed Forces was gradually reduced to a meager 2 percent. Promotions to high-ranking Sikh officers were scuttled on pretext or the other. The government compelled Sikh officers, both in the Defence and Civil services to renounce their Sikh identity ( i.e. Kesh and Kirpan) if they desired promotions and possible retention in their services. This illegal and racial discrimination continues.

19. In 1972, the Punjab police in Gurdwara Sadabart, near Ropar, killed 12 Sikhs.

20. In 1973, the Shiromani Akali Dal adopted the Anandpur Sahib Resolution asking for federal structure but the Indian state and media launched a vicious campaign against it, dubbing it as anti-national.

21. Upon the imposition of emergency in 1975, thousands of volunteers of the Shiromani Akali Dal opposing the emergency imposed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi were incarcerated.

22. On April 13, 1978, thirteen Sikhs were killed in cold-blood by the pseudo-Nirankaris in the heart of Amritsar who had been given permission to voice anti-Sikh sermons in the holy city of Amritsar by the Punjab government. In the same year, 4 Nihang Sikhs were killed at Pundri, Haryana, by police of the Akali Dal supported Haryana Government under the chief ministership of Chaudhary Devi Lal. In the same year Sikh protestors were fired at in Kanpur and Delhi leading to death of some activists.

23. As the Punjab and Sind Bank was understood to be the banks of Sikhs and Punjabis, when the bank reached the zenith of its glory, in 1980, the bank was nationalized and brought under the direct control of the government of India.

24. On 14th January 1980, copies of Guru Granth Sahib were burnt at Chando Kalan in Haryana.

25. On 4th January, 1980 Baba Gurbachan (neo-Nirankari) and 64 associates accused in the case of the murder of 13 Sikhs on April 13, 1978 were acquitted by the Sessions Judge of Karnal, Mr. Gupta. It is an open secret that all attempts were made by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and others to influence the judiciary for their acquittal.

26. On 1st May 1982, the Indian Government banned the Dal Khalsa, which was struggling for Sikh rights. Sometime later, the All India Sikh Students Federation, which was one of the oldest Sikh youth organizations working amongst Sikh students for propagation of Sikh religion was also banned by government of India.

27. During the Asian games in 1982, Sikhs were banned from entering Delhi. With full tacit approval of the state authorities, Sikhs were badly humiliated at various places in Haryana. Their shops were looted and property destroyed.

28. On 4th April, 1983, 26 Sikhs were killed by the police, at Kupp, near Malerkotla, during the "Rasta Roke" agitation of the Akali Dal.

29. In 1983, the State Reserve Police and the Central Reserve Police were directed by the government to attack Gurdwaras on the slightest pretext. During the year, Gurdwara Sahib Sisganj, Delhi, Gurdwara Imli Sahib, Indore, Gurdwara Sahib, Churu, Rajasthan, Gurdwara Sahib Chandokalan, Haryana and Gurdwara Sahib, Chowk Mehta, Amritsar were attacked.

30. From February 15-20, 1984, the Hindus of Haryana under the guidance of the Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and senior police officials, attacked innocent Sikhs in the cities of Panipat, Rohtak, Kaithal Karnal, Ambala, Jind and other parts of Haryana province and killed 20 Sikhs, burnt six Sikh shrines and looted more than 200 Sikh houses and shops.

31. In June 1984, on the orders of the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Darbar Sahib and 37 other Gurdwaras were attacked by all sections of the Indian Armed forces and other security agencies, killing thousands of Sikhs, desecrating the holy premises, vandalizing heritage records and artifacts. They not only killed the fighting forces but also innocent Sikh men, women and children.

32. During the attack on Darbar Sahib, the Indian Armed Forces vandalized the Sikh Reference Library and the looted material has not been returned to this day.

33. After the attack on Darbar Sahib, an internal circular of the Indian Army entitled, Baat Cheet exhorted members of the Indian Armed Forces to earmark baptized Sikhs, all of who were labeled as dangerous people who were supposed to be having direct links with 'terrorists'.

34. In November, 1984, Sikhs were attacked in 87 towns and cities in 'secular' India. According to estimates by human rights organizations atleast 10,000 Sikhs were virtually butchered or burnt alive. Officially, 3,700 Sikhs were killed in a matter of 48 hours. More than 200,000 Sikhs rendered homeless and without work. More than 358 Gurdwaras were desecrated and destroyed. Justifying this official pogrom against the Sikhs against the Sikhs, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shamelessly proclaimed, "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes."

35. On 25 July 1985, the Rajiv-Longowal accord was reached which contained unattainable and unachievable proposals. The Accord was attained under deceit and pressure on Sant Longowal. Still, for the record, no part of the accord has been implemented.

36. Since 1986, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been debarred from officially entering Punjab for documenting human rights violations. This ban still continues.

37. In 1987, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 was passed. This act violated all norms of criminal jurisprudence. Every safeguard guaranteed by the Constitution, all international standards of human rights laid-down by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were violated by this Act, even though India is a signatory to both these declarations. The Sikhs suffered the consequences of TADA. Thousands of Sikh youth were detained, tortured, and killed both in Panjab and in other Indian states.

38. On 12th May 1987, the Union government misusing Article 356 of the Indian constitution dismissed the Akali government led by S S Barnala in Punjab and imposed President rule.

39. On 14-15 September, 1988, Sikh students of the Engineering College at Bidar in Karnataka were subjected to a brutal racial attack in which many students were killed and a large number of them were injured.

40. In 1988, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi introduced the 59th amendment to the constitution of India, rescinding the right to life of the people of Punjab and enabling more discriminatory laws against Punjab.

41. On 13th January, 1988, Sikhs were injured and killed in Jammu & Kashmir during the procession to observe the birthday celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh.

42. On 6th January, 1989, without substantial evidence, Kehar Singh was hanged. The advocates and judges colloquium objected to this judicial murder, but it are still carried out.

43. A written circular was sent by the Director General of Police, Mr. K. P. S. Gill to all Senior Superintendents of Police in Punjab dated 30 August, 1989, giving details of rewards to them for the apprehension and liquidation of wanted "terrorists/extremists".

44. In 1990. Prime Minister V.P. Singh introduced the 65th amendment to the constitution, to prolong Presidential Rule in Panjab. Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar repeated this in 1991 when he initiated the 75th Constitutional Amendment.

45. In 1991, the Bombay police issued a circular to collect details of Sikh residents to cause them harassment and humiliation.

46. Elections scheduled for June 1991 were aborted only 24 hours prior to polling time by the then President Mr. R. Venketaraman on advice from Prime Minster-designate Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao. Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. T.N. Seshan, implemented this illegal order.

47. On 28 July, 1991, a circular was issued in the Terai region asking Sikh residents to prove their innocence. Police intimidation and restrictions on purchase of property became the norm in this Sikh-majority area of the State of Uttar Pradesh.

48. In 1991, Brigadier Sinha of the Indian Army publicly declared that the only way to subvert the culture of the Sikhs was to rape and humiliate Sikh women.

49. On 15 March, 1992, a written discriminatory order was issued by the state government of Rajasthan for registration of land owned by Sikhs.

50. On 3 April, 1992, former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization, Justice Ajit Singh Bains was arrested under the anti-people legislation, TADA. Inspite of massive protests by human rights activists, lawyers and political activists, the Punjab and Haryana High Court did not intervene.

51. On 8-9 June, 1992, five innocent villagers from village Behla, district Amritsar were used as a human shield by the security agencies comprising of the Punjab police and the Central Reserve Police Force in an operation against Sikh insurgents. All were killed and later dubbed as militants.

52. On 9 October, 1992, Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda and Bhai Sukhdev Singh were sent to the gallows under the provisions of the TADA act, which was later on held null and void by the Supreme Court of India. It is significant to mention that as many as 400 petitions challenging the validity of T.A.D.A. were pending judgment for more than 8 years in the apex court. The decision though was taken after hanging Jinda and Sukha.

53. On 1 January, 1993, the former Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib, Bhai Gurdev Singh Kaonke, who had been kidnapped by the police a few days ago, was tortured and extrajudically killed by the Ludhiana police.

54. In 1993, 11 Sikh young pilgrims on way by bus to Hazur Saheb, Nanded from Pilibhit were removed from the bus and shot dead in cold blood in front of all other passengers by the police, alleging that they were all "terrorists".

55. On 8-9 November, 1994, six Sikh under trial detenues under TADA, in the Pilibhit prison in the state of Uttar Pradesh were brutally beaten to death by the 42 members of the prison staff with support from the infamous Provincial Armed Constabulary of Uttar Pradesh. 22 other Sikh detenues were seriously injured.

56. On 6 September, 1995, human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra, who had unearthed gross human rights abuses in the district of Amritsar about individuals who had disappeared involuntarily was tortured and killed extra judicially.

57. Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Human Resources Minister earmarked 100 crores for the celeberation of 300 years of Khalsa Panth. Most of the money was apportioned to RSS supported organizations for penetrating into Sikh institutions to undermine the separate identity of the Sikhs and diluting Sikh ideology with the motive of evolving pan-Hinduism which propagates the Sikhs to be a sect of Hinduism.

58. On 20 March 2000, coinciding with the visit of US President, Bill Clinton, 35 young Sikhs were killed in Chittisingpura, Kashmir by state vigilantes. This has been proved without doubt but the state has not taken any action so far.

59. In June 2005, the leaders of the Dal Khalsa and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) were implicated in false cases under sedition charges when they participated in a function to observe the anniversary of the attack on Darbar Sahib.

60. In the year 2007, while the blasphemous activities of Sirsa dera chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim have been allowed to continue under state patronage and security, in complete violation of legal provisions, sedition charges have been foisted against those Sikh leaders who took up cudgels against him.

Why this Charge Sheet?

1.India is celebrating its 60th birthday. Newspapers, magazines and television channels are filled with euphoria about the years gone by. 60 heroes of India. 60 books of India. 60 leaders of India. 60 achievements of India. 60 sportspersons of India. Is this the complete picture?

2.How about 60 incidents that should put India to shame? Can we forget the storming of Darbar Sahib code-named Operation Bluestar in June 1984? Has the media forgetten that false sedition cases were levied against leading human rights activists like Aurobindo Ghose, Amiya Rao and others, in 1985 when they tabulated gross human rights abuses by the Indian security agencies during Operation Woodrose? How can we forget that in broad daylight, in Delhi, which has the seat of power of the country and emissaries from all over the globe, Sikhs were burnt alive with tyres around their necks? What about the Nellie massacre in Assam? Only the insane will ignore the blinding of undertrials by the police in Bhagalpur and the recent vicious genocidal attacks against Muslims in Gujarat?

3.How about 60 religious, social and political activists who have been detained under various unlawful provisions of Indian draconian laws like TADA and POTA? –the detention of more than 400 Sikh detenues in the Jodhpur prison for five years without trial; –the daylight extrajudicial execution of hundreds upon thousands of Sikh youth; --five years of solitary confinement for Simranjit Singh Mann; --the case of Chanu Sharmila of Manipur on hunger strike against the misuse of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act for more than 6 years in a row; –the extra-judicial murder in Assam of human rights activist and editor of Asomiya Pratidin, Mr. Parag Das; –the repeated detention of water rights activist Medha Patkar; --the disappearance and subsequent elimination of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra; the extra-judicial execution of Jathedar of Akal Takht Bhai Gurdev Singh Kaonke; the arrest of former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Ajit Singh Bains; the extermination of the entire family of Advocate Kulwant Singh, et al. Why is the Indian media silent about all this? Why can't the media write about 60 gross human rights violations by India against its own citizens?

4.To agree to disagree is a pre-requisite for the success of democracy. Today however, on the entire political spectrum, from left to right, we are suffering from an overdose of over-patriotism. Today, in India, dissension is sedition. The executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the media, singly and in tandem continually seems to be telling the minorities, "prove your innocence, and prove that you are not traitors."

5.In such a situation, the Dal Khalsa, in keeping with the high traditions of the organization and adhering to our faith in truthful living, was left with no choice but to speak its mind about the true status of the Sikhs in India. We have attempted to lodge a charge-sheet of the Sikh nation against the Indian state and we will file this with the United Nations with the hope that some day some Sikh representatives will obtain an opportunity with the international body to elaborate on the charges and submit the full case of the Sikh people.

This 60-point year-to-year charge sheet tabled here is by no means totally exhaustive, but all major misdemeanors, misappropriations, mischief's, misrepresentations, misgivings of the Indian state find a mention. Every charge individually and collectively sufficiently holds India responsible for being unfair and unjust to the Sikh people.