Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, the’ have statements that have been submitted as part of this record, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. PORTERS. The gentleman from California (Mr. COELHO) has submitted a statement.
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to say that we gentleman from California (Mr. HERGER), a distinguished Member, who wishes to join me tonight in this special order.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to allow the gentleman to go first, because the gentleman has some family considerations and the hour is late.
I certainly appreciate the gentleman participating.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. HERGER).
Mr. HERGER. Mr, Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding, and for arranging this special order to again call the attention of the Congress and the American people to the plight of the Sikh people in India’s Punjab State.
Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize my strong opposition to terrorist activities of any sort, and deplore the tragic loss of lives in India that have resulted from the continued strife in Punjab. Still I want to emphasize as well that I have spoken with Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, president of the International Sikh Organization, as well as his Excellency P.K. Kaul, India’s Ambassador to the United States, to emphasize this point. I further want to point out that Dr. Aulakh, speaking for his International Sikh Organization, also deplores terrorist acts, a point which should be of interest to Ambassador Kaul.
Because of my concern over this issue, and my concern over the degree to which the Government of India has been a party to the violation of the rights of the Sikh minority in the Punjab, I rise today to make several requests to the Indian Government to prove its determination to respect human nights, not only for the Sikh minority in India, but throughout the world.
First, I would simply request that the Indian Government restore democratic government in the Punjab and allow the freely elected officials of the Punjab government which it has displaced to return to their posts. I believe that these officials, many of whom are Sikhs, have shown a determination to establish order in their homeland without trampling on the legitimate political rights of their citizens to participate in the political process.
Second, I would request that the Indian Government issue a directive to its police forces and other civil authorities that the individual rights of all Indian citizens are to be respected, including the right to a fair and speedy trial for any criminal charge, and the right to be free of the fear of methods of torture while in police custody. If India wishes to remain a respected member of the world community, it must repudiate torture and detention without trial.
Finally, I would ask the Indian Government to illustrate its commitment to oppose terrorism by example, through the implementation of Indian foreign policy.
Mr. Speaker, the Indian Government rightly condemns terrorist acts as barbaric and uncivilized. However, the Indian Government has curiously shown moral blindness by offering aid and encouragement to terrorists such as the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Communist Sandinista Government of Nicaragua.
Currently, India maintains full diplomatic relations with PLO, an organization dedicated to terrorism, and an Organization which has murdered American citizens in cold blood. If the Indian Government wishes to repudiate terrorism, let it sever its relationship with PLO.
Moreover, the Indian Government has granted aid and subsidized credits to the Sandinista Government of Nicaragua, which terrorizes its own people, and is actively engaged in an effort to destabilize the governments of neighboring democracies in Central America. India, no wealthy nation itself, has given the Communist Nicaraguan Government 5,000 tons of wheat. This grant enabled the Nicaraguans Communist Regime to funnel even more of their scarce funds to its armed effort to crush freedom in Central America. Currently, the Indian Government is offering the Nicaraguans more than $10 million in subsidized sales. I find it offensive that India, not a too wealthy nation, is willing to spread its scarce resources on the Sandinista terrorists while denouncing those who urge humane treatment of the Sikh people as sympathizers with terrorism. To truly repudiate terrorism, the Indian Government must immediately cease all aid to the Sandinista Government of Nicaragua.
Mr. Speaker, if the Indian Government does these things, and commits itself to respecting the Sikh people’s rights to self-determination, I am sure the unrest in Punjab will cease. That should be our goal here today, as it should be our goal of peace loving people of good will the world over. I thank the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I appreciate the gentleman from California making the effort to be here tonight. The hour is late.
The gentleman did have family commitments, but the gentleman felt that this was an issue that was so important that the gentleman must be here personally to make this statement on the floor.
Like the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to express my deep concern about the ongoing problems between the Government of India and the Sikh people.
Disagreements between the two parties have resulted in a wave of violence that has pitted Hindus and Sikhs against one another and has caused an intolerable amount of suffering which has claimed the lives of thousands of people.
A number of my colleagues addressed this matter during a special order on June 2. I was unable to participate in that session and my statement today is a continuation of that effort. I know that there will be others who follow me in other special orders
In my home district, Mr. Speaker, many of my Sikh constituents, including Dr. Assad and others, have told me they feel their fellow Sikhs are being treated unfairly by the Indian Government. In fact, the Sikh community came this past Saturday to one of my town meetings to discuss this very issue. I have been given a very real honor by the Sikh community in my district. I was asked to come to their temple for a religious service. I had lunch with them after that service. I experienced their hospitality. I heard their genuine concern about their family and friends in the Punjab. They have asked me to express their concerns regarding the plight of their family and friends back in India
The Sikhs are fine people, and allegations of mistreatment by the Indian Government of its Sikh citizens should be of interest to all of my colleagues in the House who represent Sikh constituents, or who are just interested in human rights abuses. It is time Congress focuses its attention on this matter so that basic human rights can be guaranteed to Sikhs living in India.
The most notable and highly publicized example of violence between the Sikhs and the Indian Government came in 1984, when the Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Sikh’s holiest shrine.
It is really hard for me to imagine an army overrunning a church.
Several hundred Sikhs were killed in the ensuing battle, and thousands of Sikhs reportedly were massacred the following week.
This incident fueled Sikh-Hindu tensions, leading to more bloodshed and death. To this day, three years after the storming of the Golden Temple, the violence in Punjab continues. We are still seeing the results of the storming of the Golden Temple. The Indian Government has been unable to bring about a political solution to what has to be its country’s worst internal problem of this decade. The violence will continue unless Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi steps up his efforts to respect the needs and freedoms of the Sikhs in India.
The Sikhs face a terrible dilemma. In their quest for greater religious and political autonomy in their home province of Punjab in northern India, they have had difficulties with the central government in New Delhi.
In response to these difficulties, certain Sikh extremists have taken matters into their own hands by engaging in terrorist activities. These extremists have been a wedge between Punjab officials and officials in New Delhi who have been negotiating for a peaceful settlement of the problem Moderate Sikh representatives are continually threatened by extremist elements, who accuse them of compromising with the central government.
Even Harchand Singh Longowal, the former leader of the Sikh’s Akali Dal party and a principal in the Rajiy- Longowal accord, was assassinated by dissenting radicals.
Over the past 5 years, Punjab has been a virtual war zone as thousands of men, women and children have lost their lives in terrorist attacks and subsequent revenge attacks Thus far, the Punjab government’s efforts to counter this kind of terrorism have been unsuccessful. These terrorist acts have caused extreme prejudice against the Sikhs within the Hindu population.
As a result, in the government’s quest for justice, many innocent Sikhs have been denied their basic human rights and civil liberties.
All Sikhs are suffering from the stigma of “terrorist,” Mr. Speaker. Moderate Sikhs wish to disassociate themselves from the violent tactics used by extremists, but they are still burdened by this unfortunate and unwarranted stereotype. It also has been reported that police have been involved in rioting against Sikhs, and have been given sweeping powers of arrest and detention.
The Sikhs claim that thousands of innocent people are being brutalized and killed under the guise of fighting terrorism, as prescribed by Mr. Gandhi The bloodshed and intolerance indicates a continuing: spiral of violence, one which can only serve to complicate the process of finding a peaceful solution.
Not only is this not fair, it is not right.
India’s Sikhs’ population does not deserve to be denied its basic rights because of the terrorist activities of a militant few. It is not the type of image that 1s representative of India’s 16 million Sikhs or it is not representative of the people that I have come to know personally in my congressional district in Houston, TX.
As a whole, the Sikh people detest terrorism and consider such activities as both unholy and uncivilized. Punjab Chief Minister Barnala called a recent terrorist attack “an act of criminal minds acting at the behest of foreign powers to disintegrate the nation” The Sikhs seek peaceful means to solve their differences with the New Delhi government. The anti-Sikh attitudes common among Hindus can only facilitate further abuses of Sikh’s human rights and individual liberties. The violence is unnecessary, and it only serves to undermine the efforts of reaching rational, practical, and legitimate solutions
To complicate matters even further, Mr. Gandhi will not allow the foreign press, independent observers of human rights organizations into the Punjab for fact-finding missions. The area has been sealed off to outsiders. Foreigners are allowed to travel anywhere in India except Punjab. As a result, the outside world receives a biased, one- sided view of what goes on in Punjab because the Indian Government has control over most of the domestic media. This contributes to the stereotype that all Sikhs are extremist radicals who are terrorizing the predominantly Hindu nation, and that is just not the fact
Government reports often conflict with eyewitness reports of arbitrary arrest, detainment and mass murder. This policy of censorship only enhances the complaints of the Sikh people. The accuracy of these allegations could be better determined if the press were allowed inside the Punjab. If the Indian government has nothing to hide, it should remove the news blackout and permit outsiders into Punjab. The free flow of information is essential to the reservation of rights and liberties in a democratic society, and India claims to be the world’s largest democracy, so they should act as the world’s largest democracy.
As I have mentioned before, Mr. Speaker, the Sikhs are a hardworking and honest people. The positive contributions they make to society are great, and those contributions should not go unnoticed. The great contribution of Sikhs to India is far out of proportion to what would normally be expected of such a small minority group. For example, the Sikhs make up approximately 2 percent of India’s total population, yet they are responsible for a quarter of the country’s gross national product. The Sikhs have transformed Punjab from a backward area into a model of agricultural efficiency that contributes to the self- sufficiency in wheat consumption that India now enjoys Sikh farmers produce 73 percent of the wheat and 48 percent of the rice in all of India, In addition, many distinguished Sikhs have made great contributions in the Indian Government and military.
I may be incorrect on this, Mr. Speaker, and I will be glad to correct my remarks tomorrow if lam wrong, but as I understand, as a percentage, I am told that there were more Victoria Crosses awarded among Sikhs than of any other group that was formerly a member of the British Empire. To me that is a testament to the Sikhs courage, to their valor, and to their determination,
Also, it is well documented that many Sikh lawyers and doctors are leaders in their fields.
The point I am trying to make, Mr. Speaker, is that the Sikhs are a quality people doing more than their fair share for the well-being of Indian society. The unselfish contributions and accomplishments of Sikhs also are well- known in the United States, especially in my home district. The Sikhs are a people who conduct themselves with dignity and have great respect for the individual. The Sikh people stand for individual initiative as indicated by their support of a free-market economy.
I might say, they are making a great contribution to the market economy of my home town of Houston.
They are aware of the deprivations of rights of the individual under a communist or socialistic system of government.
Congress should not make it a habit to dictate policy to foreign countries or the President, but in this case, Mr. Speaker, it is important that we express interest and concern about the nature of alleged human rights abuses occurring in India. As the leader of the free world, the United States cannot ignore violent and repressive measures directed against the people of any nation—including India’s Sikhs.
Justice, equality and the pursuit of happiness are fundamental rights of all human beings—regardless of race, color, creed, sex, or in this case, religion. This is the foundation for a democratic nation, and it is not too much to ask of India to respect the rights of its entire people, not just the Hindu majority. It is not right for any government to deny 16 million of its own people their basic political and civil rights. India has a moral obligation to protect the Sikh community.
The United States should reexamine its policy toward India, and do what is in its power to encourage the restoration of civil liberties and human rights to the Sikh people. At the same time, we should demand that extremist Sikh factions reconcile their differences with moderates to prevent further terrorist acts. This should be a two-way Street. If Sikhs truly want the atrocities to Stop, it is necessary for both sides to cease all terrorist activity. Also, we should ask no less of Mr. Gandhi than to end this violence that is plaguing his country. A fast solution must be implemented so extremists will not be able to add more fuel to the already burning flames.
Violence, terrorism, or oppression has no place in solving the religious and political differences which divide India’s Hindus and Sikhs. Much damage has been done already, and I implore Mr. Gandhi to dedicate himself to preventing further carnage and suffering among his people and throughout his nation.
Mr. COELHO. Mr. Speaker, today, I join my colleagues here in the House to express my concern over the violence that has taken place and continues to take place in India
The people of the United States are generally unaware of the widespread killings that are taking place among Sikhs and Hindus in India. We know about the storming of the Golden Temple, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the brutal bus hijacking which took so many lives. However, we are generally not informed as to just how grave the situation is in India. Reporters and foreigners are not allowed in the state of Punjab where so much violence has occurred, and the central government of India controls the flow of information as to events there. Members of the Sikh community who live in my district are in constant worry about the safety and wellbeing of their families remaining in India. For them, it is that we demand the truth.
Both Sikhs and Hindus have made tremendous contributions in India and United States. The high industrial and agricultural output in the Punjab is proof of how successful the Sikhs have been in helping to build a stronger, self-sufficient India.
Like their brothers and sisters in the Hindu community, the Sikh people want an influential India that will take her rightful place in the international community as a democratic power.
I join the many voices calling for action on the part of Prime Minister Gandhi to adhere to the provisions of the Punjab Accords and to move toward full recognition of Sikhs as Indian Citizens, with all the rights and freedoms that other Indian citizens enjoy.
It is time that the world awake to the problems the Sikhs is facing in India. Too many Sikhs and too many Hindus have suffered because of the government’s inability to uphold the guarantees established in the Indian Constitution. As the largest democracy in the world, India should look to the histories of other democratic countries and realize that freedom and equality are virtues that people everywhere are willing to die for.
India must live up to her promises and provide for all of her people the freedoms upon which a democracy is based.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, as cochairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, I rise to join
Representative JACK FIELDS in condemning the continuing violations of human rights occurring in India.
There has been no respite from violence in the Sikh majority Punjab since the 1984 fighting around the Sikh’s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple of Amritsar. Since then, thousands of innocent people have died as a direct result of Indian-Sikh violence.
The tragedies in India are difficult to access. In early July, newspapers reported the “Worst Violence in Three Years.” Stories described the deaths of at least 72 Hindu bus passengers by suspected Sikh terrorists. The stated facts were derived from official quotes taken by the Press Trust in India—a government controlled news service.
I am not disputing the legitimacy of the Indian press, nor am I condoning violent attacks against innocent people. I do protest the limited information we received on the Sikh- Hindu conflict. Foreign journalists are not allowed into Punjab. Members of Congress who visit India are ofte
