Justice Ajit Singh Bains, Chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization was invited to speak here Aug.23, but he couldn’t at tend. On April 3,92 the 71yrold retired High Court Judge was arrested without a warrant and beaten by Indian police. After four months Of sitting in jail without charge or chance of trial, Justice Bains was finally charged under the draconian Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA).
India is afraid of the truth and with good reason. Indeed, if Jus tice Bains were here today, he would tell you that the Sikh nation has been reeling under Indian government repression for the last de cade, He would tell you that right now, over 500,000 Indian government troops patrol the Punjab under What can only be described as undeclared martial law. He would describe for you how police in Punjab are rewarded in cash for the killing of Sikhs. How Sikhs are arrested, tortured and killed. How police extra judicially murder Sikhs through fake encounters and “dis appearances.” But, again, Justice Bains cannot tell you any of this ‘because the so called“ world’s largest is afraid of the truth ‘The truth is that the Sikh home land is nothing more than a police State where the human rights of Sikhs are daily violated as a part of government policy, Since the Indian army attacked the Golden Temple in 1984, destroying ancient religious texts and demolishing the Akal Takhi, over 110,000 Sikhs have been killed by Indian government police, para military forces, death squads and vigilante mobs. Everyday between 20 to 30 Sikhs are murdered by Indian police. According to the Movement Against State Repression, at least 70,000 Sikhs languish in Indian prisons without charge or trial under draconian laws condemned by members of the U.N. Human Rights Commission as “disturbing” and “completely unacceptable” for falling far short of international standards for the protection of human rights.
In the Sikh home land, anyone who dares to speak out for the freedom of Khalistan is abducted, tortured and often killed. India wants to paint these people, including Jus tice Bains, as so called “terrorists.” The evidence, however, shows that India has conducted a campaign of Stale sponsored terrorism against the Sikhs which at limes has even extended beyond its borders,
The Sikh demand for Khalistan is not a reactionary one, or the product of short sighted wishful thinking. It is based on 46 years of living in the tyranny of post British In dia. It is based on the systematic destruction of our temples, our identity and our way of life. It is based on the blood of over a 110,000 Sikh lives taken by the so called world’s largest democracy. Our demand for a free Khalistan is in fact based on the Sikh nation’s realization that to remain within the Indian Republic is to perish in the flames of genocide, Dr.Aulakh’s speech was interrupted by Indian Embassy delegates who started shouting that he was speaking wrong and the platform was being used for propaganda. The speaker was asked to stop after having spoken for about five minutes. The abstracts of the Speech given above are taken from a press release of the same.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 1, 1993
