World Sikhs News enters its sixth year of service to the community with a combination of awe, a justifiable sense of accomplishment, and humility. That we have been able to bring out the paper since 1984 is in itself an accomplishment. The last century has been marked by noble efforts of the community to bring out newspapers it is our misfortune that these efforts were unable to provide us with one which stood the test of time.

World Sikh News, like other newspapers, established by the community, including the Punjabi Akal Prakash (1876), the Khalsa Advocate (1903), and the Khalsa in English (1899), was started by the community as reaction to circumstances and the need of the times. It was in keeping with the diverse needs of the community that the paper was established as a bilingual publication. It is, as far as we know, the only bi-lingual weekly of the Sikhs.

The World Sikh News was established to, among other things; counter the propaganda and the misinformation which the Indian government disseminated throughout the world after it attacked the sacred Harimandir Sahib with tanks and artillery, killing thousands. Since the time of Roman emperor Julius Caesar who published Act Publics in 58 BC, States have sought to control the flow of information to the common citizens; In fact the oldest printed paper is the 1400 year old Peking News, which was censored by the Chinese authorities.

The World Sikh News has been exposing the propaganda and the lies of the Indian government in its weekly columns. It has also provided vital community service by disseminating news of activities and events of interest to the Sikhs. Last year our focus on the fake encounter deaths of innocent people in Punjab, on the atrocities of Batala police chief Gobind Ram, on the torture and rape of women by the police, on the disappearances of Sikhs in police custody published by Amnesty International etc. put the spotlight on matters which were sought to be hushed up and hidden from the world.

It is no coincidence that Congressional discussions and hearings on the Sub-continent also focused on the same things. Congressmen read and quoted the World Sikh News. Excerpts from the paper are quoted in the courts and have provided evidence in a number of cases which Sikhs were given political asylum by US immigration judges. In the five years of its existence the paper has become a part of the Sikh movement for freedom and the people who understand its importance, await it.

With the blessings of the Akal Purakh, which are being sought at the Akhand Path in Stockton, and the help of the Sikhs all over the world, we have grown to provide a viable alternative to the biased ethnic Indian media.

Our five years of service gives us a sense of satisfaction and a justifiable feeling of achievement. Yet the paper is not at the level we would like it to be. That is reason enough for humility.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 12, 1990