We judge Nations through their constitution and people through their religion, culture and history. To judge Sikhs we will need the latter,

Sikhs are sons and daughters of Punjab A Northwestern State on East Indian Continent). They believe in their personal 10 Gurus. Their first Guru Nanak laid the foundation and the blue print of the Sikh religion; He opposed the tyrannical rule of Moguls and caste system among Hindus. He preached equality and brotherhood of man. Fifth Guru compiled the teachings of Guru Nanak and others (Non-Sikhs) in the Sikh holy book the “Granth.” He died at the hands of a Hindu warlord when he refused to change Guru’s writings to please the Moslem rulers. Ninth Guru died protecting the faith of others, the Kashmiri Hindus (Brahmins). He believed in the right of every religion to practice their faith the way the believer deems right. Tenth Guru sacrificed his four sons to protect the Sikh faith. He baptized the first five Sikh, gave them the name “Singh”, ordained the Sikh holy book the “Granth” as the 11th Guru. (The “Granth” to Sikhs is like “Bible” to Christians, “Torah” to Jews and “Koran” to Moslems). Gurus preached Sikhs to live in harmony with nature, accept the will of God, love His creation and be militant in protecting the oppressed and righteous causes.

Sikh teachings are very similar to the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Sikhs are taught lo practice equality, brotherhood, dignity of man, fairness and justice for all. In their prayers they recite and recount the sufferings Sikhs endured never even mentioning who committed them. They are taught to avoid emotions, fear no one nor frighten any one. However, to remain vigilant of their acts because Sikhs believe they themselves will be held accountable to God. They believe it is their acts and deeds that will determine their place in society and how far or close to God they be  They emulate God Himself, not man.

The Sikh religion came into being in-between 1469 and 1708. Culturally they are off springs of Hindus and Moslems of Punjab who had a tendency to believe in natural laws and tolerance of other faiths. Sikhs are the true Punjabis. To a Sikh Punjab just isn’t a place on Earth, it is a way of life, In Punjab he finds divergence of faith, abundance of food, benevolence and nobility in men, Punjab was the gateway to foreign invaders. Many warriors who had invaded India decided to make Punjab their homeland and settled alongside the Aryans who had settled their long before Christ. Punjabi (Native language) and Urdu (Language of the soldiers) are the local dialects. In 1797, under Maharajah Ranjit Singh’s command, Sikhs with the help of Hindus and Moslems wrested the entire of North Western India from the Mogul Empire and established Punjab as a Nation which was recognized by Iran, Afghanistan and Russia, It was the last State taken by the British Empire in 1846. During Punjab’s independent rule, it had an enlightened administration. The public offices were held by Moslems, Sikhs and Hindus. The death penalty, the trafficking of women and children was prohibited. They were the last owners of the diamond Kohi-Noor” (The diamond is in the British Queen’s crown, It came to her via a 9-year-old Sikh prince).

The Punjab has had many misfortunes. Earlier when it was the gateway to India, it suffered the looting, desecration and assault on its culture from the invading Middle East armies, In 1847 Punjab was incorporated into the British Raj, in 1850 the British Empire sold Kashmir, Even though Sikhs made up the bulk of British Indian Army, during British Raj they continued to fight

for the State’s independence and any encroachment of their culture. In 1947 the state was unfortunately divided between India and Pakistan. Since 1947, India has further subdivided Eastern Punjab into Haryana and Himichal Pradesh. However, Punjabi remains Punjabi just as rose by another name remains a rose. It’s inhabitants, no matter which side of the border, still are as proud being a Punjabi as an American is of being an American,

In 1947 the British Government under the terms of “Transfer of Power Act 1947″ proclaimed and Congress party of India accepted and assured Sikhs…that no solution thereof in any future Indian Constitution will be acceptable to the Congress that does not give them (Sikhs) full satisfaction. However, when the Indian Constitution was framed, Indians reneged on their promise, They declared Sikhs as an offshoot of Hindus (Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, 1950), Sikhs protested but failed to correct the Indian Constitution. Instead they found all the personal laws of Sikhs were abolished and Hindu laws were enforced on them. In 1977 Sikhs asked the Indian Government to grant the following:

  1. Remove the Article 25 of Indian Constitution, the Hindu laws and the special laws that only apply to Punjab and Sikhs. Re-establish Sikhs as people of Sikh faith, 2. Grant Sikh holy institutions the same rights as India has bestowed on Hindu religious institutions. 3. Protect Sikh and Punjabi culture from the onslaught of Hindu “Brahmanical” fundamentalism and socialism, 4,Grant autonomy to the State of Punjab as it was promised in prepetition conventions and honor the promises male to Sikhs. India reacted by usurping all state powers from Punjab, invaded the Golden Temple with the Indian Army as if it was occupied by a foreign armed forces. On top of that, India started treating Sikhs as traitors/terrorists, Since 1984 India has been infesting the State with military and paramilitary forces, Further India started arming the underclasses to let them loose on one’s who had something. They suggested to the underclasses that their plight is the result of rich farmers and merchant’s oppression, Which is a lie It is the culture of India that produces an underclass, They encouraged the underclasses to get even with the rich and collect whatever they can, This has brought complete lawlessness 10 Punjab, There are kidnapping and ransom demands throughout the state of Punjab. The treatment of a Sikh in India is no different than that of a Kurd in Iraq, Tibetan in China, Jew in Nazi Germany, or a Palestinian in Israel. If you don’t know Sikhs, may I draw your attention to the following facts:
  2. Sikhs are not Hindus; They have their own Prophet and their own Scriptures. Sikhism is a religion in every way while Hinduism is a philosophy of life based on various epics. Many believe just because Guru Nanak (The Sikh Founder) was a Hindu, Sikhs are Hindus. Not true. We all know (Christians are not Jews just because Christ was a Jew, Hindu is a Persian word meaning person on the other side of the Indus River who worships idols. It can help identify the geographic origin of a person that is all.
  3. Sikhs want Punjab ruled by Punjabis and to be a bridge between Hindu India and Moslem West.
  4. India is a Socialist Democratic Republic. This is in their preamble. They take their cues from Communist Republics not from our Western Democracies. If you were to study India’s conduct you will find it is similar to the old Soviet Union, present China and South Africa.

Sikhs have a genuine fear of Hindu fundamentalism. The Hindu fanatics have the power of the Government of India behind them and the plans to convert every Non-Hindu back to Hinduism on that Continent. The Hindus believe: there are Non-Hindus on the Indian Continent because India was ruled by foreigners and the foreigners converted the native into their religions. Now India is free so there is no reason for Non-Hindus to continue to live in foreign faiths. Sikhs are not taking this sort of talk highly. They have seen religious oppression before and fought it. They will not let it go unchallenged now.

Sikhs want India to:

  1. Abdicate their rule over Punjab and adjacent territories.
  2. Stop the erosion of various cultures on Indian Continent.
  3. Quit injecting Socialism and Centralization of their economies,
  4. Stop introduction of caste system and polarization of various religious faiths.
  5. Remove and all Governmental entanglement in religious, personal, private and political life of Punjabi’s and others.

Sikhs are the only ones on the Indian Continent who have recognized Israel since 1948, They fought both World wars with the Allies, In the recent Gulf War they offered to send their sons to free Kuwait. They abhor tyranny and subjugation no matter where it comes from. They stand by their principles; They oppose manipulation of humans and nature for the benefit of the few.

We shall not support India because we cannot expect Indians to protect the rights of Sikhs, Moslems, Christians, and Untouchable classes in India. But Sikhs will! Sikhs need our understanding and support to free Punjab, Kashmir and all adjacent area to establish new Nation which would provide liberty equality and justice for all,

Sikhs believe if there were no United States the world would have created one for her dissidents and non-conformists, Today India and many other countries need Governments and Territories similar to United States, Punjab and all its adjacent areas are perfect for the new experiment, anew nation with democratic principles which would provide safe heaven for the oppressed, non-conformists and the dissidents of the Indian Sub-Continent.

In Punjab, one out of three homes has someone living abroad, mostly in the West. People are of Aryan descent. Majority are hard workers entrepreneuring, liberal and -giving.

Today Punjab is at the brink of braking away from India and forms a new Republic and join with sister Indian States to form a New Nation, United Republics of Indus (URI). Punjabis have the will and audacity to challenge India and her allies. Through their conduct they have adopted the following five principles.

  1. Punjab, Kashmir and all adjacent States yearning to be free from India are for the people of that region to determine for themselves, consistent with the democratic values and Principles.
  2. Maintain respect of the boundaries of others.
  3. Pledge to remove the vestiges of old Colonial System of Government and replace it with the most modern Republican Democracy and Free Enterprise,
  4. Embrace laws that will safeguard the basic fundamental human rights protect privacy, com5.Adopt conduct that is of Sovereign Nations and act with inner self dignity.

Join me in prayers and ask God to bestow the light of Freedom, Liberty, and Justice on the entirety of NW. India. Amen!

Copyrighted” article written by Narjit B. Singh, 1992. Republication is prohibited of editor.

Article extracted from this publication >> June 10, 1994