Mr. Nelson Mandela, President, South Africa, Johannesburg

Honorable President Mandela,

 Through unprecedented grit, determination and sacrifice, you upheld the cause of freedom and human dignity. You have rightly become the symbol of these virtues and the freedom fighting people the world over look up to you as the role model worth emulating.

But your reported acceptance of an invitation to Visit India in early 1995 to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day function has come to us as a surprise, you have perhaps not been adequately apprised of the correct situation in India and the wrong signals your visit is likely to beam.

India is a semi fascist state governed by a ruling clique that is worse than your people’s oppressors. India’s Brahmanical rulers have for centuries perfected a system based on racial discrimination, inequality and oppression. Hundreds of thousands of black people in India known as Dalits have been the victims of this policy, Killings of the Dalits and the rape of their women folk in India are a common feature. Indian state is in direct conflict with the Indian Dalits, Equally noteworthy is the fact that the India’s Brahman rulers are at war not only with the Dalits but also with India’s minority communities like Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians. The holy places of these communities (Golden Temple and the Babri Masjid) have been attacked and destroyed by the Indian government forces or the mobs supported by the state.

Laws worse than any in operation in South Africa have been in vogue in India. Hundreds of thousands of men and women have been imprisoned under these laws. Most of them have been in jail for more than a decade without any charges or trial. Entry of international human rights organizations in several Indian states like Punjab, Kashmir, Assam and Andhra Pradesh has been banned for more than a decade. Freedom movements in several parts of India are being falsely dubbed as terrorism by the Indian propaganda machine.

‘The Indian state has been on the defensive internationally thanks to its oppressive policies at home. This image of the Indian government has been further damaged by the countless annual reports produced by Amnesty International, Asia Watch and other human rights groups. New Delhi has been on the lookout for ways to refurbish its image without having to correct its policies. The invitation to you is a part of this exercise.

The Indian state’s outlook towards issues of human freedom and dignity found its natural expression when Prime Minister Narasimha Rao refused to be served by a black when he was in Boston early this year. The hotel where this incident took place had to pay fine on that score.

We request you to cancel the visit. Such a gesture on your part will be highly regarded by hundreds and thousands of political prisoners languishing for years in Indian jails. If, for some reason, the reversal of the decision is not possible, we request you to have a close look at the Republic Day parade in Delhi, India was formally proclaimed a republic on January 26, 1950. A genuine democracy on such an auspicious occasion is expected to show to the world pillars and institutions of its democracy. But instead, Honorable Mandella, you will be confronted with the right of the military state of India.

You are the messiah of blacks (and Dalits) the world over, India’s anti-black and anti-Dalit rulers want to seek the world’s endorsement of their policies by your presence in that country. Moreover, they also want to use your presence to beat back Dalits and other minorities who are posing a formidable electoral challenge to the ruling Brahmins in Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states, in the next few weeks. ‘The least that is expected of you, Humble Mandella, is that you exercise caution in your statements while in India in the light of the above mentioned facts. Yours Sincerely Editor in Chief World Sikh News.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 23, 1994