Having defined the Sikh ideology, its separate and distinct character, we would now proceed with the examination of the present Sikh problem in its true perspective.

Promises made to Sikhs and other minorities by the Congress:

  1. Sikhs are universally recognized as a distinct minority in India with a separate entity, but the Hindu Society has always attempted to assimilate them in its fold as it had done earlier in the case of Budhists, Jains and others. Realizing the importance of Sikhs, who were the ruler of Punjab before its annexation by the British Crown, the British Govt. during the Raj days granted them legislative weightage. Sikhs were 1% of the Indian population and 13% in undivided Punjab, but the British Govt. had allotted them 19° seats in Punjab Legislative Assembly and 25°%% seats in the Central Govt. Sikhs were considered one of the three parties in India—the other two being Hindus and Muslims—who inherited the British power as natural & historical heirs to the political settlement in 1947. It was in recognition of this political right of -the Sikhs that Congress at its Lahore session in 1929 incorporated the Sikh National Colour (Kesri) into the Indian National Flag, and adopted a formal resolution which stated :

“The Congress assures the Sikhs… that no solution thereof in any future Constitution will be acceptable to the Congress that does not give them (Sikhs) full satisfaction. (ibid p. 607)

  1. Mohan Dass Karam Chand Gandhi, who was generally regarded as the conscience of Indian Hindus, speaking at Gurdwara Sisganj at Delhi in 1931 as reported in Young India, dated 16th March, 1931 declared that :—

‘Sikh friends have no reason to fear that (Congress Party) will betray them. For, the moment it does so, the Congress would not only thereby seal its own doom but that of the country too. Moreover the Sikhs are a great people. They know how to safeguard their rights by the exercise of arms if it should ever come to that.”

  1. Speaking at the Congress Committee meeting at Calcutta in July, 1946 when British Cabinet was debating the issue of giving the Sikhs their due in the forthcoming political settlement, Jawahar Lal Nehru declared that :

“The brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to special consideration, I see nothing wrong in an area and a setup in the North wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom.”

In another resolution adopted by the Congress Committee on January 5, 1947 it was declared that ‘By the British Cabinet Scheme of 16 May 1945, the rights of the Sikhs should not be jeopardized.” Further Mr. Nehru declared on 9th Dec. 1946 at the opening session of the Constituent Assembly.”

“That the various territories of the Union of India would be autonomous units with residuary powers.”

A resolution moved in the Constituent Assembly by Jawahar Lal Nehru in its first meeting stated

“Adequate safeguards would be provided for minorities…… this is a pledge and an undertaking before the world, a contract……… in the nature of an oath, which we must keep.”

In June 1947, Hindu and Sikh Members of Punjab Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution that :—

“‘In the divided Punjab, special constitutional means are imperative to meet the just aspirations and rights of the Sikhs.” “=

  1. Besides the promises and undertakings given by Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Nehru, the British Parliament’s “Transfer of Power Act 1947 also provides :—

“that the Indian Constitution will be a federal, loose-centre Govt. exercising powers on only three subjects, namely, communications, defence and foreign affairs,”

  1. As far back as 1920, at the Nagpur Congress Session, it was decided to carve linguistic states, as Nehru says at p. 22 of his book “The Glimpses of World History” that :— “it is better to have linguistic states as it brings one kind of people speaking one language and generally having similar customs into one provincial area,”

This was made into official Congress policy and confirmed in every Congress session held in 1921, 1927, 1928, 1937, 1938, 1945-46.

After receiving such firm and solemn promises in clear and unambiguous terms from the Congress leaders, Sikhs decided to throw their lot with India and did not press the British Government for an independent Sikh State at the time of partition. They whole-heartedly and vigorously supported the freedom struggle and greatly suffered for the cause. No sooner the country achieved independence all past premises, declarations and assurances and sacrifices made by the Sikhs were promptly forgotten and repression and humiliation of Sikhs started. Sikhs have waited Jong enough for justice and fair play from the Government and redressed of their Constitutional grievances but the Indian Government has ignored all Sikh demands and treated the Sikh problem as a purely law and order problem.

  1. In the light of the above promises and assurances, the Sikh demand for an autonomous Punjabi speaking state within the Indian Union can by no stretch of imagination be interpreted as separatist or secessionist.

Framing of Indian Constitution:

  1. When the Indian Constitution was framed, the Sikhs were represented by two of its members. But through over 80% brute Hindu majority, Sikhs were declared as Hindus along with Budhists and Jains, vide Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, 1950. Both the Sikh members refused to sign the Constitution and walked out as a protest against the betrayal of the Sikhs in going back on all promises made to them before the independence. Gradually al! the personal laws of Sikhs were abolished and Hindu laws were enforced on them vide ‘Hindu Marriage Act, 1955″, “Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 4956″, “Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956”, and ‘‘Hindu Succession Act, 1956″.
  2. It is quite amusing that Indira Gandhi should deceive the world opinion by declaring at the international forums that Sikhs form a minority in India, whereas as per the Indian Constitution, there are no Sikhs in India, and the Indian laws only recognize them as Hindus. The truth is that nobody can mistake a turbaned Sikh with his flowing beard and honest manly bearing for a clean-shaven, caste ridden, tobacco-chewing, dhoti-clad Hindu gentleman. Thus, all out efforts are being made to absorb Sikhs into Hindu fold through systematically contrived press coverage, cinema, TV and other media, totally ignoring the Sikh point of view. Sikhs cannot tolerate this cultural aggression any more as they have altogether different philosophy, customs and way of life. Many Sikh international conventions have passed resolutions to this effect from time to time.
  3. Nirankaries, a Machiavillian brainchild organisation conceived by and thriving upon extensive financial and political Patronage extended to it by the inherently anti-Sikh Central Government of India in order to undermine Sikh religious tenets, ridicule Sikh religion, pass insulting remarks against Sikh Gurus and encourage Sikh Youth to follow Hindu customs and habits like smoking, cutting hair and generally adopt Hindu way of life. If any Chief of the Sikh religious body goes abroad, no Govt. assistance is given to him, but when Nirankari Chief Baba Gurbachan Singh went abroad, forty Indian Missions abroad were reportedly instructed by the Government of India to give the Baba red-carpet VIP treatment to make him popular among the Sikhs living abroad.

Persecution of minorities:

  1. Hindu majority, who were a docile and down-trodden people during one thousand years of Muslim rule and 300 years of British rule in India, have become aggressive after independence due to the encouragement given to them by the Indian Govt. and the Congress party. Majority Community is frequently involved in rioting and fighting against Minorities such as Christians in Kerala, Muslims in Assam, UP, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, and Sikhs in Punjab. The para-military forces, such as the Central Reserve Police, Border Security Force, etc., directly under the control of the Central Govt., are rushed to a_ so-called disturbed area and often take sides with the Hindu majority and are involved in shooting Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. No wonder, riots and killings of Muslims in Assam, Bihar and U.P., and Sikhs in Punjab has shaken their faith in the Govt. and exposed the Indian Govt. in its true colours to the world opinion.

Main Sikh Fears:

  1. The basic Sikh fear is that unless they fight for their rights and are constitutionally recognized as a separate identity, they will be absorbed by the Hindu society. Nor do Sikhs want to bow before the brutal Hindu majority, who are out [to eliminate them religiously, ruin them comically, enslave them socially, finish them politically and if possible even liquidate them physically. Sikhs have waited for 36 years since India gained Independence in 1947 to get justice from the Govt. and are now convinced that the Hindu majority does not want the minorities such as Sikhs, Muslims, Harijans, and: Christians to flourish in India. They want to perpetuate the Brahmanical rule and wish to enslave others under the guise of secularism, democracy and nationalism. During the elections to the State Assembly in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and tater in Madhya Pradesh civic elections, Indira Gandhi (PM of India) openly appealed to the voters to vote for her Congress (\) party and depicted her party and herself as “the saviors of Hindu Dharma’. She appears to have a secret understanding with militant Hindu communal bodies, such as Rashtria Sewak Sangh (RSS) and their cadres openly canvassed for her, while she pays lip service to secularism. What right has she to depict National Conference and Akali Dal, two opposition political parties, as religious fanatics, when she herself seeks blessings from temples and pays homage during official visits and tours and_ participates in tantric rites? Many Govt inaugurations of Dams, bridges and institutions are done according to Hindu rites. She indirectly warned the Christian missionaries against conversion of Hindus to Christianity when she presided over the inauguration of Rajarajeshwari Tripurasur dari Temple in Madhya Pradesh flanked by two of the Shankaracharyas. She wears a rucraksha mala and distributes large costars of herself and Rajiv Gandhi, her son, clothed in ochera dress worn by caste Hindu religious yogis, thereby dropping her mask of secularism. No warder 45 Muslim members of Parliament have lately written to her that they have lost faith in the Congress Party and secularism of Indian Govt. in the matter of justice to them. Meanwhile, Sikhs are on war path in Punjab and Christians in the Eastern states.
  2. It is a matter of record that Mr. Nehru and Mr. Patel were deceiving the Sikhs by making false promises before Independence of giving home-land to Sikhs where they could also feel the glow of freedom, but changed their tune immediately after the country achieved independence and ordered all Deputy Commissioners to treat Sikhs as ‘‘criminals’. Kapur Singh, I.C.S. when was the Deputy Commissioner at Dalhousie in his Book “Sachi Sakhi’ (The True Story) writes:

“In 1947, the Governor of Punjab Mr. C.M. Trevedi, in deference to the wishes of the Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sardar Patel, the Union Home Minister, issued certain instructions to all the Deputy Commissioners of Indian Punjab. These were to the effect that without reference to the law of the land, the Sikhs in general and Sikh migrants in particular, must be treated as ‘’a criminal tribe”. Harsh treatment must be meted out to them to the extent of shooting them dead so that they wake up to political realities and recognize, ‘‘who are the masters and who the slaves.”

Sikh Demand

  1. The basic demand of Sikhs, therefore, is to amend article 25 of the Constitution to declare Sikhs as a separate nation, to constitutionally safeguard their separate identity and enact their personal laws. The Principle of separate electorate based on adult franchise must be granted to the Sikhs so that they are truly represented in the State Assembly and Indian Parliament by their own people. In short, the Sikhs demand recognition as a separate nation having equal status with the Hindus in India.
  2. Separate electorates are a must to safeguard the interests of minorities, as majority community’s aggressive and no secular attitude towards them has _ already created grave apprehension in their minds. In a poor country like India, a few people of a particular faith can be easily bought for window dressing to deceive the world regarding the Government’s secular credentials, hence there is no difficulty in buying a few renegade Sikhs, Muslims or Christians with the lure of high offices, who will swear like a trooper ‘certifying to the secularism and fairness of the Indian Govt. After suffering harrowing atrocities Sikh masses have finally sensed the cunning schemes and deep-rooted conspiracies of Hindu society to convert India into Hindu Rashtra with the connivance of the Indian Govt. through Parliamentary democracy,

POLITICAL DEMANDS:

Anandpur Sahib Resolution:

  1. In a multi-national multi-religious, multi-racial and multi-lingual society like India, the minorities can only feel safe if they have a large measure of autonomy and feel free to develop their culture, language and social & religious aspirations as per their genesis. In India there are Aryans, Dravadians, Mongolian and aboriginal’s races, speaking more than 20 different languages and professing a dozen different religions. Like U.S.S.R. and other countries, which have similar multiracial societies, the problem has been solved by organizing autonomous states, which has not encouraged any fissiparous tendencies. But in India, the majority community forming the Government at the Centre and the States wants to convert India into a unilingual state which has greatly disturbed the minorities particularly Sikhs. Any movement or voice raised against this Hindi speaking Aryavarta homogeneity is promptly cubed as treason and proclaimed as secessionist.
  2. Therefore on 11 December 1972, the Aksli Dal formed a Committee to frame the Anandpur Sahib Resolution— the Magna Carta of Sikh demands. The Resolution was passed on 16.17 Oct. 1973 at Anandpur Sahib, the birthplace of the Khalsa (Sikhs). In an open session of the party, the resolution was unanimously approved by the General body on August 28, 1977. Main features of the Sikh Charter of Demands are given below :—

(i) Thepolitical goal of the Sikhs is supremacy of the Khalsa, as per the dictates of the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs,

(ii) To achieve the above aim, Sikhs demand a homogenous State of Punjab, which includes the present Punjab and other Punjabi speaking areas deliberately left out by the Government of India when demarcating the boundaries of Punjabi Suba,

(iii) The new State of Punjab would be a single, unilingual State where Sikh religion, culture and rights are safe from the onslaught of the Central Government and the Hindu majority,

(iv) New Punjab would be a constitutionally accepted and recognized as SIKH HOMELAND. Only Defence, Foreign Affairs, Communications and Currency would be controlled by the Central Government and all other Departments would be under the State control.

  1. This will also be in line with the British Govt.’s ‘“Transfer of Power Act 1947” passed by the British Parliament at the time of transfer of power to India as well as with the proclaimed aims and objectives of the Congress Party, including those of Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Nehru before and immediately after Indian Independence. Practically all Opposition parties support this Sikh demand to make India a truly federal structure and check the Congress Govt. from illegally eroding the financial and statutory autonomy of the States through the extra-Constitutional means of the planning Commission, Water and Power Commission, and the University Grart, Commission, etc. Although it is a natural, and legitimate demand of all States reverses this illegal trend of usurping State powers by the Centre through back doo manipulations, yet Indira Gandhi is raisin bogey of secession, communalism and extremism to frighten the common man and confuse the simple issues for her narrow personal ends.
  2. Centre-State Relations:

As mentioned above, India’s federal Constitution is being converted by the Government of India into a unitary cane against the proclaimed aims and objectives and assurances given by the founding Fathers of the Constitution through following devices :—

(a) By financial control :

Approval and expenditure on plans has to be cleared by the planning. Commission, a body solely under tie Central Govt. and not provided for in the Indian constitution. By withholding allocation of funds, it can throttle any development plan of a State. A case in stance is the construction of Thein Dam on River Ravi. In spite of the crying need of Punjab for power and water this project which is purely a State Scheme, has been hanging fire for the last 18 years for want of clearance by the Central Government resulting in the cost going up from 70 crore rupees to 700 crores.

(ii) The revenue from taxes and excise raised in a State should be rationally divided between the Centre and the States, but the Central Govt. through dubious designs fills its own coffers and Punjab’s share in revenues has been reduced to a meagre 1.5% annually, in order to divert resources to other Hindu states.

(iii) All deposits in the banks within a state should normally be invested in the State for its development, but the Central Govt. invests all funds collected in Punjab, in other Hindu majority States on big public and private undertakings, whereas the Sikh masses do not benefit from their deposits in banks. There is hardly any major industry or other public undertaking in Punjab.

(iv) Punjab is basically a farming State, therefore, the Government of India keeps on increasing the price of agricultural inputs regularly, but the price of farm produce is deliberately kept low. As Punjab contributes 70% of country’s grains to the Central pool, the farmers suffer a tremendous loss every year. Punjab contributes over 51 million tons of wheat and 5 million tons of rice to the Central pool. By announcing the support price and then imposing unofficial control over the inter-state movement of grains in spite of the Supreme Court ruling to the contrary, the Government and Hindu traders buy the grain from Punjab at the so-called support price of Rs. 1500 per ton and rice at Rs. 1320 per ton, whereas the market price in the country of wheat is Rs. 2500 per ton and that of rice is Rs. 3200 per ton. The Punjab farmer, therefore, annually suffers a loss to the tune of Rs. 2850 million. In addition, the Sikh farmers of Punjab have to pay for the inputs at increased rates, which cut down their earnings altogether.

(v) The price of agricultural inputs has increased ten times since 1960, but the price of farm produce has increased 2+ times only. Taking 1960 as a base, the price of tractors has increased from Rs. 9,000’to Rs. 90,000’diesel from 0.30 raise to Rs. 3 per litre and 250 kg. bag of fertilizer from Rs. 17/to Rs. 170, whereas the wheat price has been increased by the Govt. from Rs. 60/per quintal to Rs. 151;only. In India the price of farm produce is being controlled by the Central Govt, all other commodities are practically sold in the open market with cut any control. For instance, in Himachal the price of apple is fixed by the Himachal Apple Board and not by the Central Govt.

(vi) Punjab is the only state where 1.5% cess is charged on rice and 4%, on wheat from the Sikh farmers. No other farmer pays this cess in any other state, except Punjab.

(b) By Administrative set-up :

The beaurucracy in India comprising Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS), etc, while serving in provinces, are under the direct control of the Central Government. The Personnel belonging to the Provincial Administration are seldom appointed to key posts, and are considered inferior and have been made sub-servient to the All India Service personnel. The Central Services having loyalty to the Central Government are only too willing to undermine the authority of the State Governments especially if the State Government happens to be from a party other than the ruling party at the Centre. The State Governments can nether neither suspends nor punishes members of All India Services. Even an enquiry against them cannot be ordered by the State Government without the prior permission of the Central Government.

(c) By use of Para Military forces :

Law and order is primarily a State subject, but the para-military forces such as Central Reserve Police, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Police and others are under the Central control. Whenever there are agitations, Central Government deploys ‘these forces to subjugate the local population and overawe the State Governments ruled by the Opposition. Armed policemen chase innocent Sikhs and kill them with rifles and sten-guns in false encounters. Nowhere in the world has one seen such a sad spectacle except in Punjab.

(d) By Central Commissions :

The Central Government has completely eroded the State autonomy through a series of motivated Commissions appointed by the Central Government from time to time. For instance, Education is primarily a State subject, but the Central Government allots funds for Education, through the University Grants Commission. This particularly harms the interests of communities other than Hindus. The Commission before releasing the funds insists on appointment of teachers to their liking, screens the text books and grossly interferes with the administration of educational institutions.

Sikh Demand :

  1. Sikhs therefore demand that the ‘process of centralization of powers should stop and the existing erosion of state autonomy reversed. A committee of experts should be set up to draw a truly Federal Constitution. All extra-constitutional bodies set up by the Indian Government to monopolies powers in its own hands should be dissolved. Sikhs will only be satisfied when the Punjab state has full autonomy in all matters except Defence, Foreign affairs, Communications and Currency. Over these subjects also, the Central Government should have only shared jurisdiction.