Justice Bains’s arrest and demonstrable humiliation by India provides a fresh proof if any was required of that country’s fascist character where dissent by freedom loving minority groups such as Sikhs Muslims Christians etc. is put down with a heavy hand The regime in Delhi is dangerously deceptive as it successfully pretends to be democratic with all the trappings of a democracy opposition parties media judiciary etc. But Justice Bainss arrest is typical of the Indian reality. He was arrested from the Golf Club Chandigarh at 9:15 a.m on April 4 but was shown on the police record to have been detained at 7:30 p.m. at Anandpur Saheb about 75 km away. Bains heads a small group of human rights activists who occasionally issue joint press statements. He also goes out now and then to address public rallies mostly organized by Akalis or other Sikh groups. By no stretch of imagination could he be called a terrorist or anything of the like. Yet India wants the world to believe that Justice Bains attended a secret conclave of “terrorists” to destabilize the country. The stark reality is that Justice Bainss arrest has been sanctioned by India’s prime minister personally with the sole aim of warning similar human rights groups not to inform the world about Indian security forces misdeeds in Punjab Kashmir and elsewhere. It also seeks to send a message to organizations like the Amnesty International that India is determined to have its way in Punjab Kashmir and Assam etc. This is amply proved by the rough treatment meted out to Justice Bains during the four days of his captivity by the police He was demonstrably hand-cuffed denied even a chair when he was brought to his own house and members of his family ill-treated and harassed. Indian judiciary’s standing instructions to the police are that normally no one is to be handcuffed not even criminals if there is no danger of their escape. Specifically there is a bar on the arrest of former high court judges much less handcuffing them but these instructions are meant for Hindu India and not for Sikhs Muslims Christians or other minority groups. That is precisely why a Hindu judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court sent Justice Bains to jail when the F.I.R made no mention of Justice Bains at all. The media nearly lacked out the arrest the handcuffing and the humiliation as also the lies by the Indian authorities about the place and time of arrest as well as the charges. All that speaks of the real nature of India’s democracy and its organs.

Be that as it may the question arises as to why India behaves the way it does. The answer is simple: Delhi is the latest satellite in the U.S. orbit an emerging Banana republic where there can be no violation of human rights so long as India remains an ally. No wonder a fresh attack on human rights in Punjab implicit in the arrest of Justice Bains coincides with the visit of India’s defence minister Washington to discuss defence cooperation.

But this deadly combination does not frighten Sikhs or other minorities in India. They are determined to carry on the struggle for their freedom. Civilized decent and freedom loving people live within the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. They are bound to continue raising their voice against the violation of human rights by India. The public opinion is bound to force India to release Justice Bains and thousands of other not-so-important persons rotting in India’s jails for years.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 17, 1992