WASHINGTON: Fifty-three Members of the House of Representatives have signed a letter initiated by Congressman Phil Crane (R-Illinois) to Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Raodemandingthatall charges against Sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann and Dalit (black untouchable) leader V.T, Rajshekhar be dropped and their passports be restored, “Tries very disturbing that charges are still ponding against Mr, Mann under an expired, repressive law,” the letter says, “Mr. Mann’s only ‘crime? in speaking out for a free and sovereign, Khalistan, the independent Sikh homeland declared on October 7, 1987, Indian courts have ruled that asking for an independent Khalistan is not a crime,” Mr. Mann was arrested after asking a crowd of 50,000 Sikhs to raise their hands if they supported independence for Khalistan, ‘All 50.000 hands were raised. The letter, signed by 32 Republicans, 20 Democrats and 1 Independent, garnered the broad-based support of some of the most powerful Members of Congress. Signatories include Gerald Solomon, Chairman of the House Rules Committee; Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Ronald Dellums, Ranking Member of the National Security Committee; Donald Payne, Chairman of the Black Caucus; Phil Crane, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade; Dan Burton, Chairman on the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere; John Porter; Cochairman of the Human Rights Caucus; and Bill Richardson, the Member of Congress who recently secured the release of two Americans from an Iraqi prison. The significance of this fetter is revealed in the fact that the 52 signatories include 12influential subcommittee chairs, 11 subcommittee ranking members, 9 members of the Black Caucus and 8 members of the International Relations Committee, which oversees issues concerning Indo U.S. relations. Members of the Black Caucus were particularly cager to sign the letter as it lambastes India’s treatment of V.T. Rajshekar, the leading advocate for the rights of the Dalits, or “black untouchables” of India, “Mr. Rajshckar’s passport is being withheld because he is a strong advocate of basic human rights for the Dalits,” the letter to Prime Minister Raostates. “As you know, violations of the rights of Dalits are routine, ..Like Mr. Mann, Mr. Rajshckar has committed no crime. He has merely been writing forceful articles protesting continuing violence against the millions of Dalits in India, articles that your government describes falsely as “inflammatory.”
Article extracted from this publication >> August 11, 1995
