The 1984 military assault on Darbar Sahib set into motion the movement for Sikh freedom. Three years later, on October 7, 1987, the Sikh nation formally declared its independence, severed all ties with the Indian government and formed the separate country of Khalistan. In the intervening years the vacillation of the Akali Dal has proven. to be a persistent obstacle to the achievement of freedom. The self-serving political maneuvering of the Akali politicians has worked only to sidetrack the issue of Khalistan at the expense of the Khalsa Panth.
Today the Akali Dal is planning to fight elections under the Indian constitution. This represents a grave betrayal of the Sikh nation. The Akalis have flip flopped on the issue of Khalistan numerous times. It no-v seems clear that they have never been prepared to follow through on any of their promises to work toward Khalistan. The time has come to oust the Akali Dal and establish a Khalsa Raj Party with the ex- pressed purpose of achieving the in- dependence of Khalistan.
The history of the Akali’s vacillation is clear. One need only look back to Baisaki Day, 1993. All major Akali Dal factions gathered at Damdama Sahib and publicly expressed their resolve to achieve the formation of a sovereign Sikh state. According to The Tribune, (April 1, 1993) Simranjit Singh Mann said that “India was on the threshold of dismemberment and called upon the masses to be ready for the struggle of independence.” According to the same article, SGPC President, Gurcharan Singh Tohra said that “the ultimate onal of the Akali Dal would be the creation of a sovereign Sikh State through a democratic and peaceful way.” Mr. Parkash Singh Badal promised to “launch a mass movement to topple Beant Singh’s government,” and numerous Akali leaders joined in saying “Sikhs should get themselves ready for the long fight for Sikh Raj.”
On May 1, 1994 the Amritsar Declaration was adopted, supported by all factions of the Akali Dal. Far from demanding immediate outright independence for Khalistan, the Amritsar Dec-1 laration announced that Khalistan would be pursued only if the Sikh nation was not granted autonomy within the Indian Union within si.Y months. Instead of adopting such a half-way measure, the Akali Dal should have simply pursued the goal of Khalistan from the start. In any case, the month grace period has passed, and according to the strictures of the Amritsar Declaration (which was adopted with the blessing of the Jathedar of the Akal Takht) the Akali Dal should now be pursing the independence of Khalistan. What has happened? In retrospect it appears that Mr. Badal and Mr. Tohra supported the Amritsar Declaration not out of concern for the Khalsa Panth, but out of sheer political expediency. On December 26, 1994, Mr. S.S. Mann delivered a pro-freedom. speech at Fatehgarh Sahib, during which he lead 50,000 Sikhs to raise their hands in support of an independent Khalistan. On January 5,1995 Mr. Mann was arrested for having delivered that speech., It is now clear that Mr. Badal and Mr. Tohra colluded with one another to have Mr. Mann arrested. It is not surprising that it was while Mr. Mann was safely tucked away in an Indian jail house that Badal and Tohra met with acting Jathedar Professor Manjit Singh and, with all due treachery, declared that Akali unity had been achieved and that the Anandpur Sahib Resolution-not the Amritsar Declaration was now the goal of the Sikh nation. The Badal Tohra axis has betrayed the Sikh nation. They have proven themselves genuine Bemukhs
On September 9, 1995 both Mr. Badal and Mr. Mann held simultaneous conferences at the Chhapar da Mela Mr. Mann’s conference attracted a significantly larger assemblage of people, a sign that hi, tendency toward Khalistan resonates with the Sikh nation. Realizing that their lukewarm stance on Khalistan had resulted in a lack of sup port, members of the Badal faction turned 180 degrees to claim that they had not abandoned the Amritsar Declaration. According to the Indian Express (Sept. 10), Jagdev Singh Talwindi and Kuldip Singh Wadala went so far as to promise to adopt the Amritsar Declaration as a long term party goal if Mann promised to join the Badal faction. Badal and his cronies have made false promises in the past. This is but another example.
Khalsa Ji, all this talk about resolutions and declarations clouds the basic issue facing the Sikh nation. Let it be perfectly clear: Khalistan is the only Issue. The only way to achieve. Khalistan is to raise the slogan of “India Quit Khalistan” and initiate a massive shantmal morcha in which hundreds of thousands of Sikhs will demonstrate peacefully, court arrest and boycott all aspects of the Indian government in Sikh life. Let it be equally clear that those who are preparing to flight elections under the Indian constitution betray the Khalsa Panth (and on this count even Simranjit Singh Mann does not escape criticism). The Sikh nation has declared itself Independent. Fighting elections under a constitution which the Panth does not recognize as binding on the Sikh nation serves only to legitimate Indian claims on Khalistan. We must not allow the Akall politicians to hijack our movement for freedom. I appeal to all Sikhs to boy cott elections under the Indian constitution and struggle instead for the freedom of Khalistan.
Kahlsa ji, we shall succeed as a nation only in as much as we identify one single objective and work to make all other considerations yield to that objective. Our objective is not internecine Akali Dal bickering, not elections under the Indian constitution, not another vacuous resolution or declaration. Our objective is Khalistan. As such it in clear that the self serving Akali Dal har outlived its utility for the Khalsa Panth Furthermore, the Congress Party has been wreaking havoc in the Sikh home- land since Beant Singh was installed in 1992. I enjoin all Sikhs to quit he Congress party, to quit the Akali Dal Younger leaders should now come forward and lead the struggle for Sikh freedom. The time is now to establish the Khalsa Raj Party with the expressed, overriding objective of achieving the liberation of Khalistan.
Only leadership with vision, courage and commitment can lead us to our ultimate goal of an independent Khalistan. The bankrupt Akali Dal fails miserably on all three accounts. Again, I appeal to all members of the Khalsa Panth to circumvent the Akali Dal and form the Khalsa Raj Party for the liberation of Khalistan. It is said that those who dare, do; those who: dare not do not. Khalsa Ji, dare to stand up for freedom! Badal. Tohra, and the Akalis follow in the footsteps of the Pahara Singh and Dogras. They pay only lip service to Sikh freedom when it is to their political advantage. It is our job to follow in the footsteps of Baba Deep Singh and Banda Singh Bahadur. We must support only those leaders who understand that Khalistan is the only solution. We must boycott elections under the Indian constitution and initiate a shantmai morcha for Sikh Independence. Khalistan is at hand. We are a proud nation with a history of resistance to oppression: Khalsa Bagi Yan Badshah. Take action today for Sikh freedom. India Quit Khalistan!! Khalistan Zindabad!! Panth Da Sewadar,
Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh
Council of Khalistan
India, a mediocre Democracy
India is incorrectly perceived as the world’s largest representative democracy. Reproduced below is a statement by Mr. Nani A. Palkhivala. India’s leading jurist and former ambassador to the United States. I thought your readers would like to know.
“In the last four years, India has advanced economically and witnessed virtually a rebirth of liberalization. But, politically and socially, we have suffered an equally marked regression.
“Casteism is the ascendant and has risen higher than ever before since we became free in 1947. Men far below the national average, in point of character, get elected on considerations of caste and creed, region and language. Casteism is the curse of India, even as tribalism is of Africa.
It has been my longstanding conviction that India has been paying the highest price ever paid by any country for democracy. This is the inevitable result of our total neglect to give value-based education to our people and to teach them the priceless ethics embodied in our ancient culture. The greatest crime of our government against our people has been the failure to impart education. Politicians have a vested interest in preserving illiterate and unthinking vote banks. According to a report of the World Bank, by the turn of the century India will have more illiterates than the rest of the world put together.
“A few years ago, an International Conference on Modern Constitutions was held in Washington, D.C. The conclusion that emerged was that in 75% of the countries which had authoritarian governments, the people originally welcomed dictatorship, though they afterwards argued the day when they lost their liberty.
“Guns, goons and gold: Today the people of India associate democracy with guns, goons and gold. One of the most thoughtful remarks of De Tocqueville was that democracy throws mediocrity into power. But the situation becomes intolerable when democracy throws criminals into power.
“According to the Chief Election Commissioner, 180 out of 425 legislators in Uttar Pradesh have criminal records. During the Bihar State elections this year, the local police said that 243 candidates had charges pending against them. Adult franchise as practiced in India is the worst possible advertisement for its true virtues.
“In a piece on India headed “Rascals Rule,” The Economist refers to a member of the Bengal Assembly who has a criminal record and was at one time the “most wanted” man in Calcutta, but has today become most wanted in a different sense, as he is wooed by different political parties.
“A French thinker, Jean-Francois Revel, published a book a few years ago entitled, “How Democracies Perish,” where his central thesis is that the real danger to democracy comes from within, from a refusal to face the facts. Revel says that “democracy may, after all, turn out to be a historical accident, a brief parenthesis that is closing before our eyes.” Samuel Huntington, the Director of Harvard’s Center for International Affairs, concludes that “the limits of democratic development in the world may well have been reached.”
Only the other day we observed the 20th anniversary of the Emergency. It is necessary to recall that democracy can become so degraded and depraved that people may year for a change. The Indian people may lose their freedom again or, alternatively, the country may suffer disintegration. Needless to add, this is the exact opposite of what I wish; but it is a sad apprehension of what can happen if the present decline is allowed to continue.” (Contributed by: Amarjit Singh Buttar, Vernon, CT) CIA Chief Suggests Covert Actions May Expand
Operations would focus on groups engaged in drug smuggling, terrorism
(Courtesy: Washington Post, by R. Jeffrey Smith).
Article extracted from this publication >> September 1, 1995
