I, Major General Narinder Singh (Retired), s/o Sutat Singh, resident of House No. 124, Sector 28 A, Chandigarh, do hereby solemnly declare and affirm that:-
12 I retired from the Army in December 1974 as a Major General after 32 years of unblemished and meritorious service. 1 held command, staff and instructional appointments at all stages of my career. I commanded an armored regiment, an infantry brigade and an infantry division and held staff appointments at divisional, corps and Army Headquarters. I held the pivotal appointment of Director of Military Operations in 1965- 66 during the Indo-Pak conflict of 1965. I took part in operations in Burma upto the capture of Rangoon during World War II, in Hyderabad operation (1948) and Indo-Pak War (1971). I am a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College and the National Defence College. I was also appointed as Army member of the directing staff of National Defence College in the rank of Major General.
- I took no part in any political activity after retirement from the Army till the tall of 1982, when on eve of Asiad 1982, Sikhs going to Delhi and passing through were humiliated and assaulted and killed in order to prevent them going to Delhi and I myself was repeatedly searched and humiliated while proceeding to and from Delhi on private business that I was made acutely aware that Sikhs as community were treated as suspects and as second class citizens. This led me join Punjab politics to the extent or raising my voice against grave injustice and discrimination being done to Sikhs and Punjab. The peaceful democratic struggle by the Sikh culminated into an entirely avoidable and deliberate assault on the Golden Temple, the holiest place of the Sikhs, and many other Gurdwaras of Sikhs in Punjab. A large number of innocent Sikhs were killed during operation Blue Star and repression was let loose on Sikhs in Punjab during the pacification campaign when army was given total control for three months- known as operation “Woodrose”. The details of these events as also the massacre of Sikhs on a large scale at Delhi and other places in India in the wake of murder of Indira Gandhi are too well known to need any repetition.
3: I have been charged under Sections 124A, 153A, 506 and 120-B Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 4 of the Terrorist and Desruptive Activities (Prevention, Act 1985 by the Chandigarh Administration vide FIR No. 46 dated 3.2.86 lodged by the Police Station (East) Chandigarh for a speech I had delivered on 2.2.86 in Gurdwara Singh Sabha Sector 19, Chandigarh, while a protest day was being observed as announced by the United Akali Dal against the death sentences passed against the Sikh hijackers by a Pakistani court at Lahore and against the alleged assasin and abettors in the murder of Indira Gandhi by the Delhi High Court.
- Mine was purely a political speech where the prevalent political jargon has been used of which the meaning has been distorted to make it attract the provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1985.
- Initially, I along with other co-accused were charged under Sections 124-A, 153-A, 506 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. But when two of our co-accused applied for anticipatory bail, Section 3and 4 of the Terrorist Act were added in the FIR to deny us bail and keep us under detention. All this has been done as a result of political vendetta as I have been critical of Rajiv-Longowal Agreement and had been speaking against it. This is also to stifle democratic protest against gross injustices and discrimination against Sikhs and Punjab.
- The challan was presented in the designated court after a full year in February 1987. This shows the malafide intention of the Administration. Besides, although eight months have gone by since presentation of the challan in the court, charges still have not been framed and the trial is intentionally being inside Burail District Jail Chandigarh where I am detained and hearings are in camera.
- I challenged the vires of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1985, in Punjab and Haryana High Court in April 1987. But the judgment by the full bench hearing the writ has reserved for the past two and half months.
- This Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1985 and its successor Act are being grossly misused to detain Sikh youth in large numbers on flimsy, concocted and frivolous grounds
- I wish to state without any fear of contradiction that the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act is being almost exclusively used against the Sikhs though killings often on large scale are taking place in other parts of India particularly the state of Bihar.
Burail Jail,
Chandigarh October 13, 1987.
