Council of Khalistan Press Release
Sikhs Observe Anniversary of Golden Temple Massacre
Sikhs Never Forgive, Forget This Brutal Attack
Bhindranwale Said Attack “Will Lay Foundation of Khalistan”
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 4, 2011 – Sikhs from all over the East Coast gathered in Washington, D.C. today to commemorate the Indian government’s brutal military attack on the Golden Temple, the center and seat of the Sikh religion, and 37 other Sikh Gurdwaras throughout Punjab, in June 1984, in which over 20,000 Sikhs were murdered. Similar events have been taking place in London, New York, several cities in Canada, at the United Nations, and around the world.
During the Golden Temple attack, young boys ages 8 to 13 were taken outside and asked if they supported Khalistan, the independent Sikh country. When they answered with the Sikh religious phrase “Bole So Nihal,” they were shot to death. The Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scriptures, written in the time of the Sikh Gurus, were shot full of bullet holes and burned by the Indian forces. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, General Shabeg Singh, Bhai Amrik Singh, and others will always be remembered as Sikh martyrs. Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochahal, the leader of the Panthic Committee that declared the independence of Khalistan on October 7, 1987, was murdered in police custody. He also will be remembered as a Sikh martyr.
The Golden Temple attack was a brutal chapter in India’s repression of the Sikhs, according to Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, the government pro tempore of Khalistan, the Sikh homeland. “Sikhs cannot forgive or forget this atrocity against the seat of our religion by the Indian government, said Dr. Aulakh “This brutal attack clarified that there is no place in India for Sikhs,” he said. “Sant Bhindranwale said that attacking the Golden Temple would lay the foundation stone of Khalistan, and he was right,” said Dr. Aulakh. “Instead of crushing the Sikh movement for Khalistan, as India intended, the attack strengthened it,” he said. “The flame of freedom still burns bright in the hearts of Sikhs despite the deployment of over half a million Indian troops to crush it,” he said. Last year, former Member of Parliament Simranjit Singh Mann held a conference on Khalistan that was attended by over 100,000 people. Dal Khalisa in Punjab has also passed resolutions for Khalistan and held marches for Khalistan.
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. According to Amnesty International, there are tens of thousands of other minorities being held as political prisoners. 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.]” According to Sardar Mann, the Indian government has murdered over a million Sikhs since 1982. This aligns with a threat made by the former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Balram Jakhar, who said, "If we have to kill a million Sikhs to preserve our territorial integrity, so be it." India has also killed more than 300,000 Christians in Nagaland, over 100,000 Muslims in Kashmir, tens of thousands of other 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.”
“Democratic” India continues to arrest people for engaging in free speech. On February 27 in Jalandhar, former Member of Parliament Sardar Atinder Pal Singh, President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Khalistani), was arrested along with four other members of his party while putting up banners supporting Khalistan. He was putting up the banners in preparation for a press conference about Khalistan. Sardar Atinder Pal Singh was elected to Parliament in 1986 as an independent from Patiala. In 2009, Sardar Daljit Singh Bittu, President of the Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani), was arrested for displaying pictures of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and speaking out in support of an independent Khalistan. Two leading Sikh activists were arrested for peacefully protesting the construction of a statue to honor Beant Singh, the late Chief Minister who presided over the murder of tens of thousands of Sikhs. A few years ago, 35 Sikh activists were arrested for making speeches and raising the flag of Khalistan. Sedition charges were filed against 19 Sikh activists, including Dal Khalsa President Harcharanjit Singh Dhami. Yet Dal Khalsa and other organizations had events to mark Khalistan Resolution Day on April 29, the anniversary of the 1986 resolution supporting an independent Khalistan.
On May 12, the Indian government removed the names of 140 people from its blacklist, including that of Dr. Aulakh. “This will not make any difference to the movement to free Khalistan,” Dr. Aulakh said. “I will be happy to go to Punjab to hoist the flag of a sovereign, independent Khalistan. Only in a free Khalistan will the Sikh Nation prosper and get justice,” he said. “When Khalistan is free, we will have our own Ambassadors, our own representation in the UN and other international bodies, and our own leaders to keep this sort of thing from happening,” said Dr. Aulakh. “Democracies don’t commit genocide. India should act like a democracy and allow a plebiscite on independence for Khalistan and all the nations of South Asia,” Dr. Aulakh said. “As Professor Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, said, ‘If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh’,” Dr. Aulakh noted. “We must continue to pray and work for our God-given birthright of freedom.”
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Issued by
Parmjit Singh Sekhon (Dakha)
Advisor – Council of Khalistan
Member - Punjabi Sahit Sabha
President – Dal Khalsa Alliance
Member – Bhai Ghanaiya Society
President – International Sikh Sabhiachar Society
510-774-5909
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