Journalist: Mr. Ambassador, Mohinder Singh, a suspect in bomb explosions case, died in Police custody. Postmortem has revealed signs of extreme torture by the police.

Ambassador: That’s right.

Journalist: Two other suspects could hardly support themselves on their legs when produced in the court. They had to be literally lifted in and outside the court, even though at the time of arrest they were physically unharmed.

Ambassador: Very correct.

Journalist: How is it that the court did not take any notice of the illegal torture by the police? How can judges ignore such blatant violations of human rights? Could it mean that Sikhs are treated as less than human beings in India?

Ambassador: Not in national interest to disclose.

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Journalist: Mr. Ambassador, Baba Joginder Singh, convener of the United Akali Dal has announced that he believes in non-violence and has appealed to all Sikhs to observe ‘Martyrdom Week’ in a peaceful manner.

Ambassador: That’s right.

Journalist: Yet army deployment in Punjab has been extensively reinforced and border with Pakistan has been totally closed.

Ambassador: Very correct.

Journalist: Against whom has the government taken such elaborate measures? Does it expect some kind of Sikh insurgency or is there any danger of mass infiltration of Pakistan army as was done by the Indian Army in Bangladesh?

Ambassador: Not in national interest to disclose.

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Journalist: Mr. Ambassador, President Jayewerdene is going to Delhi to dissuade Rajiv from supporting the terrorist movement in Sri Lanka.

Ambassador: That’s right.

Journalist: Tamil Terrorists have unleashed a reign of terror against the Sinhalese living in Tamil majority areas. They attack villages with sophisticated weapons supplied by India and brutally kill innocent village-folk.

Ambassador: Very Correct.

Journalist: How is it that Rajiv regards Tamil Hindus as freedom fighters and peaceful Sikhs seeking autonomy in Punjab as ‘Terrorists’ even though there has been no organized violence against the minority Hindu population in Punjab? Don’t you consider such an attitude as an example of double-standards?

Ambassador: Not in national interest to disclose.

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 7, 1985