BURNING PANJAB

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Freedom Burns Brightly in Sikh Hearts
11 Arrested for Hoisting Sikh Flag in Amritsar
Salute to Sikhs Who Stand Up to Indian Tyranny

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 1, 2005 Thirty-five Sikhs were booked and eleven were arrested in Amritsar on January 26 after raising the saffron flag of Khalsa Raj at Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj in Amritsar. They have been charged with sedition and "making inflammatory speeches." Dal Khalsa had declared the day "Betrayal Day" for the Sikhs and all the minorities of India.

Republic Day is the anniversary of the adoption of India's constitution, which is supposed to ensure a secular, democratic government. But the Indian government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, more than 300,000 Christians since 1948, over 90,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris, Dalits, Bodos, and others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs "worse than a genocide." 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 have been in illegal custody 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 these political prisoners.

"I have a strong conviction that today's event will be another milestone in our ongoing effort to establish sovereign self-rule for Sikhs," said Harcharanjit Singh Dhami, working president of Dal Khalsa. "We are all aware that our nation continues to face a belligerent India but we remain confident that the democratic will of our people will see us through to the end."

The Sikh Nation declared its independence from India on October 7, 1987 and formed the Council of Khalistan at that time to lead the struggle for independence. After the Indian government's brutal June 1984 military attack on the most sacred Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sarbat Khalsa was organized in 1986 at Akal Takht Sahib and a resolution was passed there to establish Khalistan. The Panthic Committee was formed under the leadership of the late Sardar Gurbachan Singh Manochahal to free Khalistan and it formed the Council of Khalistan and declared the independence of Khalistan. The Council of Khalistan is committed to securing the independence of Khalistan by peaceful, democratic, nonviolent means.

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. Khalra was murdered in police custody. His body was not given to his family. No one has been brought to justice for the kidnapping and murder of Jaswant Singh Khalra. The police never released the body of former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Gurdev Singh Kaunke after SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna murdered him. He has never been tried for the Jathedar Kaunke murder. In 1994, the U.S. State Department reported that the Indian government had pad over 41,000 cash bounties for killing Sikhs.

When India became independent, Sikhs were equal partners in the transfer of power and were to receive their own state, but the weak and ignorant Sikh leaders of the time were tricked into staying with India on the promise that they would have "the glow of freedom" and no law affecting the Sikhs would pass without their consent. Sikhs ruled an independent and sovereign Punjab from 1710 to 1716 and again from 1765 to 1849 and were recognized by most of the countries of the world at that time. Sikhs do not accept the Indian constitution. No Sikh representative has ever signed it.

History shows that multinational states are doomed to failure. Countries such as Austria-Hungary, 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. Last year, the Punjab Legislative Assembly passed a bill annulling the government's daylight robbery of Punjab river water. Punjab needs its river water for its crops. In the bill, the Assembly explicitly stated the sovereignty of Punjab. Political leaders in Punjab have again called for an independent Khalistan.

"We salute Dal Khalsa and the other Sikh leaders for raising the Kesri Nishan on Republic Day. This shows that the drive for freedom is still alive in Punjab," Dr. Aulakh said. "We hope that they will be strong and consistent in maintaining the struggle," said Dr. Aulakh. "I urge the international community to help us free Khalistan from Indian occupation," he said. "Freedom is the birthright of all people and nations," he said. "As Professor Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, said, "If a Sikh is not for Khalistan, he is not a Sikh," Dr. Aulakh noted.

"We must continue to press for freedom," he said. "Without political power, religions cannot flourish and nations perish. A sovereign Khalistan is essential for the survival of the Sikh religion and the Sikh Nation."