NEW YORK, NY: Pakhar Singh, who was a member of the All India Sikh Students Federation in India, was granted political asylum in the United Stats by an Immigration judge here, on August 23.

In her decision the Judge Annette Elstein found that Sukhdev Singh had a “well-founded fear of persecution” if he returned to India. The Judge took this decision in spite of an advisory note by the State Department which claimed that the department was not aware of any persecution of the Sikhs in India,

In the note the immigration judge had been advised by the State department that, “the allegations made in the application do Rot constitute a valid claim of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

The department contended the application failed to demonstrate that “the applicant has a well-founded fear of persecution upon his return to India.”

The State department said that its opinion was based on their information about the country’s conditions and the relevant facts as available to the department from its conduct of foreign affairs together with the information provided in the application.

Singh was originally arrested in November 1988 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for traveling on a forged passport. He acknowledged this and said he was fleeing the persecution and torture in India.

Pakhar Singh had been arrested on numerous occasions by the police in India which tortured him.

The World Sikh Organization had filed a letter expressing its apprehensions that Singh would be tortured and killed if deported to India. Various members of the All India Sikh Students Federation have suffered the same fate in the past.

Talking to the World Sikh News S. Jagjit Singh Mangat the president of Sikh Cultural Society said “we are very glad that the immigration judges are now recognizing the persecution of the ‘Sikhs in India.”

An increasing number of Sikhs both in New York and California are being granted political asylums by Immigration Judges.

 

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 1, 1989