IJSA June 2008
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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SIKH AFFAIRS JUNE 2008 VOLUME 18 No. 1 Published By: The Sikh Educational Trust Box 60246 University of Alberta Postal Outlet EDMONTON, Alberta T6G 2S5 CANADA http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/IntJSA/ E-mail: [email protected] ISSN 1481-5435 The current issue of the Journal is dedicated to Late Sardar Sukhbir Singh Osan. Sardar Osan was a prolific writer, journalist, lawyer by profession and was the owner of the first Sikh website, www. Burning Punjab. Sardar Osan’s sudden demise is a great loss to the Sikhs’ especially to their Struggle to Regain their lost sovereignty by peaceful means. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SIKH AFFAIRS Editorial Board Founding Editor: Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer Editorial Advisors Dr S S Dhami, MD Dr B S Samagh Dr Surjit Singh Prof Gurtej Singh, IAS Dr R S Dhadli New York, USA Ottawa, CANADA Williamsville , NY Chandigarh Troy, USA J S Dhillon “Arshi” M S Randhawa Dr Sukhjit Kaur Gill Gurmit Singh Khalsa Dr Sukhpreet Singh Udhoke Chandigarh AUSTRALIA PUNJAB MALAYSIA Ft. Lauderdale, FL Managing Editor and Acting Editor in Chief: Dr Awatar Singh Sekhon The Sikh Educational Trust Box 60246, University of Alberta Postal Outlet EDMONTON, AB T6G 2S5 CANADA E-mail:<[email protected]> NOTE: Views presented by the authors in their contributions in the journal are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editor in Chief, the Editorial Advisors, or the publisher. SUBCRIPTION: US$75.00 per anum plus 6% GST plus postage and handling (by surface mail) for institutions and multiple users. Personal copies: US$25.00 plus &% GST plus postage and handling (surface mail). Orders for the current and forthcoming issues may be placed with the Sikh Educational Trust, Box 60246, Univ of AB Postal Outlet, EDMONTON, AB T6G 2S5 CANADA. E-mail: [email protected] The Sikh Leaders, Freedom Fighters and Intellectuals To bring an end to tyranny it is a must to punish the terrorist -Baba (General) Banda Singh Bahadar Sikhs have only two options: slavery of the Hindus or struggle for their lost sovereignty and freedom -Sirdar Kapur Singh, ICS, MP, MLA and National Professor of Sikhism I am not afraid of physical death; moral death is death in reality Saint-soldier Jarnail Singh Khalsa Martyrdom is our ornament -Bhai Awtar Singh Brahma (General) We do not fear the terrorist Hindu regime. We are tireless: we shall return home before freedom of Khalistan -General Labh Singh The coward Hindu regime will never achieve our surrender -Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochahal One must have superior morality and lifestyle than the person he is going to punish -Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda and Bhai Sukhdev Singh Sukha My real life will begin from the moment of my martyrdom for the Panth Bhai Amrik Singh Khalsa The siege of Darbar Sahib is the siege of the Sikh Nation -Justice Ajit Singh Bains No power on the earth can stop the freedom of the Sikh Homeland - -Simranjit Singh Mann, MP Even they dismember my body, I will not surrender before the terrorist police chief KP Gill -Bhai Kanwar Singh Dhami We are alive, we are awakened, we are struggling and we shall surely win -The Declaration of the Sikh Nation The lessons of Guru Gobind Singh ji must be followed. No Sikh, whether a politician, sarpanch or jathedar, should be followed if they do not openly and unequivocally speak out for a free and sovereign Khalistan and encourage a peaceful movement -Dr Gurmit Singh, President, Council of Khalistan, Washington DC The goal of Khalsa Panth is sovereign Khalistan. The Akali government has backed away from it. It has lost its credibility with the Sikh Nation. Do not let these Akali leaders get away with it. It is our responsibility to liberate Khalistan. -Dr Gurmit Singh Aulakh Freedom is never given, it is won through preservance and struggle by peaceful means -Dr Gurmit Singh Aulakh Akali Party id dead -Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer The top priority of the Sikh Nation is to “Re-establish the Sovereignty of the Sikhs' Holy and Historic Homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, by peaceful means.” -Dr Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President, Council of Khalistan, Washington DC PRINTED IN CANADA ISSN 1481-5435 i INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SIKH AFFAIRS JUNE 2008 Volume 18 No. 1 Contents The Sik marriage bill: A short history Gurtej Singh 1 The games that neo-colonialism playing in India Gurtej Singh 2 Professor Gurtej Singh…rebuttals to the Vice President, Delhi Universiy 4 Exploiting the shingar Gurtej Singh 5 Dr Sekhon writes to Madam Kim Bolan, The Vancouver Sun 7 Dr Sekhon on “All you need is love”, a letter to The Globe and Mail, Canada 10 Distortion of the historical facts…. A S Sekhon 12 Zamhooriat/Democracy: its application…. A S Sekhon 15 Dr Sekhon writes to Bureau Chief Time (Canada Edition) 16 Sikh genocide in India D Sperling 23 The Sikhs' Struggle for Sovereignty…by peaceful means A S Sekhon 24 Who is the instigator of violence in gurdwaras…. A S Sekhon 25 Parliamentarians for National Self-Determination (PSND) A S Sekhon 31 Guru Granth Sahib as the only Sikh canon J S Mann 34 Is there any Hindu-Sikh Affinity? A S Sekhon 38 News, Views, Short Articles, Comments, ETC. 42 Definition of Hindus;Dr Sekhon, Sirdar Gurmit Singh; Indiamn PM warns Sikh militancy and rebuttal by Dr Sekhon, International Peace Awards by Dal Khalsa Alliance of the United States; The UNPO; Gujarat Genocide of Muslims 2002; Surinder Singh Malaysia; press release, etc. Seminar: At the 8th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland, June 2008, 55 Participants: President Usman Khalid, London Institute of South Asia, Dr Gurmit Singh Aulakh, Council of Khalistan, Washington DC, USA, Sirdar Gurtej Singh, Chandigarh, Punjab, Dr Awatar Singh Sekhon (Canada), Sardar Ranjit Singh Srai (Lawyer, UK), etc. Chairman: Dr Charles Graves. Briefing on the Human Rights Violations of the Sikhs of Punjab, June 2008 Sikh Institutions: Sikhs' struggle for sovereignty…. 75 Could you solve the puzzle…Sardar Parmjit Singh Sekhon (Dakha)? 80 Council of Khalistan, Washington DC, USA 86 Congress of the United States of America, The Hon Edolphus Towns, Member of the Congress 88 Historical Facts of the Indian Democracy and the Sikhs A S Sekhon 93 Memorandum submitted to the United Nations High Commissioner, Human Rights Council, Geneva, 95 Switzerland, 12th June, 2008: Council of Khalistan, Washington DC and the sister Sikh organizations A Bizarre Episode in Rome and The Battle for Canada Betrayal: The Spy Canada Abandoned 1994 (reproduced) The Nonourable David Kilgour (Retired) 99 Justice, Dignity And Non-violence Versus Dehumanized Politics* Hon. David Kilgour, J.D 107 * * * Copyright © 2008 The Sikh Educational Trust ISSN 1481-5435 Call for papers: Submit your contributions, via electronic mail using the MS Office 10 programme, of academic interest only on the Sikh philosophy, and the Sikh Affairs. The authors of the accepted contributions for publication will be notified. RELEASED: 8th July, 2008 ii International Journal of Sikh Affairs 18(1), 1-2 , 2008©© THE SIKH MARRIAGE BILL: A SHORT HISTORY Gurtej Singh* [The event is not even a week old and many misunderstandings have Sardar Amarjit Singh (a lexicographer), Sardar Balwant Singh Gulliani Advocate and Sardar Harjinder Singh Dilgeer an author. already cropped up. Jathedar Manmohan Singh Bajaj has already claimed that it was their group which persuaded the government of Pakistan to adopt the marriage law. He also claims that his group had provided the Those who could not attend, included Justice S. S. Sodhi (who had his draft of the law to be enacted. Both claims are preposterous and when he hands too full to spare time), Mr. Gurmeet Singh Advocate (who goes to made them in my presence, I told this to his face. I asked for a copy of the Sirsa every Saturday), Justice K. S. Tiwana (who was extremely graceful draft that he had provided but he had none. Syed Afzal Haider, the present and would have loved to perform the service to the people but could not Law Minister, the moving spirit behind the intention to enact Sikh attend due to poor health as he is 82 and has had a by-pass surgery). A Marriage Law has been in office for a short while before he made his couple of others did not respond. intentions known. There appears to be little doubt that Dr. Pritpal Singh and his friends persuaded him – if he, at all needed any persuasion. This We provided to this small group the complete draft that we had prepared writing intends to keep the record straight and is being written (on the previous day. Sardar Harshinder Singh read it out section by section December 11, 2007) while the memory still is fresh.] and both of us noted down the suggestions they gave. Several valuable suggestions came from Professor Kashmir Singh. One advocate, a friends My second visit to Pakistan this year came totally unexpected again. From of Harshinder Singh, fired a sharp barb or two at the core team holding the daily papers I learnt that Pakistan’s Law Minister Syed Afzal Haider them to be ignorant, not only of law but also of being deficient in had announced (in response to Dr. Pritpal Singh’s public request – as commonsense. On the whole it went well. There were not many changes became known later) that the Government of Pakistan was prepared to that were required. Harshinder Singh and I sat down for about an hour and enact law relating to Sikh marriages. This happened at Nankana Sahib incorporated them in our draft. We polished it up a little bit up to the during the birthday celebrations of Guru Nanak, when a huge crowd of afternoon of the next day, worshippers from all over the world had converged on the Guru’s Nankana and was a part of the audience.