Hindu-Indian Government Murders 35 Sikhs

Indian RAW Agents Pose as 'Kashmiri Militants'
Hindu Rulers Continue Strategy of Divide-Kill-and-Rule

WASHINGTON, DC, USA, March 21, 2000 (InfoTimes): Thirty-five (35) Sikhs were murdered in Indian-Occupied Kashmir on Monday, March 20 by agents of the Indian Government's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) posing as 'Kashmiri militants'. There are over 700,000 Indian troops stationed in Kashmir, yet the murderers disappeared without detection. The brutal murders were committed during U.S. President Bill Clinton's March 19-25 trip to South Asia.

Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Washington-based Council of Khalistan, strongly condemned the murders. "These murders are evil, cowardly and stupid acts designed to pit one community against another and prop up India's image for the President's visit," Dr. Aulakh said. "Whoever carried out these brutal acts, they are cowards," he said. "They may escape justice in this world, but they will face the justice of God. That will be worse for them."

"Sikhs and Kashmiris are allies in the struggle for freedom," said Dr. Aulakh. "What motive would Kashmiri freedom fighters have to kill Sikhs? This would be especially stupid when President Clinton is visiting India. The freedom movements in Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagaland and throughout India need the support of the United States," he said. Khalistan is the Sikh homeland declared independent on October 7, 1987.

The murders continue a pattern of divide-and-rule terrorism by the Indian Government. The Hindu Government has recently tried to blame Sikhs for the murder of Christian missionary Graham Staines by arresting a Hindu man who uses the alias Dara Singh. Every Sikh male uses Singh in his name. Yet it was reported at the time of the Staines murder that he and his two sons were burned to death in their jeep by a mob chanting "Victory to Hannuman," a Hindu god. That mob was affiliated with the Fascist RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP. In November 1994, The Hitavada reported that the Indian Government paid the late Governor of Punjab, Surendra Nath, $1.5 billion to organize and support covert state terrorism in Punjab, Khalistan, and in Kashmir. The book Soft Target, written by two respected Canadian journalists, proved that the Indian Government blew up its own airliner in 1985, killing 329 people, to blame the incident on the Sikhs and provide an excuse for more repression and bloodshed. This is a well-established modus operandi of Indian RAW.

The Indian Government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and human-rights organizations. The figures were published in The Politics of Genocide by Inderjit Singh Jaijee. The Hindu Government has also killed over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, more than 65,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Manipuris, Tamils, Dalits and others. The U.S. State Department reported that the Indian Government paid more than 41,000 cash bounties to police to murder Sikhs. Amnesty International recently reported that there are thousands of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, held in Indian jails without charge or trial. Some Sikh political prisoners have been in this illegal detention since 1984.

"This shows that there is no freedom for minorities in India," Dr. Aulakh said. "For minorities, India is no democracy," he said. "As U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said, for the minorities 'India might as well be Nazi Germany.'"

"I urge President Clinton and Ambassador Richard Celeste to confront India on these brutal murders, as well as the recent harassment of journalist Sukhbir Singh Osan, getting Sikh and other political prisoners released, and the ongoing, massive and brutal human rights violations against Sikhs and other minorities," Dr. Aulakh said. "If the United States wants to see an end to these incidents, it should support self-determination for Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland and all the other nations seeking their freedom from India," Dr. Aulakh said. "Only a free Khalistan will end India's corruption, tyranny and genocide against the Sikh Nation," he said. "India is on the verge of disintegration. The Sikh leadership should immediately begin a Shantmai Morcha to liberate our homeland, Khalistan."

[Publisher: Information Times, America's online international daily newspaper, Washington, DC, U.S.A. http://www.InformationTimes.com]


HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
in the House of Representatives

TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2000

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, like everyone in this House, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the brutal murders of 35 Sikhs in Kashmir. The loss of life is a tragedy. I am sure that my colleagues will join me in expressing our sympathies to the victims' families.

Although the news media reported that 'Kashmiri militants' were responsible for this incident, the latest information shows that India's Research and Analysis Wing carried out this brutal and cowardly atrocity.

There are over 700,000 Indian troops in Kashmir. How could the persons responsible for these crimes simply disappear without being detected? What motive would the Kashmiris have to kill Sikhs, who are their allies in the struggle for freedom? When these incidents occur, Mr. Speaker, one must ask who benefits from them. The only beneficiary is the Indian government, which again divides the minorities, setting them against each other to continue their divide-and-rule strategy.

India's pattern of terrorism is well known. It recently tried to blame the Sikhs for the murder of Christian missionary Graham Staines by arresting a Hindu man who calls himself Dara Singh despite the fact that Staines and his family were murdered by Hindu extremists allied with the ruling party. According to the Hitavada newspaper, the Indian government paid the lateGovernor of Punjab, Surendra Nath, to foment terrorist activities in Punjab and Kashmir to generate more repression and set minorities against each other.

In this country, if someone tried to create violence between, say, African Americans and Hispanics, that person would be rejected and likely arrested. In India , this is government policy.

It is also disturbing that this atrocity occurs just after President Clinton lifted the sanctions imposed on India after its nuclear tests. In light of these murders, those sanctions should be reimposed and India should be declared a terrorist state. Here in Congress, we should cut off U.S. aid to India and we should declare our support for the freedom movements in Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, and throughout India . We must do these things to promote freedom for thepeople of South Asia and the world.

Mr. Speaker, Burning Punjab published the names of the victims of this massacre and the Council of Khalistan published an excellent press release on the incident. I would like to introduce these items into the Record to honor the memory of the victims and inform my colleagues and the people.


HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
in the House of Representatives

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2000

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, recently two human-rights groups in Punjab, the Punjab Human Rights Organization and the Movement Against State Repression, published a report on the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the village of Chatti Singhpora, Kashmir, this past March. Despite the Indian government's efforts to blam Pakistan and alleged Kashmiri 'militants' for the massacre, an effort the Indian government reinforced by killing five innocent Kashmiris, the report clearly and unambiguously places the blame where it belongs-on the Indian government.

'It is our considered opinion,' the report says, 'that Pakistan has nothing to gain by ordering militants/mercenaries to massacre Sikhs in the Kashmir valley. Pakistan had steered clear of this kind of act during 10-15 years of militancy in J&K,' the group wrote. 'J&K militants too had nothing to gain from such an incident. Indian leaders however gained substantial mileage from this incident as a spate of international sympathy was forthcoming,' the investigative team wrote. They noted that India's Home Minister, L.K. Advani, 'was quoted as saying that three events brought a turn around in international opinion in India's favor. He mentioned Kargil, the hijacking of the Indian airliner, and the Chatti Singhpora incident.'

According to the report, the people in the village of Chatti Singhpora 'did not believe that militants had any hand in this incident.' The report notes that 'as a rule foreign mercenaries visit a village once and do not come back again. So these men cannot be militants. Also real militants do not part with their weapons even for a minute.' The killers wore military uniforms and chanted 'Jai Mata Di; Jai Hind,' a Hindu nationalist slogan. The report notes that the Sikhs and Kashmiri Muslims have very good relations. Both the Chief Minister of Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, and Mr. Advani had warned villagers against supporting 'militants.'

The authors of the report conclude that the Indian government's counterinsurgency forces, which are run by the Indian intelligence service, RAW, are responsible for the massacre of Chatti Singhpora. Unfortunately, the Indian government is suppressing this information, and their friends in the democratic countries of the world are protecting them. There must be a full, fair, independent, and complete investigation and the people responsible for this terrible atrocity must be prosecuted. However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan admitted that 'security forces would not be punished for the killings of civilians. It would demoralize the troops who are fighting insurgency in different states.' This is a very revealing statement by an official of the Indian government.

Perhaps this is why an allegedly democratic country needs a 'Movement Against State Repression.'

America is the beacon of freedom. America must not allow an allegedly democratic country to continue these activities. We must do what we can to help bring freedom to the people of South Asia. It is time to stop our aid to India until it lets the people within its borders enjoy the human rights to which all people are entitled. We should stop supporting India's anti-Americanism. And we should declare our support for an internationally-supervised, free and fair plebiscite in Punjab, Khalistan on the question of independence. We should also support similar plebiscites in Kashmir, in Christian Nagaland, and throughout India . This is the way to bring real freedom, peace, prosperity, and stability to South Asia. It will also gain us new allies in that troubled region.


Open Letter To U.S. President Bill Clinton

Murders of Sikhs Prove Indian state terrorism
Reimpose U.S. sanctions on India
America should declare India a terrorist state
U.S. should demand plebiscite in Khalistan,Kashmir,Nagaland

April 21, 2000

The Honorable Bill Clinton

President of the United States

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

It was a pleasure to meet you at Congresswoman McKinney's reception on April 14, along with the Sikhs from Atlanta.

We very much appreciated your statement on the massacre of 35 Sikhs who were murdered in the village of Chati-Singhpura. We understand your need to be diplomatic, but your statement clearly showed that you did not accept the Indian Government's claim that Kashmiri freedom fighters and Pakistan carried out this act. Thank you for recognizing the truth.

We condemn this evil, cowardly atrocity. Sikhs and others know that the Indian Government itself carried out this atrocity. Unfortunately, these murders are only part of a pattern of Indian terrorism.

Sikhs and Kashmiris are allies in the struggle for freedom. What motive would Kashmiri freedom fighters have to kill Sikhs? The freedom movements in Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagaland and throughout India need the support of the United States.

The killers were dressed in full battle fatigues and carried automatic weapons and grenades. They chanted Hindu nationalist slogans and disappeared into the night despite the presence of more than 700,000 Indian troops in Kashmir.

The Indian Government has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and human-rights organizations. These figures were published in The Politics of Genocide by Inderjit Singh Jaijee. The government has also killed over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland, more than 65,000 Kashmiri Muslims, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Manipuris, Tamils, Dalits and others.

The U.S. State Department reported that between 1991 and 1993 the Indian Government paid more than 41,000 cash bounties to police to murder Sikhs. Amnesty International recently reported that there are thousands of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, held in Indian jails without charge or trial. Some Sikh political prisoners have been in this illegal detention since 1984. In November 1994, The Hitavada reported that the Indian Government paid Surendra Nath, the late Governor of Punjab, $1.5 billion to organize and support covert state terrorism in Punjab, Khalistan, and in Kashmir. This is a well-established modus operandi of the Indian Government.

The murders in Chati-Singhpura continue a pattern of divide-and-rule state terrorism by the Indian Government. The Indian Government has burned Christian churches and prayer halls, killed priests, raped nuns and attacked Christian schools. It broke up a Christian religious festival with gunfire. The most revered mosque in Kashmir, the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, was destroyed by the ruling BJP.

The government has recently tried to blame Sikhs for the murder of Christian missionary Graham Staines by arresting a Hindu man who uses the alias Dara Singh. Every Sikh male uses Singh in his name. However, the newspapers reported at the time of the Staines murder that Staines and his two sons were burned to death in their jeep by a mob affiliated with the Fascist RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP. The mob was chanting "Victory to Hannuman," a Hindu god.

I respectfully request that you reimpose sanctions on India, declare India a terrorist state and call for a plebiscite on the political future of Punjab (Khalistan), Kashmir, Nagaland and the other nations seeking their freedom. That is the only way to end incidents like these murders and allow the people of South Asia to live in peace, freedom, prosperity and dignity.

Sincerely,

Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh

President

Council of Khalistan

Washington, DC, USA

[Publisher: Information Times, America's online international daily newspaper, Washington, DC, U.S.A. http://www.InformationTimes.com ]

sawaal.com, National News : (Last Updated at : Mon Mar 27 20:39:53 IST 2000 )

Kashmiri Sikhs reject Central protection plan

ChattiSinghpura: Sikhs in Kashmir on Sunday rejected a Government plan to arm them following the recent massacre of 36 members of their community. Union Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani on his visit here on Sunday said that the Central Government would provide full protection to the Sikhs. Expressing concern over the increase in incidents of cross-border terrorism, he said, "We will be providing security to all the 150 villages dominated by Sikhs in Kashmir Valley".

"Kashmir Director General of Police has informed me that the process (of providing security) has already begun," Advani said in his address to Sikhs at a temple. However, the Sikhs rejected the plan and said they wanted to migrate from Kashmir in the wake of the massacre.

The villagers also rejected the idea of setting up village defence committees by the Sikhs, members of which would be armed by the government. "Guns look good in the hands of the security forces only," a Sikh villager told Advani.

Charan Singh Bali, spokesman for a Sikh forum, said his community wanted "to live here with dignity and honour without taking to the gun." "We do not need any security. The majority community (Muslim) is our best protection...The bond of brotherhood between the Sikhs and the Muslims should not be shattered. We have been living together for decades and will continue to live as brothers," Bali said.

He added that though they were not in favour of migration, they would have no option but to leave if "insecurity prevails and such massacres happen again". Urging the Sikhs not to migrate, Advani said, "Some of the militants have been killed and we will not spare others". "We will hold talks with the Sikhs again on the issue," he told reporters later. (UNI)


Who killed the Sikhs in Chitisinghpura?

Kashmir Index

HOME