May 16, 2007
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SIKH NATION
23rd Anniversary of Golden Temple Attack
Sikhs Cannot Forgive, Forget This Burtal Attack
Bhindranwale Said Attack “Will Lay Foundation of Khalistan”

Dear Khalsa Panth:

Next month marks the 23rd anniversary of the Indian government’s brutal attack and desecration of Darbar Sahib, the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. Sikhs must never forget or forgive this atrocity. Remember that the Indian troops shot bullet holes into an original copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, written in the time of the Gurus. They took over 100 young Sikh boys, ages 8 to 13, out into the courtyard of the complex and asked them if they supported Khalistan. When they answered “Bole So Nihal”, they were shot to death. Thirty-seven (37) other Gurdwaras were simultaneously attacked. In all, more than 20,000 Sikhs were killed in that operation. This kind of brutality makes it clear that there is no place for Sikhs in India.

Since that horrible four-day operation, which took place from June 3 through 6, 1984, over a quarter of a million Sikhs have been murdered at the hands of the Indian government, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State magistracy and human-rights groups. More than 52,000 are being held as political prisoners, according to a report by the Movement Against State Repression. They are held without charge or trail, many since 1984. We demand the immediate release of all politicl prisoners and a full accounting for those who may have died in custody.

Instead, our highest institutions – the Golden Temple, the Punjab government, the Akali Dal, and others – remain under Indian control. Our homeland, Khalistan, remains under Indian occupation 20 years after declaring its independence from India. Half a million Indian troops continue to enforce the peace of the bayonet in Punjab, Khalistan.

Remember the words of Narinder Singh, a spokesman for the Golden Temple, to America’s National Public Radio: “The Indian government, all the time they boast that they are democratic, that they are secular, but they have nothing to do with a democracy, nothing to do with a secularism. They just kill Sikhs just to please the majority.”

Sant Bhindranwale told us that the attack would “lay the foundation of Khalistan.” Indeed, it did. On October 7, 1987, Khalistan declared its independence. We must use this anniversary to rededicate ourselves to reclaiming that freedom that is our birthright.

In 1986, Harcharan Singh Longowal struck the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, in which India promised to return the capital city of Chandigarh, which Sikhs built, and the Punjabi-speaking areas of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, which were kept out of Punjab in 1965. Twenty-one years later, India has not kept that promise.

India has a long history of not keeping its promises. It promised the people of Kashmir a plebiscite on their status in 1948 and the vote has never been held. Nor has it kept its promises to the people of Nagaland. Instead, Nehru said that even if he had to put a soldier under every tree, he would never allow a free Nagaland. The Indian government has killed over 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims, over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, tens of thousands of Muslims and Christians elsewhere in the country, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits, Manipuris, Tamils, and other minorities. Tens of thousands more of them continue to be held as political prisoners, according to Amnesty International Is that a democracy? These facts underline the necessity to free our homeland, Khalistan, now, and to support freedom for all the people of South Asia.

Remember the words of Guru Gobind Singh, “In grieb Sikhin ko deon Patshahi.” (“I grant sovereignty to the humble Sikhs.”) Freedom is the birthright of all people and nations. It is also granted by our Gurus.

When I visited Pakistan in November for Guru Nanak’s birthday, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, offered to build a road from Kartarpur (where Guru Nanak left this world) to the border if India will build their portion. They even offered to build a fence if India wants one. With this road, Sikhs could go and visit this holy site with no visa. The Akalis could build this road themselves, but they have not done it so far. The spineless Akalis continue to be lapdogs of Delhi. How could the Akalis join with the BJP (the political arm of the RSS) to form a government when the BJP is determined to destroy the Sikh religion by any and all means at their disposal? We must end Indian control of our government, society, and institutions. That control is what the Golden Temple attack was designed to cement. We must stand up and say no. Remember Maharajah Ranjit Singh, who led a powerful, secular Sikh state that was independent from 1765 to 1849. Let us have a new birth of freedom in our homeland, Khalistan.

The Indian government is scared of the Sikh Nation’s aspiration for freedom. Recently, it set off an incident in which Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh dressed up as Guru Gobind Singh and advertised in the newspaper, offering to give Amrit to anyone, a function reserved for the Panj Piaras after Guru Gobind Singh baptized them. In addition, it recently put up a statue of Beant Singh, former Chief Minister of Punjab, who presided over the killing of a majority of the 250,000-plus Sikhs who have been murdered. Simranjit Singh Mann and Wassan Singh Zaffarwal were arrested for peacefully protesting the statue. In 2005, 35 Sikhs were arrested for making speeches and raising the flag of Khalistan. All these repressive acts are in the spirit of the Golden Temple attack and continue the repression. They are evidence that we must free Khalistan now.

Let us remind the Indian government that we have not forgotten the atrocities committed against the Khalsa panth at the Golden Temple and from then on. It is time to reclaim our freedom. India must act like the democracy it claims to be and grant a free and fair plebiscite on the issue of Khalistan under international supervision. It must stop arresting Sikh activists for peaceful political activity. And we must honor the spirits of Bhindranwale and all the others killed at the Golden Temple and the 37 other Gurdwaras by launching a Shantmai Morcha to liberate our homeland, Khalistan, once and for all. Until then, we will continue to suffer under India’s brutal repression. Let’s see to it that our Sikh brothers and sisters finally enjoy the glow of freedom. I ask Sikhs of all shades and political affiliations to join hands to free Khalistan. Remember the words of the former Jathedar of the akal Takht Sahib, Professor Darshan Singh, that “If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh.”

Sincerely,

Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh
President
Council of Khalistan

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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.