Yuba City — At a meeting Saturday of Western United States members of the World Sikh Organization the Sikh leaders in India were cautioned through a_ resolution againt any compromise on fundamentals. ‘‘No Sikh individual, institution or party should enter into dialogue with the government of India without expressly stating its objective of a Sovereign Sikh State,’’ it was stated in the resolution. ‘‘Sikhs are slaves in India and it is their birthright to struggle for freedom,” the resolution further states.
The meeting was addressed by the chairman S. Didar Singh, Gen. J. S. Bhullar, Secretary General, and Mr. Ram Jethmalani, the eminent Indian lawyer and VicePreident of Bhartiya Janata Party and a large number of other dignitaries.
Mr. Jethmalani explained that he had come there more to understand “your feelings and thought processes than to give any lecture.” “You may not accept my thoughts but let us try to understand each and if possible to resolve the problems,’ he said. He declared that there was nothing antinational or secessionist in Anandpur Sahib Resolution and referred to his meeting in May 83 with Sant Harchand Singh Longowal in which they had agreed on three principles:
- Hindu Sikh Unity
- Opposition to violence.
- Sikh demands remaining within the basic features of the Indian constitution.
He hoped that the basic postulates had not changed after the grim tragedies. ‘“‘We are finite human beings with finite intellects. We should invoke the supernatural and seek beyond the intellect. We must not arrive at conclusions in haste as remedies can prove to be worse than diseases,’’ he said. He felt that the Punjab problem had been complicated by dishonest politicians who think only in terms of electoral gains. Even though he himself was manhandled by the frenzied mob seeking Sikh blood, he obstinately maintained that Hindus as a community respected Sikhs and valued their sacrifices for Hindus and for India. Speakers following Mr. Jethmalani however thought differently. Dr. Amrit Singh, Dr. Sulakhan Singh Dhillon and Manjit Singh diagnosed the problem in its historical perspective and pointed out that the Sikhs had been forced to a point of no return. “There cannot be any satisfactory and lasting solution other than the creation of Khalistan,’’ argued Dr. Dhillon.
At the meeting of the Executive that followed the general session, it was decided to propose to the Governing Council of WSO to form a National Council of WSO in America also on the pattern of World Sikh Organization of Canada. The National Council will coordinate the activities of various chapters and Sikh institutions.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 8, 1985
