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15 August marks India's Independence Day and prolongs the
suffering of the Sikhs. We are clear about our nationhood, but
it is denied by the Indian State and the Indian political
class which are not prepared to allow us basic rights.
Sikh sacrifices for freedom
Prior to independence Sikhs were less than 1.5% of the
population, but their contribution to the freedom struggle was
immense. 77% of those sent to the gallows were Sikh as were
81% of those sentenced to life imprisonment. During the Quit
India Movement many indiscriminate arrests were made and Sikhs
contributed 70% of the total Punjabis arrested. More than 60%
of the 20,000 who joined the Indian National Army were Sikhs.
100-150 million refugees resulted from partition in August
1947 with 40% of all Sikhs becoming refugees. Partition
resulted in up to 2 million people being murdered and another
10-50 million being injured.
Sikhs betrayed and promises broken
India's founding fathers gave numerous solemn promises that
the Sikhs freedom and dignity would be safeguarded. Jawaharlal
Nehru said that "the brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to
special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area set up
in the north of India wherein the Sikhs can also experience
the glow of freedom". These promises were conveniently
forgotten after independence and the Sikhs were dismissively
told by the same Nehru that the "circumstances had now
changed".
Sikhs have rejected India's Constitution
Mahatma [Mai's note: Can we call him 'Mohandas,' his name, and
drop this spurious title?] Gandhi and Nehru gave the Sikhs
assurances that after India achieves political freedom no
Constitution shall be framed by the majority community unless
it is freely acceptable to the Sikhs. This promise was
repeated throughout the period up to independence. When the
Constitution was produced in 1950 it failed to deliver any
safeguards or political rights for the Sikhs as a people or
nation. The Sikhs therefore refused to sign the Constitution
and have never accepted it. Article 25 even denies Sikhism,
the fifth largest faith in the world, separate recognition as
a religion – an affront that is widely seen as a deliberate
act of suppression of the Sikhs.
Demands for greater autonomy were dismissed
The Indian authorities have systematically discriminated
against the Sikhs since 1947 and subverted or suppressed all
legitimate political demands for greater autonomy. The
Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 set out the basis on which
the Sikhs were prepared to accept a political union within
India, as a federal state. This demand for internal
self-determination was pursued through decades of peaceful
protest and attempts at negotiation with the central
government. The demands were never seriously considered and
given the history of the conflict between the Sikhs and India
since 1984, this would now be too little too late.
Gross violation of Sikh human rights
In the last 30 years the Indian authorities have unleashed a
rein of terror through gross violation of human rights of
Sikhs in an attempt to extinguish the calls for freedom and
Sikh independence.
In June 1984 the Indian army attacked the Golden Temple
Complex and 125 other Sikh Gurdwaras in Punjab and massacred
tens of thousands of innocent Sikh pilgrims. This laid the
foundation stone for an independent sovereign Sikh State,
Khalistan.
In November 1984 tens of thousands of innocent Sikhs were
massacred in Delhi and over 130 other cities throughout India
by well-orchestrated mobs under the direct supervision of
senior Indian politicians and officials.
Over 250,000 Sikhs have been murdered and disappeared since
1984. Many Sikh political prisoners still languish in Indian
jails without charge or trial and others have been falsely
charged and sentenced to death by hanging. Illegal detention
and torture of Sikhs is common place and well documented by
independent human rights organisations.
Sikh nationhood and independence
Sikhs first secured political power in the form of an
independent state in 1710, after suffering centuries of
foreign invasions and alien domination. The larger sovereign
Sikh state was established in 1799 and was recognised by all
the world powers. The Sikhs, after the two Anglo-Sikh wars,
lost their kingdom and the Punjab came under British rule in
1849. However, in giving up power Sikhs were party to several
Treaties with the British.
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