In the last week of June 1992, the plight of Sikhs in Punjab was finally recognized by the Congress of the United States of America, when they defeated a development assistance bill to India by a margin of 219 to 200 votes.
The Sikhs aspiration of getting the U.S. Aid to India cut can only be realized if this bill is approved by the House appropriation committee this month, the U.S, senate and finally gets the seal of President of United States of America, We hope that with the passes of this bill, the seriousness of the situation in Punjab will be realized by the executive or legislative branch of the United States Government, which till now been snake charmed into sleep by the propaganda of the Indian government.
As in every victory this one has a hundred fathers, We are afraid that some individuals may claim that this victory is solely due to their personal efforts. But in our view the pitiable condition of the Sikh’s in Punjab is the main reason behind this success. According to Indian govt sources in the last 9 months the security forces killed 1065 Sikh militants in Punjab. We believe that the majority of these Sikhs were innocent and were killed in fake police encounters. In the same time the numbers of Sikhs who have disappeared or are in unlawful confinements is not known.
Another important factor for the awareness of the Sikh human nights is due to the documentation of human rights abuses by organizations like Amnesty International, Asia Watch, Freedom House, THRO (international Human Rights Organization) and PHRO (Punjab Human Rights Organization) etc. The dedication and the decency of the Sikhs who have enlightened Congressman is also commendable,
Initially this bill was introduced by a Republican but Democrats overwhelmingly voted for it according to the “Wall Street journal” of June 26, it is the strongest protest yet by the Congress, and it illustrates not only the increased concern about the violence in the Punjab, but also the growing influence of the American Sikh community in the districts of the leading democrats. Due to that recession in USA, anti-foreign aid sentiments also help the Sikhs in defeating this bill. The house approved a 13.8 billion dollar Foreign Aid bill which is more than 600 million less than the current year and is the lowest ever since 1977.
‘The fiscal effects of this particular bill is insignificant because “Aid India Consortium” has more than 7 billion dollars in the pipe line to India for years 1992-93. In 199192 India received 7 billion dollars in Aid and loans, (Aid India Consortium).
The morale boosting influence of the bill could be astronomical for us because the passing of this bill could significantly change the attitude of Aid India Consortium, United Nation etc towards India in the future.
Though Sikhs comprise just 0,06 % of the US population their dedication and unrelenting efforts educated the US Congress, Sikhs in Canada (more than one % of the total population) and England about one % of the population) should take their clue from Sikhs living in the US, Sikhs in different parts of the world should organize and try to influence their respective governments. Sikhs in US should approach their senators, so that this bill passes through the Senate.
The Human Rights Record by Amnesty International, Asia Watch, and Freedom House, are often quoted and are an important weapon in mobilizing the public opinion engaged in India, The idea behind the creation of these human rights organization is increased awareness of human rights around the world, but they cannot function on their own. In our view Sikhs play only a marginal role in helping these organizations.
We think it is about time that concerned Sikhs open a chapter of Amnesty International, Asia Watch etc. in their hometowns and help humanity to get rid of scourges like torture, unlawful confinement and other human rights abuses.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 10, 1994
