Gurcharan Singh, Ottawa Ont.
Canada It was recently reported that a Mr. Dosanjh during a visit to India stated that the Sikhs in Canada have turned away from supporting Khalistan. This is indeed an unfortunate remark for it is chiding to some and a challenge to others. But in essence it is divisive and mischievous. It appears that this person has appointed himself as an informer about the community and is the pulse gauger of the Sikh community. We must also wonder at the same time what the reaction of the audience would have been.
We are sure that the quality of the intelligence level of the Indian government must be higher and reliable than this. Further, this must have been weighed in with the reports received from its other intelligence stall, from its High Commission, consular offices and field workers as to how and what to Sikhs are doing with respect to Khalistan
Perhaps it would be appropriate to review the maller of activities, reports and statements relevant to this situation.
Claims similar to the ones made by Dosanjh have been made by the chief of Punjab police and contradicted every time his contract for renewal for duty came up – his justification, which was always accepted, was that the Khalistan movement is in full swing and must be contained and he was the only capable policemen to do so) The government of India also believed” in similar notions and yet they appointed an army man as the head of the Punjab state, the presence of the armed force continues to rise, the TADA is still in force (under this law 83.000 persons are held in custody). Amnesty International and such organizations are still shut out of Punjab and prevented to conduct themselves freely, police and secret service men are still dispatched to, and stationed at diplomatic stations, in addition to the Extradition treaty between Canada and India, another Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between Canada and India has been signed (October 24, 1994), a special extradition treaty between India and the USA is in the works – similar treaties with countries wherever Sikhs live have also been signed, Sikh travelers are nabbed whenever they enter the Indian territory, letters of and to the Sikhs are opened and/or confiscated, free speech is completely disallowed, Sikh media is clamped down and free assembly is forbidden. Can the views of Mr. Dosanjh be considered credible? Can the Khalistan movement be considered to be over?
Additionally, India is known for its championship of gross and wholesale violations of fundamental human rights, police encounters resulting in the death of those in their custody, the authority and credibility of its judiciary and legal system and her complete and utter neglect and rejection of Natural Law Natural Justice and Natural Rights for her citizens and foreigners (-why did India being a signatory of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights oppose the linkage of rights with trade and sided with China on this matter) is reported that an official of the External Affairs Canada agreed that it is not safe for Sikhs to travel to India since acts that are legitimate in Canada are considered illegal by India
Surely this is a display of a frightened and nervous government. One cannot help wondering as to who is under siege. The Indian government has its claws spread all over to contain the Sikhs and like a lizard she snaps at everything that moves. After a decade, it is still justifying the attack on the Durbar Sahib, Amritsar. After failing to kill off the first level of Sikh Leadership. It is now trying to slake revenge on the second level of organizational and institutional administrative structure.
The story of Mahesh Inder Singh highlights the extent of the disquietude mentioned earlier. Mr. Singh came to Canada in 1991 and applied for refugee status. His application was based on the string of murders, tortures and disappearances of his, his wife’s and his friends’ family members. On December 5, 94 when he was to appear for the final hearing of his application, he was arrested based on an Indian extradition request. His real crime was that he was at one time a secretary of a briefly banned Sikh organization. Evidently, this “crime” is of enough gravity to request extradition. Also in a statement by some villagers he was named as one who could have been involved in a murder more than a decade ago. Mr. Singh was charged under the TADA an Act which has been wholly condemned by several countries, civil liberties’ organizations and human rights organizations. The recently established national human rights commission of India has taken the issue of the legality of the act to the Supreme Court of India. It is also interesting to note that the alleged offense for which the Warrant of Apprehension for Mr. Singh had been issued cited the section of the Treaty which allows extradition for crimes before and after the coming into force of this Treaty “Evidently, the crime took place on August 20, 1985 whereas the Treaty was signed in February 1987 and ratified on February 10 1987 Every time, the Indians state a request for extradition or issue a statement to cover-up, or stage a fake encounter, dispatch a policeman to a diplomatic office, arrest anyone under the TADA take a baby or youth or a woman to custody, a chapter in the annals of the creation of Khalisian is added. Above all, every time the Sikhsrecito Raj Krega Khalsa another step to Khalistan is taken Dilli takht par bahegi aap Guru ki faoj Chhatter phirega sis paar, barbikareg muuj Raj Krega Khalsa, al Tahe na koe Khwar hoye sab milege bache saran jo hoye
Article extracted from this publication >> February 17, 1995
