[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E144-E145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

TERRORIST INDIAN POLICE MURDER SIKHS, KASHMIRI RICKSHAW DRIVER

______

HON. DAN BURTON

of indiana

in the house of representatives

Thursday, February 8, 2001

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, recently a Kashmiri rickshaw
driver was killed by Sikh police officers. In retaliation, five Sikhs
were killed, and later, a sixth Sikh was murdered at a peaceful protest
rally. These killings are tragic, and I know every member of the U.S.
House of Representatives condemns these murders.
I have recently met with representatives of several minority groups
from within India who

[[Page E145]]

claim that these murders are part of the Indian government's deliberate
strategy of setting minorities against each other for the purpose of
keeping them within India and under the boot of Indian tyranny.
According to these representatives, the Indian police have been
recruiting members of the Black Cats, a notorious criminal terrorist
gang in India, into the police force. They are apparently handing out
these plum positions in the police force as a reward for the ``good
work'' the Black Cats have done for the government. Tragically, this
``good work'' consists mainly of killing Sikhs and other minorities. It
is these Black Cats, often dressed as police, who often carry out these
minority-targeted murders.
Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, has
put out a press release condemning these murders. He points out that
the killings serve no one's interest but that of the Indian government.
``When these things happen, just as in Chithi Singhpora, you have to
ask the question: Who benefits?,'' Dr. Aulakh said. According to him,
``In all these cases, the answer is the same: the Indian government.
Neither the Sikh Nation nor the Kashmiris benefit in any way from the
murders of Sikhs or Kashmiris.'' He noted that there were some threats
to destroy a Muslim mosque in retaliation for the murders. It is the
Indian government that has a record of attacking, desecrating, and
destroying Christian, Sikh, and Muslim religious places. Dr. Aulakh
urged both communities to keep their cool and not to be sucked into the
Indian government's strategy. ``The Indian government has shown its
disregard for basic human rights,'' said Dr. Aulakh.
Mr. Speaker, the hard-working American taxpayers should not be taxed
to support this kind of a government. American principles of freedom
require that we help these people. We should stop all aid to India
until it stops repressing its minorities and we should put the Congress
on record demanding a free and fair plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan, in
Kashmir, in predominantly Christian Nagaland, and anywhere else where
people seek their freedom from India. These actions will go a long way
towards bringing freedom to the subcontinent. I urge this Congress and
President Bush to act now in support of freedom.
Mr. Speaker, I submit the following press release from the Council of
Khalistan's about this terrible incident; into the Record. I urge all
my colleagues to read it carefully. It is very revealing about the true
nature of Indian ``democracy.''

Sikhs Condemn Killings in Kashmir, Appeal to Both Communities to
Exercise Restraint--Do Not Become Part of the Indian Government's
Divide and Rule Strategy--India Should Free Kashmir and Khalistan
Instead of Murdering People

Washington, D.C., February 6, 2001--The Council of
Khalistan today condemned this week's killings of five Sikhs
and the murder of a Muslim scooter driver by Indian Sikh
security force personnel in Kashmir. ``These killings are
reprehensible,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of
the Council of Khalistan, which leads the Sikh Nation's
struggle for independence. ``Neither Sikhs nor Muslims nor
any other people should be killed because of who they are,''
he said. ``These killings only advance the Indian
government's divide and rule strategy,'' he said. ``I urge
both the Sikh community and the Muslim community not to get
worked up and commit more violence against each other,'' said
Dr. Aulakh.
``When these things happen, just as in Chithi Singhpora,
you have to ask the question: Who benefits?,'' Dr. Aulakh
said. ``In all these cases, the answer is the same: the
Indian government. Neither the Sikh Nation nor the Kashmiris
benefit in any way from the murders of Sikhs or Kashmiris.''
Members of the violent Black Cats commandos have been
recruited into the police due to their ``good work''--killing
Sikhs and other minorities. These Indian agents have
infiltrated Sikh organizations and Muslim organizations.
``They were the ones who threatened to destroy a mosque in
retaliation for the killings,'' Dr. Aulakh noted. ``No Sikh
would ever destroy anyone's religious places. But the
theocratic Hindu militant government of India has a record of
doing so,'' he said. He noted that the BJP destroyed the
Babri mosque and still plans to build a Hindu temple on the
spot. A mosque in Kashmir was also destroyed. Hindu militants
affiliated with the RSS, the parent organization of the
ruling BJP, have burned Christian churches. The Indian
government attacked the Golden Temple and 38 other Sikh
Gurdwaras in Punjab in June 1984.
Tens of thousands of Sikh political prisoners are rotting
in Indian jails without charge or trial. India is in gross
violation of international law. The government of India has
murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, more than 200,000
Christians since 1947, over 70,000 Muslims in Kashmir since
1988, and tens of thousands of Tamils, Assamese, Manipuris,
Dalits (the aboriginal people of the subcontinent), and
others. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian
government's murders of Sikhs ``worse than a genocide.''
Government-allied Hindu militants have murdered priests, and
raped nuns. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) described the
rapists as ``patriotic youth'' and called the nuns
``Nantinational 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,'' a Hindu god.
``India is not a democracy for Sikhs, Muslims, Christians,
and other minorities,'' said Dr. Aulakh. The rights
guaranteed in the Indian constitution are not enjoyed by non-
Hindus, he said. ``Congressman Rohrabacher was right when he
said that for minorities `India might as well be Nazi
Germany.'' Police witnesses have confirmed that the police
tortured and murdered the former Jathedar of the Akal Takht,
Gurdev Singh Kaunke, and human-rights activist Jaswant Singh
Khalra.
Sikhs ruled Punjab up to 1849 when the British conquered
the subcontinent. Sikhs were equal partners during the
transfer of power from the British. The Muslim leader Jinnah
got Pakistan for his people, the Hindu leaders got India, but
the Sikh leadership was fooled by the Hindu leadership
promising that Sikhs would have ``the glow of freedom'' in
Northwest India and the Sikhs took their share with India on
that promise.
Sikhism was not even recognized in the Indian constitution
as a separate religion, while Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.
were recognized. Discrimination against the Sikh Nation took
place in every sphere. After the Golden Temple attack, the
Sikh Nation stepped up its struggle to achieve its God-given
right to be free. On October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation
declared the independence of its homeland, Punjab, Khalistan.
No Sikh representative has ever signed the Indian
constitution. The Sikh Nation demands freedom for its
homeland, Khalistan.
``Democracies don't commit genocide,'' Dr. Aulakh said.
``In a democracy, the right to self-determination is the sine
qua non and India should allow a plebiscite in Kashmir and
Punjab, Khalistan,'' he said. ``Only freedom will bring peace
and justice in South Asia.''

____________________