By Satnam Kaur Khalsa
CHICAGO, II: After the Indian army’s brutal attack on Harmandir Sahib in May, 1988, we sought out Sikhs who had just come from India to the US. in order to get some details. To our surprise, we found uninformed persons who had been thoroughly duped by the propaganda of the Indian government. A few of the comments we heard from them were as follows: “We are relieved that the terrorists have been arrested or killed”; “Groups like W.S.O, are terrorist, organizations”; “Bhai Sahib Bhai Jasbir Singh Khalsa was relieved to be arrested because of his fear of the “terrorists”; “The Indian army is there to protect us”; “No Sikh in India wants Khalistan”.
Of course, this reasoning is rooted in the vicious propaganda of the Indian government, but it is a shock to find Sikhs spouting this ripened hogwash. To me this shows a definite need for underground news sources for the Sikhs in India. People in general put trust in anything seen on the news, so the Government has a definite advantage. As freedom of the press is banned in India, it is very hard to get the truth across. The publishing of an underground newspaper put out with regularity, is most necessary. Perhaps it can be printed outside of India, with the cooperation of various Sikh News sources. We should have a consolidated Sikh news pool where related news can be gathered, sorted, and distributed.
Information is the key to solidarity. An uninformed public is easily swayed by the active government propaganda. Sikhs outside of India can support the cause of informing the public of the truth.
Even in the cases of Freedom Fighters, the only efficient fighters are those who are well informed on political events, and the details of our philosophical convictions.
Better yet that an underground newspaper would be a “Radio Free Khalistan” broadcast. It would reach persons who may be afraid to be in possession of an Outlawed newspaper.
Something must be done to keep the Sikhs in India informed of the truth. Of course, many Sikhs see through the propaganda campaign of the Indian government, but apparently, some do not. Sikhs residing in India actually have a harder time getting the uncensored news. We have various newspapers through which we can express Our opinions, as well as report actual news events, the oppression in India is so wide spread that some people actually do not know who their oppressors are.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 1, 1988
