Dear Members of the Human Rights Caucus,
first of all I would like to thank e Congressional Human Rights caucus for giving me an opportunity to give first hand information on the grave human rights situation in Punjab and Kashmir.
International Human Rights organization (IHRO) views India as a Police State, There is no rule of law. Democracy is under great strain in India. All major organs of the State which sustain democracy such as impartial and fearless judiciary, an independent press and conscientious legislature are on the retrial. The judicial system in India has virtually collapsed. A fair trial is ot possible in Indian courts. the police is the law unto itself. here have been cases where the security forces not only flouted he orders of course but have actually short at court officials who went to get the release of persons illegally detained by the lice.
There is an unabated crackdown on the press. Harassment Mf editors and journalists and seizure and destruction of newspapers have become a routine if fair in India. Fifty journalists n Kashmir were arrested while they were holding a sit-in to protest against anti-press policies of the government. In Punjab the police have confiscated thousands of copies of leading national dailies. Regional newspapers have been the State’s special targets. There is an undeclared censorship on the press, particularly in Punjab and Kashmir. Press Council of India (PCI) has been working almost as a mouth piece of the Indian Government by essentially white washing the Government’s excesses, including rapes committed by the Indian Army in Kashmir. The PCI went to the extent of justifying the restrictions imposed by New Delhi in Punjab and Kashmir. A number of journalists have either been killed, threatened or put behind bars because of their activities as journalists and human rights activists. Also susceptible to these laws was 70 year old jurist and human rights activist. Justice Ajit Singh Bains, formerly a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court who has been under laws. An-other human right activist and journalist, Ram Singh Billing is relieved to have been liquidated In police custody, A son of IHRO activist Amarjit Singh (19) was concurred to death by police. An IHRO activist Jagmohan Singh And Gurbhajan Singh Gill, an IHRO official were falsely charged And kept in detention for a long time,
Extra-judicial killings have become a way of life with the police and other security forces, Indescribable methods of torture have been put in practice. Several thousand men and women are rolling in jails without trial and in torture centers established by the security forces, The ensure system has become brutal. “The Pioneer,” a Delhi based newspaper, reports that Punjab irrigation canals have become a dumping ground for bodies of suspected militants or their sympathizers killed in police custody.
The secretive pro-government death squads are operating in Punjab with the assigned task of assassinating the Sikh youth who are demanding an independent Sikh state in Punjab. These hardcore criminals (known as “Black cats” and “Red brigades”) are released from jails and are provided uniforms and weapons by the government to confront the Sikh political activists who are advocating Khalistan. Some gangs of government sponsored leftist opposed to the Sikh independence movement have independently or in collaboration with“ Black Cats” engaged in killing suspected sympathizers of Sikh activists. Apart from these State sponsored gangs, there are other individual gangs which are actively indulging in violent actions, including molestation and rape of young Sikh girls and women in the villages in the garb of militants. The matter does not end there, even the police personnel, again in the garb of militants, are involved in criminal activities. An eye witness account revealed the policemen posed as militant and kidnapped Dharam Singh, an industrialist, to extort money in Batala. The annual re~ port of IHRO titled, “Indo-US Shadow over Punjab:” contains a number of such reports of mass repression, humiliation, rape and torture. India dishonors Kashmir gives details of such incidents including mass rape. During crackdown operations by the Army “The rape of Sikh Women,” describes how Indian armed forces gang raped and molested women of Sangh village in Punjab. A 17 year old unmarried girl was raped by Central Reserve Policemen at fun point. They also sexually assaulted her mother and aunt. The crippled father of the girl remained a helpless witness.
The So called popular government in Punjab has failed to restore rule of low in the state. Rather, it has stepped up military offensives against the Sikhs. The Sikh leadership called for a boycott of the elections and less than 10% of the public voted in order not to legitimize an oppressive Govt. The mere fact that the majority of the people of Punjab stayed away from the polls clearly shows that they do not believe in the present political set up. Most of the 13,000 village mayors and council members have resigned en masse in protest against the state.
New Delhi did not pay heed to any internal protest or international reprimands such as the UN recommendations for India to review its anti terrorist laws which violated international covenant on civil and political rights. The UN Human Rights Comm. has condemned these special laws that give security forces the right to shoot on site, conduct summary trials and detain persons without a warrant.
The only course open to the international community and democratic governments is to raise their voice against such barbarism and to value human live above trade contracts. We therefore call upon the leaders of all nations and US law makers to send their teams to Punjab and Kashmir to monitor the situation. We also call upon the admin to exert its diplomatic pressure on India to put an end to State barbarities .
The US Congress has already sent a clear message to New Delhi to improve its human rights record before seeking any financial aid for India. It is a welcome step but the Admin should now review its own stand vis-a-vis India on its handling of the Punjab and Kashmir situation,
Editor’s note: This is a report of the briefing given to members of Congress on Aug. 3 by D.S. Gill, Chairman IHRO.
Article extracted from this publication >> Aug 14, 1992
