NEW YORK: We reproduce below a letter addressed to the Indian Consul General in New York by Dr. Satwant K. Dhamoon, protesting against mock hijacking.

“Dear Mr. Nazareth:

It was shocking to hear of the mock hijacking by the security men under the garb of “Sikh terrorists” which was widely reported in the international media. It is even more shocking that such a news was released by government news agencies. That this drama was jointly planned and staged by the Indian Home and Aviation ministries, shows utter callous disregard of the government towards the Sikh sentiments in particular and of all humanistic norms in general. In a democratic set up how could such debasing and inhuman mockery be allowed, is beyond any person’s imagination. In a charged and volatile atmosphere that prevails in India any cinder is enough to spark the tinder box leading to the murder of thousands of innocent people and no one would be there to bear the responsibility thereafter, as usual.

It seems Sikhs are mere pawns in the “Security exercises” held by the Government of India, as during the Asian Games in 1982, when the Sikhs were debarred from entering Delhi and humiliated by the police in Haryana.

Credibility of the Government news agencies is already at a low point, and now the government

has made a mockery of itself and shown the world its true face. This in itself is proof enough that Sikhs are justified in fighting for their human and civil rights perpetually. The intentions of the Indian government towards the Sikhs are getting clearer now when the happening of the past decade are recapitulated. e.g.

Russianisation of Punjab since the start of the decade, the invasion of Golden Temple and forty other Gurudwaras in Punjab in 1984; massacre of thousands of Sikhs in the Golden Temple; imprisonment and massacre of thousands of Sikhs in Punjab following the Blue Star Operation; Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visible compliance of “blood for blood” slogans on Indian television, after the assassination of his mother the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, resulting in the carnage of Sikhs that followed in northern India; everyday fake encounters and murder of young Sikhs in Punjab until today; the “disinformation” techniques that government of India has been utilizing to display the upheaval in Punjab and Sikhs around the world; the rape and beatings of Sikh women and abuse and killings of Sikh men in Punjab villages by central security men, the incident in Brahmpura near Amritsar, being a recent example.

The logical question raised is as to who is responsible for giving such criminal orders in the name of security and who is accountable for terrorizing psychologically millions of Sikhs in India. The persons in authority, who are responsible for such a mindless directive must be put to task by the government and be made to relinquish their posts immediately. They owe a public apology to the Indian people at large and Sikhs in particular. Their actions are tantamount to treason, are antinational, inflammatory and crime against a whole people which are punishable by law.

This incident of mock hijacking, the latest in the long list of Indian administrative viciousness in the name of security, is appalling. It is sheer insanity. One is forced to ask a question is India being governed by some rational people or are there some faceless satanic cult members riding the horse of power madly into fire? Isn’t it about time to halt and rethink of the possible consequences of this dangerous game, in the name of posterity? In a democratic country, the image of the country is the

Image of its people.

 Satwant K. Dhamoon New York

Article extracted from this publication >>  February 13, 1987