WASHINGTON, D.C.: A Republican U.S. Congressman from Guam, Mr. Blaz made history October 5 when he said, that the Sikh people have a right to be free in their own independent nation, Khalistan. This is the first official endorsement of an independent Sikh nation by a member of the US. Congress.
In his statement, entered in the Congressional Record, Mr. Blaz noted that the Sikh leadership officially declared independence from India on October 7, 1989, severing all relations with the Indian Constitution and adopting Khalistan as the name of their new country.
“They did this,” said Mr. Blaz, because they recognized that it was the only means of survival available to them. Since then India has only redoubled its efforts to break their spirit and kill their patriots.
“The Young Republican Federation has recently endorsed this right of the Sikhs for freedom and independence as well. I stand with them in support of this courageous people and their God given right to live their lives free from persecution and oppression.
” Congressman Blaz is a retired Brigadier General of the United States Marine Corps and the only Congressman in the U.S. Congress with the rank of general. General Blaz’s endorsement of a free Khalistan is especially significant since he is a member of the House Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, which includes U.S.-India relations in its Congressional purview, said Dr. Au- lakh of the Council of Khaistah.
Dr. Aulakh praised Mr. Blaz for his courage and persistent support of the freedom fighters of the world, including the Sikhs. “Now the world is aware of the freedom struggle of the Sikhs, thanks to Mr. Ben Blaz, who has taken the tremendous step of openly and publicly supporting the right of the Sikhs to be free and to have their own independent nation of Khalistan.”
“Now the Indian Government should seize this opportunity to stop the horrible genocide they have visited upon the Sikh people. New Delhi should now sit down with the Sikh leadership to peace- fully demarcate the boundaries between India and Khalistan,” said Aulakh.
The following is the statement of Mr. Blaz as entered in the Congressional record.
Mr. Speaker; around the world People are fighting to be free of despots. Today in India, one of the major struggles for freedom in the world is taking place. It is the struggle of the Sikh Nation to gain independence from the government of India.
The Sikhs ruled the Punjab from 1770 to 1849, when the British conquered the Punjab. When India won its independence from the British there were three political parties recognized for the transfer of power, the Muslim League Party represented the Muslims, the Akali Party represented the Sikhs; and the Hindus were represented by the Congress Party.
“In 1947 when India became independent a separate country, Pakistan was formed purely on the basis of religion, Islam, India was created for the Hindus and the Sikhs agreed to take the Punjab as their homeland with the solemn assurance from the Hindu leader, Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi that the Sikhs would be treated as equals in a free India.
As soon as India became independent the majority Congress Party broke all its promises of justice and equality made to the Sikhs Prior to independence. The two Sikh representatives to the Indian constitution convention refused to sign the final draft of the constitution because it contained no guarantee of the nights of minorities. In the Indian Constitution today, the Sikh religion is not recognized, while Hinduism and Islam are.
“Mr., Speaker as we can see, the worst fears of the Sikhs have been realized. Today they are a hunted and severely persecuted people. Their most sacred religious shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, was attacked by a military force of the Indian army in 1984. As the slaughter and persecution of Sikhs increased, Sikh leaders declared their independence from India on October 7, 1987 and severed all relations with the Indian Constitution. They called their now nation Khalistan.
“They did this because they recognized that it was the only means of survival available to them. Since then India has only redoubled its efforts to break their spirit and kill their patriots, I for ‘one, endorse that right of the Sikh people to self-determination and the pursuit of life, liberty and religious freedom. The Young Republican Federation has recently endorsed this right of the Sikhs for freedom and independence as well, I stand with them in support of his courageous people and their God given right to live their lives free from persecution and oppression.
Today the people of Khalistan, the Sikhs, face the devastation of genocide at the hands of the police and paramilitary forces of the Indian government. These forces are essentially an army of occupation.
“Over 80,000 Sikhs, men, women and children have been murdered since 1984, mainly by this paramilitary army of occupation, but also by frenzied mobs whipped up into a murderous anti Sikh furor by known instigators of the Indian Government. Some of those instigators, who triggered the New Delhi massacre of Sikhs in 1884, now hold cabinet positions in the Indian government.
We often hear the Indian government blaming the Sikhs forever act of violence in the Punjab or elsewhere in India or even terrorist acts abroad. The evidence suggests otherwise. We now have written a book called Soft Target. This book shows that India’s secret intelligence service, “The Third Agency” engineered the terrorist bombing of an Air India jetliner in 1985 a bombing previously blamed on the Sikhs.
It is becoming harder and harder for New Delhi to blame the Sikhs when India’s own newspapers are every day exposing brutal police and parliamentary atrocities against innocent Sikhs in the Pun- jab. We are not talking about isolated cases here. We are talking about a well-documented assault on an entire culture, religion and race in which police are daily gang taping Sikh teenage girls, torturing mothers, arresting young Sikh men for torture interrogations in torture centers all over the Punjab. They are killing those young men in faked shoot outs with police after whom the bodies are often cremated to destroy evidence of their torture and murder.
“Punjab homeland of the Sikhs, is today a completely lawless place, So called anti-terrorist laws put ‘on the books by New Delhi since 1984 now give police the right to pick up Sikhs at will and to torture Sikh women in their own homes, while trial or legal recourse, The Punjab Human Rights Organization, headed by the highly respected former Indian High Court judge, Justice A. Bains, has just released a report from the Punjab which states that over 7,000 young Sikh men have been murdered in the last 2 years in so called fake encounters with Punjab police and parliamentary troops. That is about 10 murders per day. I ask you, who are the terrorists in the Punjab?
“Justice Bains organization also states that there are over 15,000 Sikh political prisoners in Punjab jails who have no hope of trial for at least three years. This is the world’s so called “largest democracy”, as India’s Ambassador to the United States is so often heard saying?
Enough of this talks of democracy in India while the Sikhs are being slaughtered and tortured all over their homeland. Let the Sikhs enjoy the same freedom we Americans so cherish.
“Mr. Speaker, I insert into the Record an article verifying that the Young Republicans have indeed endorsed independence-for the Sikhs as well as freedom fighters throughout the world.
WASHINGTON: The national organization of Young Re- publicans last month adopted a policy that supports an independent state for Sikhs.
At their national convention in Nashville, Tenn, the Young Republicans as part of their 1989 platform adopted a pas- sage July 19 that reads: “The tradition of this nation, dating back to the Declaration of Independence and our revolution is to support the right of people to revolt against tyranny.
”The passenger then called for enhanced aid to opposition factions in Nicaragun, Afghanis- tan, Angola, Ethiopia, and South Yemen and “all other people’s fighting communist and totalitarian opposition” and concluded. “We reaffirm our sup- port, for Sikh self-determination in the Punjab.
”Alan Dubow deputy counsel for the organization told India West the Young Republicans had supported an independent state for Sikhs since their last convention in 1987, and had written the resolution passed at that time into their policy this year.
Dubow said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh president of the Council of Khalistan in Washington had attended the national conventions of the organization since 1985, and had brought information of “terror- ism” against Sikhs by the Indian government.
Communist Government
“We feel that these groups of people are having their rights abridged by a Communist influenced government,” said Du- bow, adding the organization thus supported the rights of Sikhs for an independent homeland.
Dubow said the Young Re- publicans have many connections with the Republican members of Congress, and the organization will attempt to put their policy into action by asking Republican members of Congress to support measures that deal with the issue.
He referred specifically to a measure currently before the House, sponsored by Representative Wally Herger, R.Calif that would do away with India’s most favored nation trading status for alleged human rights violations.
Aulakh called the move “a tremendous breakthrough” saying “it is wonderful to find friends of freedom among these young Americans who are on fire liberty and who have not grown complacent though they were born free in a free land.
”In a speech before convention delegates July 16, Aulakh said since 1984 over 80,000 Sikh men, women and children have been killed by Indian police or paramilitaries.
Neutralized Military
“Let me assure you, my friends as fellow Americans and on behalf of the entire Sikh nation that as soon as the Sikhs achieve freedom in a free Khalistan. India’s military powers will be neutralized overnight,” Aulakh told the convention delegations, adding, “In a free Khalistan, the USA will have access to military bases and other necessary defense arrangements.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 13, 1989
