WASHINGTON: A bipartisan group ‘of 18 Members of Congress wrote to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee demanding a fair hearing ‘for Daljit Singh Bittu and Gursharan singh Gama, two Sikhs who are beheld by the Indian regime, The letter was sponsored by Rep. Delphos Towns (D.N.Y.) “We are very distressed by the case of Daljit Singh, son of Dr, Ajit Singh, resident of ‘Gurdev Nagar, Ludhiana, Punjab,” Wrote the Congressmen. “According to information we have received, Bittu had been living peacefully in the village of Suara for several years when he was picked up by the Punjab police,” the Congressmen wrote. “Bittu and another Sikh named Gursharan Singh, known as Gama, who was arrested with hi, have been forced to lie on the floor with their arms and legs lied together with a single rope. They have not been allowed to sleep since they were arrested. They have been beaten and tortured by police officials. They are improperly fed. They are being forced to confess to crimes that they did not commit,” the leer ‘Says:
The letter says that “these are serious violations of these two Sikhs’ human rights. These practices are illegal and they are unacceptable. Even your own ‘Supreme Court has said that ‘no police life style which relies more on fish is than on wits, on torture more than on culture can control crime,” the leuer states. “These are the police practices of a brutal tyranny like Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, not the democracy that India proudly proclaims itself to be. Your government tells the world that there is peace and stability in Punjab and that these practices have ended,” the Congressmen wrote, “yet the arrests and torture of Bittu and Gama and the abduction of Jaswant Singh Khalra make it clear that this is not true.” Mr. Khalra, general secretary of the Human Rights Wing (Shiromani Akali Dal), was abducted from his home in Amritsar ‘on September 6 last year after publishing a report which showed that the police had kidnapped over 25,000 young Sikh men, tortured them, murdered them, and then declared their bodies “unidentified” and cremated them. His whereabouts remain unknown more than seven months after his “disappearance.” “The comer stone of any real democracy is respect for basic human rights such as life and liberty,” the Congressmen wrote, “Your government, especially in relation to Punjab and Kashmir, has shown a blatant and ongoing disregard for these most basic freedoms,” the letter says. “Is it any wonder that Rajinder Puri of the Times of India said that India has ‘a rotten, corrupt, repressive and ant people system,” the Congressmen ask. “Your party’s victory over the Congress Party represents the beginning of a new era in Indian politics,” the Congressmen wrote, “We hope that this new era will be marked by a greater respect for human rights. In that spirit, we urgently request that you bring Biuu and Gama before a court of law and order the police to respect their rights while they are in custody,” the letter said, “America and the world will be watching to see whether you dispose of these cases in democratic manes or in the fashion ‘of brutal, tyrannical police state. It is time for India to begin living up to its democratic aspirations.” “This Letter is an important state~ ment to the new Indian government,” said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, the government in exile of Khalistan and the organization leading the Sikh struggle for independence. “For Sikhs and others living under the boot of India’s brutal rule, there is no democracy, just a tyrannical police state,” he said. “Sikhs have lived under a brutal reign of terror since India’s independence. We must free Khalistan so that Sikhs can live in freedom, dignity, peace and prosperity,” he said, “Given the new government’s commitment to Hindu Rashtra (Hindu rule), hope that it will sit down with the Silk leadership and recognize the Sikh Rashira, a free Khalistan,” said Dr. Aulakh. “I call on Prime Minister Vajpayee to release Bittu and Gama, as well as Jaswant Singh Khalra and the over 70,000 Sikhs still detained under the repressive but expired TADA law,” he said. “This will show their commitment to tolerance.”
Article extracted from this publication >> May 29, 1996
