WASHINGTON: D.C., June 2: In a forthright speech, today in the House of Representatives, Hon. Norman D. Shumway, Congressman from 14th district of California made an impassioned appeal to the Indian government to fulfill promises made to the Sikhs in 1947 and called upon the U.S. government to be more responsive to the Sikh predicament in India. Hon. Shumway was given a memorandum by W:S.O. leaders before he left for India at the residence of Dr. Jasbir Singh Gill of Stockton. On his _return he gave his impressions to ‘W.S.O. members and informed them that he would be making a statement in the House on the Sikh problem. The full text of his speech is reproduced below:

Mr. Speaker, I have requested time for a Special Order today to focus attention on the continuing violence in India which has claimed thousands of lives, most of them Sikhs living in the state of Punjab. I have often said that I do not believe it is the role of the Congress to dictate foreign policy to the executive branch or to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. However, as Members of Congress we must be able to respond to the concerns of our Sikh constituents who have friends and relatives in India. We must make informed decisions about U.S. economic aid and high technology sales to India.

The tragic circumstances in India are not widely or fairly publicized. The information we receive is controlled by the Indian government. Foreign journalists are not allowed to visit Punjab. Religious and ethnic violence has claimed thousands of lives. Yet the silence of the international community is

ie deafening. It is time to emend the truth. It is time to shed light on the Indian government in New Delhi which casts a long dark shadow over the Sikhs in Punjab.

Recently I had an opportunity, as a member of a congressional fact-finding mission, to visit India and to meet with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Unfortunately, I was denied the chance to visit Punjab. To understand the problems of the Sikhs in Punjab, it is helpful to consider the turbulent act.

India is no stranger to religious violence. Mahatma Gandhi, a man revered throughout the world for his dedication to nonviolence and his commitment to religious tolerance, engaged in a near-death fast to protest Muslim and Hindu fighting in response to the separatists’ call for partition. On the eve. Of independence. When India achieved its independence from Great Britain in 1947, it was essentially divided into the Muslim area which became Pakistan and the predominantly Hindu area which became India.

The Sikhs opted to join India based on the solemn promise of Pandit Nehru, the leader of the Indian National Congress. While drafting the new constitution for India he stated that, “The brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area and set up in the north where the Sikhs can also freely experience the glow of freedom”. Hundreds of thousands of Sikhs abandoned their homes and farms in Western Punjab and migrated to India where they settled in the Indian Punjab in Delhi, the capital. They often bore the brunt of the violence that accompanied the mass transfer of population between the two new states. Today the tensions remain between Pakistan and India, and the Sikh community is still waiting to experience the “glow of freedom”.

In the past 4 to 5 years the Sikhs and the government of India in New Delhi have moved ever deeper into confrontation over basic issues such as the degree of autonomy to be granted to the state of Punjab, how to reconcile the interests of the Sikhs versus other communities, economic issues such as demands for more water for farmers and the right to establish industries in the state, as well as special religious demands. One result has been the growth of violence pitting Sikh militants against the security forces and a weakening of the position of moderates who seek peaceful solutions. Ordinary Sikhs and Hindus have suffered greatly, either as a result of violence or excesses committed by the security forces.

In June, 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered government troops to storm the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the most sacred shrine of the Sikh religion, in pursuit of several hundred armed Sikh militants who had occupied the temple. This incident, which claimed the lives of thousands of Sikhs and hundreds of army members, followed months of violence in Punjab.

A few months later, on October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi was killed by Sikh members of her bodyguard who claimed to act in revenge for the attack on the Golden Temple. Thousands of Sikhs in New Delhi alone were murdered in the riots which followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his  mother as Prime Minister after her death in 1984. In an attempt to ease the tensions with the Sikhs, Rajiv Gandhi negotiated the Punjab Accord of July, 1985. As we approach the second anniversary of the accord, it is indeed appropriate to review the status of some of its essential provisions:

* The city of Chandigarh, which has served as a joint capital for Punjab and the neighboring state of Haryana, is to be given to Punjab in exchange for some of its Hindu speaking regions.

* The demand for a greater share of river waters to irrigate farm land is to be referred to a tribunal with a report being issued in not more than 6 months.

* National legislation is to be enacted to regulate the function of thousands of Sikh shrines scattered around the country.

* The judicial investigation of the anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi is to be expanded to include other cities in Northern India.

* Mr. Gandhi promised to provide compensation for the loss of innocent lives and property as a result of the turmoil since 1982.

* He also promised to encourage the Punjabi language and protect minority interests.

A major milestone was the holding of elections in September 1985, which were won by the Sikh’s Akali Dal Party. Unfortunately the Gandhi government recently took direct control of Punjab and suspended the Sikh State Government. The Gandhi government has lost precious time in the pursuit of a negotiated settlement by its failure to implement the Punjab Accord.

The Punjab Accord symbolized the promise of a negotiated settlement. However, for many Sikhs, including my friends in Stockton, the Accord was simply too little, too late. For centuries the Sikhs have suffered great persecution claiming the lives of many thousands of followers. In the 18th century Sikhs were massacred more than once by Mogul and Afghan invaders. Under British rule, 80% of those imprisoned or executed during India’s fight for independence were Sikhs who represented only 2% of the total population. Since independence thousands have died in the hostilities in Punjab and the riots in New Delhi. When you consider this long history of oppression, it is easy to understand why many Sikhs today support the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh nation in the Punjab region, as the only hope for a peaceful future.

The United States has a long tradition of accepting the integrity of existing states in conformity with international law. Rather than supporting separatist movements, we have tried to promote and encourage constructive change within the parameters of the existing state. Thus, our foreign policy has not been to encourage the formation of a separate Khalistan. Even if the United States were to deviate from this tradition, I do not believe that a separate Sikh nation is the most desirable alternative to pursue at this time. It is a goal that would demand a very high price in human life and many years of suffering. It may prove to be the inevitable solution, but I would like to see every diplomatic avenue pursued before resorting to endorsement of the separatist Khalistan policy.

India would be extremely reluctant to relinquish Punjab which is of great strategic and economic importance to the nation as a whole. It is located at the very arch of India which reaches toward Pakistan and China and thus performs a critical role as a buffer state between India and its arch rival Pakistan. It is also the breadbasket of India which is now self-sufficient in feeding its population, largely as a result of the industrious Sikh farmers.

In the final analysis, as the creation of Pakistan clearly demonstrates, partition will not necessarily solve the underlying tensions. A democratic nation  must accommodate different religions and minorities by protecting the rights and freedoms of all individuals without distinction. The future of India as a democratic nation demands no less.

At the same time, I appreciate the growing impatience with the Gandhi government, given its failure to carry out the Punjab Accord and the continuing tensions and violence in Punjab. In my view, the time has come for the Sikhs, and indeed the international community, to focus on India’s unfulfilled promises to the Sikhs in Punjab and to challenge Rajiv Gandhi’s claim to be a man of peace and democracy. Only last month he vowed to use an “iron fist” to put down Sikh secessionists in Punjab.

India, which claims to be a nonaligned country, failed to vote even once with the United States on the ten key votes which took place in the last session of the United Nations General Assembly. In fact, the Soviet Union voted with the United States more often than India.

Perhaps the greatest challenge to India’s claim to be a nonaligned, democratic nation is its

successful effort to preclude U.N.

In Cuba, NO country, nonaligned or otherwise, can turn its back on the repressive policies of Fidel Castro and claim to share the ideals of freedom and democracy.

Just as the nations of the world should focus on Rajiv Gandhi’s credibility in international affairs, the Sikhs of India should publicize and demand adherence to the promises made on the eve of independence by Mr. Nehru and the Punjab Accord negotiated by his grandson Rajiv Gandhi.

As a democracy, India should demonstrate its respect for justice and the rule of law by punishing those who abused their authority in connection with the assault on the Golden Temple or participated in the riots following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Prosecution of wrongdoers is long overdue.

As a democracy, India should make greater efforts to ensure religious freedom and protect members of religious or linguistic minorities.

As a democracy, India should allow foreign journalists and concerned members of this Congress to visit Punjab and view the situation for themselves.

If Rajiv Gandhi wishes to be recognized as the leader of the world’s largest democracy, then he must fulfill India’s promises to the Sikhs of Punjab.

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 5, 1987