It is Surprising that President Clinton’s administration has revealed no perceptible change of policy towards India’s handling of Punjab and Kashmir regions where the human rights of Sikhs and Kashmiri are being violated with impunity. Human rights groups monitoring the situation in Punjab such as the Punjab Human Rights Organization, the Movement against State Repression and International Human Rights Organization have repeatedly brought out the facts of killings of Sikhs in general and of the pro Khalistan political activists in particular in contrived encounters and in police custody. Thousands Of political workers have been in jail for years without any charges or trial in accordance with normal Indian laws.

 Robin Lynn Raphel, councilor for political affairs in the U.S. embassy in Delhi, was apprised of the details of the rights violation by a group representing 1.H.R.O. last week while the official was on « visit to Punjab. In December the then U.S, ambassador was informed of the situation not only by the human rights groups but also by other Sikh political groups. The U.S. administration could not be unaware of the developments in Punjab or Kashmir. Several leading U.S, newspapers gave graphic details of what India did at Sopore in January. Again, this week, Indian security forces killed as many as 132 Kashmiris and set ablaze hundreds of Muslim shops in the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar. Asia Watch and Amnesty International are not being permitted to investigate the situation in the two states although the international groups have produced reports on the basis of information collected by them through their own reliable sources. Thus it cannot be pleaded that the U.S. authorities are not aware of what is happening in India.

The American nation is committed to upholding human rights everywhere, by keeping virtually silent; President Clinton and his administration have not shown the amount of sensitivity towards the issue in light of the nation’s political commitment to the questions of human rights and democracy. Mere reminders to India to train its security forces in tune with human nights are not enough. Minorities in India no longer view the United States as a remote, third party theoretically interested in certain value systems. The U.S. presence in all walks of Indian life after the collapse of the Soviet Union is a matter of fact and the people in the Indian subcontinent are fully conscious of Washington’s active role and responsibility, for the present the affected people in the subcontinent are giving the U.S. administration the benefit of doubt. This situation cannot continue for long. The administration will soon have to share the burden of India’s misdeeds.

The U.S. attitude towards India will be seen in contrast with the former’s active concern for human rights in the former Soviet Union and China. One plausible interpretation of the U.S. smugness in relation to India is the country’s eagerness to promote trade with that country, What is being forgotten in the process is that no worthwhile long-term economic relations with India could be built up unless there is political stability and it could not be ensured so long as political problems in Punjab and Kashmir remain unresolved. The only credible solution could be one that is achieved through democratic means. The people of Punjab (despite serious setbacks received of late by the armed movement for Khalistan) and Kashmir want to decide about their political future without outside interference. ‘To make it possible, the U_S_ administration will sooner or later have to realize that the best and the only peaceful, democratic course is to hold free and fair elections under U.N. control to decide on a single point: Whether the people want to stay with India or go out of it. We are certain that the people of Punjab and Kashmir are firmly in favor of freedom. That is the only way to restore human rights in these two States and not by lecturing India on how its security forces should conduct themselves, the forces will continue to act the way they are told. The loss of innocent human lives in India will continue, The Clinton administration will increasingly have to shoulder responsibility for whatever is happening in India. Pending evolution of modalities of a democratic solution to the Punjab and Kashmir problems, the President would do well to advise his administration not to repeat Parrot like the Indian bogey of terrorism, talk that is interpreted by a vast population in India as U.S. support to the suppression of human rights by Delhi.

The alleged terrorism is nothing but unorganized, sporadic reaction against India’s policy of suppression of its minorities and minority regions. This alleged terrorism will not only continue but escalate unless India stops its repressive policies and honestly finds ways to grant freedom to Punjab and Kashmir, in the first instance.

Article extracted from this publication >>  April 16, 1993