Dr. Aulakh Speaks to London Institute of South Asia
Book Award to Professor Gurtej Singh

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2006 – Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, spoke last month at the London Institute of South Asia (LISA.) He went there for a ceremony honoring Professor Gurtej Singh IAS for his book, Tandev of the Centaur, which won the LISA Book Award. The seminar addressed the topic of a separate electorate for Indian minorities. Dr. Aulakh spoke on the topic of the liberation of Khalistan. He said that the idea of a separate election could be good for some minorities but was something that would hold back the struggle for freedom of minority nations that are dominant in their areas. He gave four radio interviews on Punjabi stations that are listened to worldwide.

Professor Gurtej Singh said, “As a part of my narration [for the book], I found myself suggesting a theory indicating the spurious nature of India’s struggle for freedom. I am aware that it renders the main activities of the Congress Party and its leaders to an exercise in collaboration. But I am in good company in coming to that conclusion. Michael Edwards, in his The Myth of the Mahatma, has clearly shown that the British really feared the ‘Western style revolutionaries’ whom Gandhi effectively neutralized. The Administration considered Gandhi as an ally of the British as a neutralizer of rebellion.”

“This book does not clarify everything, but it clarifies a lot,” said Brigadier Usman Khalid, Director of LISA. “It lays the foundation for friendship between two irrepressible nations of the subcontinent - the Muslims and the Sikhs. The national cohesion that exists within the Muslims and the Sikhs cannot be replicated in the caste based Brahminic society,” Brigadier Khalid said.. “Indian secularism is fraudulent; Indian nationalism is a pious hope without foundation or purpose. The book nails those lies. It is a great starting point for the ‘freedom for all in South Asia.’”

“Despite the Indian Government’s massive efforts over two decades to crush the Khalistani freedom movement and the other freedom movements, there remains strong support for Khalistan in Punjab and the surrounding Sikh areas,” Dr. Aulakh said. He noted the anniversary of the attack on the Golden Temple and the atrocities that were committed in Operation Bluestar. He took note of the arrests of Sikh leaders in Punjab for making speeches and hoisting the flag. He noted that Khalistan slogans were raised inside the Golden Temple recently. He noted the seminars organized by Atinder Pal Singh and took note of the atrocities committed by the Indian government, such as the kidnapping and murder of Jaswant Singh Khalra, the murder of Akal Takht Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, tearing apart the driver of Baba Charan Singh, and the mass cremation of Sikhs. He cited the Chithisinghpora massacre, the bombing of an Indian Airlines flight in 1985, and other atrocities committed by the Indian government.

A report issued by the Movement Against State Repression (MASR) shows that India admitted that it held 52,268 political prisoners under the repressive “Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act” (TADA) even though it expired in 1995. Many have been in illegal custody since 1984. There has been no list published of those who were acquitted under TADA and those who are still rotting in Indian jails. Additionally, according to Amnesty International, there are tens of thousands of other minorities being held as political prisoners. The MASR report quotes the Punjab Civil Magistracy as writing “if we add up the figures of the last few years the number of innocent persons killed would run into lakhs [hundreds of thousands.]” 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.”

Government-allied Hindu militants have burned down Christian churches and prayer halls, murdered priests, and raped nuns. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) described the rapists as “patriotic youth” and called the nuns “antinational elements.” Hindu radicals, members of the Bajrang Dal, burned missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons, ages 10 and 8, to death while they surrounded the victims and chanted "Victory to Hannuman," the Hindu monkey-faced God. The Bajrang Dal is the youth arm of the RSS. The VHP is a militant Hindu Nationalist organization that is under the umbrella of the RSS.

“The genocidal policies of the Indian government are aimed at eliminating all these groups,” Dr. Aulakh said. “Self-determination must be the standard,” he said. “Short of that, it is hard to see how the freedom of all people in South Asia will be protected.”

We thank the London Institute of South Asia for including Dr. Aulakh in its presentations. We would like to thank General Khalid, Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon, V.T. Rajshekar, and all the trustees of the Institute for inviting Dr. Aulakh to make this presentation.

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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.