EDMONTON: World Sikh Organization (Canada) held an extremely lively banquet on Feb.28, in Edmonton, Two of the three ‘members of the Canadian Parliamentary team which visited India ‘and Punjab earlier this year, were the special guests, in addition to Dr. John W. Spellman, Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Windsor, Ontario,
Barbara Greene, M.P. and Derek Lee, M.P., who have just returned from India, were very candid in narrating their experiences and ‘observations in India. Quoting statistics provided by the Indian government, they observed that the Indian police was more incline to kill than to arrest. Both MPs admitted having seen evidence of contraptions of torture in police interrogation centers. Greene described her meeting with a Sikh ‘woman who was a helpless witness to the brutal massacre of her husband, children and grandchildren who were doused with gasoline and burnt alive in front of her eyes.
Lee talked about the anguish of a Sikh gentleman who pleaded unsuccessfully with a court requesting that his young son, not be handed over to police in Punjab. A few days after he was handed over to the police in Punjab, he was found dead. This murder was made to look like a traffic fatality.
‘They both indicated that the Indian government people were ‘unanimous that the military attack ‘on Sri Darbar Sahib (The Golden ‘Temple) ‘was a terrible mistake.” Talking about the Ludhiana train massacre, Lee mentioned the scenarios implicating Sikh youth and Pakistan, but he was quite certain that it was a tragedy implemented with the help and ‘knowledge of the Indian government:
‘Not being familiar with the real si0notives and machinations of the Indian government, they both were call for elections in the Punjab.
Dr Spellman, an authority on Sikh history and the current ‘movement, was incensed at the parliamentarians” suggestion turning Sikhs to participate in the elections rigged by the Indian government and their efforts 10 balance Indian government’s dis mal record on Human Rights issues against alleged violations of law ‘and order by the Sikh activists. He pointed out that the responsibility for maintaining and upholding.
Human Rights rest with the governments and not with the groups of people. It is the governments which give undertaking to the world body of nations that they will safeguard the peoples’ rights, It will be dangerous 10 €exonerate the government of India from its responsibilities, merely because some Sikhs have been ‘compelled to resort to arms against the forces of the state.
He questioned the MPs choice of the three labels used to describe for the Sikh youth, “Extremist, Terrorist and Militant.’ Why not “Freedom Fighters’ he demanded?
Greene, the conservative MP from Ontario wasn’t prepared for
Dr Spellman’s forceful tirade and jumped to her feet to protest against his undeservedly harsh criticism. Gian Singh Sandhu, International President, WSO, provided a background to the parliamentarians visit o Punjab. This visit had ‘been sponsored by the World Sikh Organization. In view of the fact, that this was the first such visit can only be considered exploratory. WSO and all Sikh Canadians look forward to the MPs formal report on their visit.
Sandhu stated with great confidence that the Sikhs” goal of independence will be realized soon. He cautioned the world powers ‘and the Sikh community that in ‘view of the worldwide distribution ‘of the Sikh population, Sikhs living in the Punjab should not be ‘considered to be the sole arbiters for the Sikh nation. In fact, overseas Sikh will need to be a party to the discussions or negotiations for the establishment of the Sikh homeland.
David Kilgour, M.P. from Edmonton South East and a longtime supporter of the Sikh community, also addressed the audience of nearly 400 people.
Alice Basarke, Executive Assistant, WSO (Canada), apprised the ‘community with the role and responsibility of the head office, the nature of interfaces with government agencies, refugee boards, ‘multicultural organizations and ‘other Sikh groups.
The Sikh community of Edmonton also honored two distinguished members of the local community, S. Bachan Singh Sekhon and S.Kulmit Singh ‘Sangha, who have made tremendous contribution to the cause of the community and provided strong support, wherever and whenever a situation has arisen. ‘The awards were made by S.Gian Singh Sandhu, who commended to the recipients and hoped that they would continue to lend support the community and inspire others.
For the first time in Edmonton, ‘two young men from the community, Harpreet Singh Uppal and ‘Charanjit Singh Johal, addressed the audience and shared their experiences concerning discrimination and racism encountered by ‘our youth in educational environments. It is very heartening to note that our young people have turned the negative stimulus into a positive opportunity and have organized a youth group to start learning about the Sikh history and heritage, to become proud Sikhs and inculcate such feelings of high esteem in others.
Following the formal presentations, the members from the audience grilled the MPs with their ‘questions. The Sikhs emphasized that they believed in democracy and human rights and would gladly participate in any democratic exercise, as long as it was held in a threat free environment. They asked, if the MPs would ask the Canadian government to demand withdrawal of half million troops from the Punjab and send Canadian observers to supervise the conditions there.
Addressing a large gathering of Sikhs in Gurdwara Sri Guru ‘Singh Sabha, on Sunday, March 1, 1992, Dr Spellman urged the Sikhs to understand and interpret their history and traditional positive manner. The wisdom of ancient heritage must not be sacrificed merely to be current with the fashions and trends of the West.
He cautioned the Sikhs to be vigilant as the agents and operatives of the Indian government ‘were present even in the gathering he was addressing. He highlighted some incidents of Indian authority’s high handedness in denying Visas to members of WSO, even or family emergencies. The Indian authorities’ actions constitute unwarranted and deliberate harassment.
Sandhu highlighted the fact that ‘although the Indus valley civilization is nearly 5000 years old ‘an geographically, it is the cradle of Sikhism, the Sikh culture and heritage is quite unique and must not be viewed as a subset of other cultures which flourished in this area. The concept of Saint Soldier, the concept of Langar, the concept of oneness of all humans, the fundamental concept of inalienable right to freedom and independence, have not been derived from any other culture present in the area.
He called upon the Sikhs to avoid the practice of making ‘shortcuts’, the way of life. With the passage of time, these shortcuts become ‘well traversed highways which are extremely difficult to uproot. The first step towards communion with Lord Almighty may seem tough (although it really isn’t), the subsequent steps come naturally. We all owe it to ourselves to keep our minds and souls free of the polluting effect of expedient shortcuts and stay with the basics,
This extremely successful gathering of minds stretched over three days and provided numerous opportunities for discussions relating to the present struggle of the Sikh ‘Nation and the future directions.
Special mention must be made for Harmej Singh Hothi, Gurcharan Singh Sangha, Kulmit Sing! Sangha, DrAwatar Singh Sekhor, ‘Sardool Singh Takhar, Joga Singh Poonian, Nachhiter Singh Brat Ranbir Singh Dhaliwal and Dr Harbakhash Singh Sandhar President of Edmonton Chapter o ‘WSO (Canada), who all contributed tremendously.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 20, 1992
