Sikhs Celebrating 307th Anniversary
of Revelation of Khalsa Nation by Guru Gobind Singh Sahib

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 26, 2006 – Sikhs all over the world have been celebrating Vaisakhi Day, the anniversary of the revelation of the Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. There have been parades in Washington, D.C., Vancouver, Stockton, Seattle, London, and may other cities. There will be an annual Sikh Day parade in New York on April 29. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, will be speaking at the New York parade. In previous years, Dr. Aulakh’s speeches have been punctuated by chants of “Khalistan Zindabad.”

Vaisakhi Day is one of the most joyous days in the Sikh calendar, celebrating the emergence of the Khalsa Panth as a distinct people. Sikhs have been celebrating with devotion and reverence. Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed the sovereignty of the Sikh Nation; “In grieb Sikhin ko deon patshahi.” Every morning and evening Sikhs recite “Raj Kare Ga Khalsa,” meaning “the Khalsa shall rule,” and “Khalsa Bagi Yan Badshah,” meaning “either the Khalsa is in rebellion or the ruler.” Sovereignty is the birthright of all people, and it is the heritage of the Sikh nation. As former Akal Takht Jathedar Professor Darshan Singh has said, “If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh.”

“We must remind ourselves of our heritage by raising slogans of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ and beginning a Shantmai Morcha to liberate our homeland, Khalistan,” said Dr. Aulakh. “Whoever is honest and dedicated in leading that Shantmai Morcha deserves our support.”

India is stepping up its efforts to repress the Sikh Nation’s demand for freedom. Recently, Sardar Daljit Singh Bittu, leader of the Shiromani Khalsa Dal, was arrested for making a speech. Sikh activist Dr. Jagjit Singh Chohan was arrested after he said on India’s Zee TV that Khalistan will be free by 2007. Leaders of Dal Khalsa have been arrested for leading marches, making speeches, and raising the Khalistani flag. In January, Sikh farmers were expelled from Uttaranchal Pradesh and their land was seized. They were beaten up by the police. Their homes were bulldozed by paratroopers. Their homes in many cases were built using their life savings and by their own hands.

“It is evident that the Indian government is scared of the increasing amount of peaceful activism in Punjab in support of Khalistan,” said Dr. Aulakh. “The time of Khalistan’s liberation is near. India will fall apart soon,” he said. “This office has worked unwaveringly for a sovereign Khalistan for over 20 years,” he noted.

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, thrown together for the convenience of the British colonialists. It is doomed to break up as they did. “We only hope that the breakup will be peaceful like that of Czechoslovakia and not violent like that of Yugoslavia,” said Dr. Aulakh.

The Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir, tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims throughout the country, and tens of thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, , and others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs “worse than a genocide.”

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. The police never released the body of former Jathedar of the Akal Takht S. Gurdev Singh Kaunke after SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna murdered him. No one has been brought to justice for the Khalra kidnapping and murder. Yet 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 since 1984!

“Only in a free Khalistan will the Sikh Nation prosper and get justice,” said Dr. Aulakh. “India’s illegal occupation of our homeland, Khalistan, must end,” he said.“India should act like a democracy and allow a free and fair plebiscite on independence for all the nations of South Asia,” Dr. Aulakh said. “We must free Khalistan now.”

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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.