DOCSLIB.ORG

Extensions of Remarks E 581 EXTENSIONS of REMARKS

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Extensions of Remarks E 581 EXTENSIONS of REMARKS March 13, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks E 581 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN rules in Punjab with a ruthlessness and brutal- troubling that a leader of Mr. Mann's stature INDIA; THE CASE OF S.S. MANN ity that we in this country have a hard time un- can be arrested for exercising his freedom of derstanding. However, every murder, act of speech.'' torture, or rape committed by India's Army or The legislators said that they had been in- HON. DAN BURTON formed by Dr. Aulakh, that Mr. Mann, a OF INDIANA paralegal forces will only increase the animos- former Member of Parliament and senior IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ity between these two peoples. leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal party, was Monday, March 13, 1995 Mr. Mann is the most visible spokesman for arrested on January 5 for ``having advocated the freedom of Khalistan in Punjab. The Gov- independence for Khalistan by peaceful Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise ernment's intimidation of Mr. Mann and other means.'' today to discuss the serious human rights peaceful advocates must not be met with si- They noted that Mr. Mann had urged a problems in IndiaÐespecially in Punjab and lence by the world's leaders. As long as India rally of 50,000 people to show their support Kashmir. I would like to focus today on the continues to practice this kind of repression, for ``a peaceful movement toward an inde- case of Sikh leader Simranjit Singh MannÐa the other governments of the world must pendent state by raising their hands, and that the entire crowd did so.'' former Member of Parliament. He has been speak out and protest. A country which prac- held in an Indian prison for over 2 months now The legislators wrote that they were con- tices systematic repression should not receive cerned that this was not the first time Mr. for the simple act of making a speech. aid from free countries like ours. The United Mann had been arrested under TADA, and Mr. Mann was arrested after making a States must not support tyranny. noted that he spent five years in prison dur- speech December 26 in Punjab, Khalistan, in The release of S.S. Mann would be a good ing the 1980s ``without trial and without for- front of a crowd of 50,000 Sikhs. At that time, first step by the Indian Government to dem- mal charges being filed against him in a he called for a peaceful, democratic, non- onstrate its commitment to democratic prin- court of law.'' violent movement to liberate Khalistan. Major ciples. I call for Mr. Mann's immediate release, The lawmakers noted that according to Sikh political groups called for an independent and I call upon the First Lady, who will be press reports, ``he was subject to physical and psychological torture during that pe- Khalistan in October 1987. In his speech, Mr. traveling to India at the end of the month, to Mann asked those attending to raise their riodÐincluding electric shock and having his raise the issue of human rights with the Prime beard pulled out in tufts.'' hands if they agreed with him that a peaceful Minister. Misuse of TADA: In January 1994, Mr. movement for a free and independent Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to in- Mann was again arrested under TADA, and Khalistan is necessary. Every hand was sert in the RECORD at this point an article from over 50 charges filed against him ``were later raised. the January 19 issue of the Indian Express of dropped and he was released,'' they said. The Mr. Mann is being held without trial or for- Chandigarh about our letter to the Prime Min- legislators wrote to Mr. Rao that ``it appears mal charges under India's brutal Terrorist and ister calling for Mr. Mann's release. that the Indian government is using [the] Disruptive Activities Act. This oppressive law TADA to harass and intimidate Mr. Mann.'' [From the Indian Express Chandigarh, Jan. The legislators also called on the Prime has been universally condemned by human 19, 1995] rights groups around the world. It allows the Minister ``to recommend to your Parliament TWENTY-SIX CONGRESSMEN PROTEST TO RAO that (the) TADA be reformed to bring it into Government to detain virtually anyone in pris- OVER MANN'S ARREST compliance with generally accepted human on for nearly 2 years without filing charges or WASHINGTON.ÐInfluential members of the rights. going to court. Sikhs and Moslems detained new Republican-controlled Congress have under this law are routinely tortured and often fired their first anti-India salvo on urgings f murdered. How can a country which proclaims from the pro-Khalistan lobby. itself the world's largest democracy behave in Hardly two weeks in the session, the Con- POLICE TRAINING FOR GEORGIA such a manner? gress has seen a bipartisan group of 6 law- On January 12, I, along with 25 of my col- makers write to the Prime Minister, Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao, protesting the deten- HON. LEE H. HAMILTON leagues wrote to the Prime Minister of India, tion of Sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann. OF INDIANA P.V. Narasimha Rao, to demand Mr. Mann's The group has also called for the repeal of release. The letter was signed by prominent the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (pre- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES members of both parties, Republicans and vention) Act (TADA). The letter was written Democrats. While we disagree on many on the urging of the Council of Khalistan, Monday, March 13, 1995 things, we all agree that everyone around the the leading pro-Khalistani lobby in the US Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, it has come world is entitled to certain basic human headed by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh. to my attention that the United States is con- Influence: Although it was initiated by the rightsÐfreedom from torture and other violent sidering providing police training to Georgia. abuses, dignity, and self-determination. usual coterie of India-bashers led by New Delhi's most acerbic critic on Capitol Hill, While we would all like to help Chairman India's response to our letter was extremely the Republican, Mr. Dan Burton, the dif- Shevardnadze in his fight to stabilize his torn disappointing. Instead of doing the right thing ference this time around is that many of country, I have fundamental reservations and releasing Mr. Mann, the Government of them now hold leadership positions and about the wisdom of providing police training India dug up old charges against him from wield considerable influence. to Georgia at this time. 1985Ðcharges long ago discreditedÐand Mr. Burton himself is now a senior member Those reservations are spelled out in a let- added them to the charges against Mr. Mann. of the House International Relations Com- ter I sent recently to the Department of State. mittee. Other Republicans who had signed India's harassment of Sikh leaders, and its I ask that my letter, and the Department's re- revival of old trumped-up charges against Mr. the letter are Mr. Gerald Solomon, the chair- man of the Rules Committee, Mr. Phil Crane, sponse, be included in the CONGRESSIONAL Mann demonstrate India's fear of the potency the head of the Trade Sub-committee of the RECORD. of the movement for an independent powerful Ways and Means Committee and COMMITTEE ON Khaslistan. The fact that only 4 percent of Mr. Tom Bliley, chairman of the Commerce INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Sikhs in Punjab participated in State elections Committee. Washington, DC, February 28, 1995. organized by the Government in New Delhi in Thus, while Mr. Solomon could allow anti- Hon. WARREN CHRISTOPHER, 1992 is a further indication of the Indian Gov- India legislation and resolutions to the floor Secretary of State, Department of State, Wash- ernment's weakness in that region. What India of the House for debate, Mr. Bliley and Mr. ington, DC. must understand is that, if a people are deter- Crane could put a damper on the burgeoning DEAR MR. SECRETARY. I write to oppose Indo-US commerce and trade relations by U.S. assistance or training at this time for mined to be free, it cannot hold them at the calling for punitive action against India on police forces in the Government of Georgia. point of a gun forever. India has over a half- trade matters and keep pushing for laws I support carefully crafted police training a-million armed forces in Punjab to force its such as Super 301 and Special 301. programs overseas. In particular, I support will on the Sikh people. It cannot sustain this Mann's Arrest: In their letter to Mr. Rao, the Administration's efforts to fight orga- heavy military presence forever. The army the legislators said that ``we find it very nized crime in Eastern Europe and the N.I.S. · This ``bullet'' symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. E 582 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks March 13, 1995 through targeted assistance to police forces Chairman Shevardnadze, senior officials of operation was voted the best in the New Jer- in those regions. These efforts, however, his government and Ambassador Brown in sey congressional delegation. carry a degree of risk. In the case of Georgia, Tbilisi repeatedly have identified crime as that risk is too high to merit the use of the most important impediment to economic f scarce U.S.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Politics of Genocide
    I THE BACKGROUND 2 1 WHY PUNJAB? Exit British, Enter Congress In 1849 the Sikh empire fell to the British army; it was the last of their conquests. Nearly a hundred years later when the British were about to relinquish India they were negotiating with three parties; namely the Congress Party largely supported by Hindus, the Muslim League representing the Muslims and the Akali Dal representing the Sikhs. Before 1849, the Satluj was the boundary between the kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and other Sikh states, such as Patiala (the largest and most influential), Nabha and Jind, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Kulcheter, Kalsia, Buria, Malerkotla (a Muslim state under Sikh protection). Territory under Sikh rulers stretched from the Peshawar to the Jamuna. Those below the Satluj were known as the Cis-Satluj states. 3 In these pre-independence negotiations, the Akalis, led by Master Tara Singh, represented the Sikhs residing in the territory which had once been Ranjit Singh’s kingdom; Yadavindra Singh, Maharaja of Patiala, spoke for the Cis- Satluj states. Because the Sikh population was thinly dispersed all over these areas, the Sikhs felt it was not possible to carve out an entirely separate Sikh state and had allied themselves with the Congress whose policy proclaimed its commitment to the concept of unilingual states with a federal structure and assured the Sikhs that “no future Constitution would be acceptable to the Congress that did not give full satisfaction to the Sikhs.” Gandhi supplemented this assurance by saying: “I ask you to accept my word and the resolution of the Congress that it will not betray a single individual, much less a community ..
    [Show full text]
  • (A) Whether the Telecom Commission Has Decided to Authorise Private
    305 Written Answers BHADRA 7.1913 (SAKA) Written Answers 306 (a) whether the Telecom Commission bers of the National Integration Council last has decided to authorise private firms to reconstituted in 1990 is enclosed. install and run telecom services in certain areas; (b) and (c). The matter is engaging the attention of the Government. (b) if so, the areas identified for instal- lation of new network/exchanges by private STATEMENT firms; Prime Minister (c) the firnis proposed to be authorised to develop the telecom services; and I. Union Ministers and Chief Ministers (d) whether the telegraph service is 1 . The Union Home Minister also proposed to be included in this pro- posal? 2. The Union Finance Minister THE DEPUTY MINISTER !N THE 3. The Union Minister for Human MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIC'>IS (SHRI Resources Development P. V. RANGAYYA NAIDU); (a) No. Sir. 4. The Unton Minister of Welfare (b) and (c). In view of (a) above, not applicable. 5. The Union Minister of Informa- tion & Broadcasting (c) No such proposal is under consid- eration. 6. Chief Ministers of all the States to and Union Territories which National Integration Council have 31 Legislatures as per list attached. 5063. SHRI SYED SHAHABUDDIN: Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased II. Leaders of National Parties recog- to state: nised by the Election Commission (a) the present composition of the 32. Shri Rajiv Gandhi, President, National Integration Council; Indian National Congress (b) whethertheGovernment propose to 33. Shri S.R. Bommai, President, reconstitute the Council; and Janata Dal (c) whether the Government propose to 34.
    [Show full text]
  • CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E 1072
    E 1072 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks May 18, 1995 reinvent itself. The leaders of CPB, NPR, and would not have completed without his inter- The budget resolution we vote on today PBS have been specifically challenged to vention. Roy was recognized for his humility, freezes funds for Head Start for the next 7 come up with new sources of funding to re- compassion, and abiding respect for the light years. This translates into a $1.4 billion cut place tax dollars. Given the realities of the def- in each of us. from current funding. Millions of low-income icit, public broadcasters were strongly encour- f children will be cut off. aged to be innovative and far-reaching in their Why are we denying kids their head start on thinking, to take full advantage of the tremen- REMARKS OF CONGRESSMAN DICK life? Because the Republicans want to give dous changes now taking place in the tele- ZIMMER COMMENDING THE NEW tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, whose communications marketplace and the resulting JERSEY STUDENTS WHO PAR- kids will never be at an educational or eco- opportunities to get public broadcasting off the TICIPATED IN THE BEES PRO- nomical disadvantage. Federal dole. GRAM What an inappropriate birthday present. And what have they come up with? PBS Happy Birthday, Head Start. has proposed a trust fund capitalized in part HON. DICK ZIMMER f by fees from commercial broadcasters and in OF NEW JERSEY part by allocations from the Government's sale IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES INDIA SHOULD RELEASE SIKH LEADER and auction of spectrum, and CPB says that Thursday, May 18, 1995 ``no combination of cost savings and new Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Consideration and Passing of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2003
    1 18.21 hrs. MARRIAGE LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL Title: Consideration and passing of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2003. (Bill passed) MR. CHAIRMAN: Now, we move on to Item No.23. THE MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE AND MINISTER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI ARUN JAITLEY): Sir, I beg to move: "That the Bill further to amend the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as passed by Rajya Sabha, be taken into consideration." Mr. Chairman Sir, this is a very small amendment which is being made pursuant to some observations made by the Supreme Court in some judgements. In the Special Marriage Act and the Hindu Marriage Act, there is a provision with regard to the place where the petition for a matrimonial dispute can be presented at High Courts or otherwise. It does not include the place where the wife resides at the time of the presentation of the petition. As a result of which, at times she has to go to the place where the marriage took place or where the husband is residing, travel long distances and we know women in India are, in terms of economic and social factors, handicapped on account of this fact. So, it was a suggestion in some of the judicial views that this should also be taken into consideration and acting upon that we have decided to amend both these Acts to say that where the wife is now residing is also one of the places where a petition can be presented. The earlier places, which were there, all continue to be there.
    [Show full text]
  • India April 2002
    India, Country Information http://194.203.40.90/ppage.asp?section=177&title=India%2C%20Country%20Information INDIA ASSESSMENT April 2002 Country Information and Policy Unit I SCOPE OF DOCUMENT II GEOGRAPHY III HISTORY IV STATE STRUCTURES V HUMAN RIGHTS 5.1 HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES 5.2 HUMAN RIGHTS - SPECIFIC GROUPS WOMEN CHILDREN PUNJAB AND THE SIKHS KASHMIR FREEDOM OF RELIGION SCHEDULED CASTES AND TRIBES HOMOSEXUALS TREATMENT OF RETURNED ASYLUM SEEKERS ANNEX A: CHRONOLOGY ANNEX B: POLITICAL ORGANISATIONS ANNEX C: PROMINENT PEOPLE - PAST AND PRESENT ANNEX D: REFERENCES TO SOURCE MATERIAL 1. SCOPE OF DOCUMENT<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 1 of 67 07/11/2002 5:06 PM India, Country Information http://194.203.40.90/ppage.asp?section=177&title=India%2C%20Country%20Information 1.1 This assessment has been produced by the Country Information and Policy Unit, Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office, from information obtained from a variety of sources. 1.2 The assessment has been prepared for background purposes for those involved in the asylum determination process. The information it contains is not exhaustive, nor is it intended to catalogue all human rights violations. It concentrates on the issues most commonly raised in asylum claims made in the United Kingdom. 1.3 The assessment is sourced throughout. It is intended to be used by caseworkers as a signpost to the source material, which has been made available to them. The vast majority of the source material is readily available in the public domain. 1.4 It is intended to revise the assessment on a 6-monthly basis while the country remains within the top 35 asylum producing countries in the United Kingdom.
    [Show full text]
  • 796 Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney Hon. Neil Abercrombie Hon
    796 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS January 25, 2005 force can suppress it. All the political lead- ment and have lost credibility with the Sikh THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NA- ers in Punjab are recognizing it. Punjab’s Nation. Otherwise they would behave like a TIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, real Jathedar, Jathedar Gurdev Singh REORGANIZATION ACT OF 2005 was declared a hero of the Sikh Nation for Kaunke, rather than like Indian government asserting Punjab’s sovereignty and pre- puppet Jathedar Aroor Singh, who gave a serving Punjab’s natural resource, its river Siropa to General Dyer for the massacre of HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE water, for the use of Punjab farmers by can- Sikhs and others at Jalianawa Bagh. These OF HAWAII celling Punjab’s water agreements. As re- institutions will remain under the control of IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES cently as December 7, former Member of Par- the Indian regime until we free the Sikh Tuesday, January 25, 2005 liament Simranjit Singh Mann again re- homeland, Punjab, Khalistan, from Indian verted to public support of Khalistan. He occupation and oppression and sever our re- Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I am pledged that his party will lead a peaceful lations with the New Delhi government. proud today to introduce the Native Hawaiian movement to liberate Khalistan. Obviously, Mr. Mann is aware of the rising support of The Sikhs in Punjab have suffered enor- Government Reorganization Act, also known our cause. Mann joins Sardar Atinder Pal mous repression at the hands of the Indian as the Akaka Bill.
    [Show full text]
  • The Situation of Members, Supporters and Activists of Akali Dal (Mann)
    Home > Research > Responses to Information Requests RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS (RIRs) New Search | About RIR's | Help 23 December 2005 IND100770.E India: The situation of members, supporters and activists of Akali Dal (Mann), including their activities and treatment (2000 - 2005) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa The Akali Dal (Mann) is a political party based in Punjab state, India (Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology 3 Nov. 2005), and is a faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal political party (ibid. 20 March 2000), the main political organization of India's Sikh community (Political Parties of the World 2005, 298; ibid. 2002, 246; Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology 3 Nov. 2005). In sources consulted for this Response, the Akali Dal (Mann) party is also referred to as the Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) party (ibid.; Press Trust of India 19 Feb. 2002; ibid. 25 Mar. 2004; ibid. 6 Sept. 2000; The Times of India 25 Mar. 2004; ibid. 14 Aug. 2000), and by the abbreviations SAD (M) (India n.d.b.; Press Trust of India 24 Sept. 2004; ibid. 19 Feb. 2002) and SAD (Mann) (ibid.; NDTV.com 13 Feb. 2002). The leader of the Akali Dal (Mann) party is Simranjit Singh Mann (India n.d.a; Press Trust of India 17 Apr. 2004; ibid. 24 Sept. 2004; ibid. 14 June 2005; Rediff.com 14 June 2005; Hindustan Times 14 June 2005; The Times of India 14 Aug. 2000), a former senior Punjab police officer (East Bay Express 15 June 2005; PUCL 30 Oct. 2005; The Times of India 24 Feb.
    [Show full text]
  • Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) – International Sikh Youth Federation – Sexual Violence 3 February 2010
    Country Advice India India – IND35984 – Punjab – Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) – International Sikh Youth Federation – Sexual violence 3 February 2010 1 Deleted. 2 Deleted. 3 Please provide brief background on Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) and ISYF. Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) The Punjabi political party Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) (SAD (Mann) or SAD (M)), also known as Shiromani Akali Dal (Simranjit Singh Mann) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), was formed in the mid-1990s by Simranjit Singh Mann, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.1 SAD (Mann) is a splinter party of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a politico- religious movement founded in Punjab in 1920 to organise and manage the gurdwaras in the state and to advance Sikh interests.2 The main branch of the Shiromani Akali Dal (known simply as SAD, or as SAD (Badal)) is currently in power in Punjab in coalition with the Hindu-dominated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the 2007 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections, SAD (Mann) contested 37 of 117 seats and won none.3 In 2002, SAD (Mann) contested 84 of 117 seats and won none4, while in 1997 the party contested 30 seats and won 1.5 The main stance of the party and of Mann is advocacy for an independent Sikh nation (Khalistan), and Mann’s group is often described as “radical”, and included with other “radical Akali groups”. What radical activities the group engages in, aside from “raising pro- 1 ‘India’ 2009, in CQ Press Electronic Library, Political Handbook of the World Online Edition, eds. Banks, A., Muller, T., Overstreet, W.
    [Show full text]
  • PUB DATE 90 NOTE 233P.; for Related Document, See SO 030 346
    DOCUMENT RESUME SO 030 347 ED 329 500 AUTHOR Geils, Kenneth, Ed. TITLE Passages From India, Vol. 1. SPONS AGENCY Center for InternationalEducation (ED), Washington, DC.; United States EducationalFoundation in India. PUB DATE 90 SO 030 346. NOTE 233p.; For related document, see Guides (For PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use - Teaching Teacher) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Anthologies; *Cultura3. Education;Educational Resources; *Foreign Countries;*Foreign Culture; 1 Instructional Materials; Newspapers;Reading Materials; Secondary Education;*Social Studies IDENTIFIERS *India ABSTRACT This collection of articlesfrom Indian newspapers is designed for use in the secondaryclassroom to assist with the study of India. There are 12 categoriesof articles: (1) Women: LikeAvis, #2 But Trying Harder; (2) Calcutta:City of Joy;(3) India: Feeling Its Curry;(4) Us & Them: Misunderstandings;(5) Those Monsoon Showers May Come Your Way;(6) Re1.1.:_ous (In)tolerance: TheBabri Dispute; (7) Caste and Outcast;(8) z,roblems Aplenty; (9) Election Year Politics; (10) Isms; Terror,Separat, National...; (11) India's Herblock, Darcy, Oliphant; and(12) Miscellaneous. (DB) ***************** ******* **************************** ******* ******* ***** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are thebest that can be made from the original document. ****rA 0 0 ellIE {Meat _ . 104..... .1 TEN Mshst Aare U.S. DEPRTMENTA OF EDUCATION on nt E Out at onau Research antiimprovement E DUCA TIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) )(Th.?, document has peen reprodu<00
    [Show full text]
  • Regional Political Parties Are Adjusting Their Priorities Within the Broad
    REVISED PUNJAB : CHANGING POLITICAL AGENDA If the mid-twentieth century was a period of the consolidation of nationalism into nation states, the last decade of this century witnessed the assertion of sub-nationality identities. It seems that the bone and flesh of a self-determined nation state is either being substituted by redefined (not organic) sub-nationalities on the part of the people or by an aggressive state-controlled nation. These redefined and reformulated sub-nationality identities have also acquired fundamentalist overtones as it has happened in Punjab, India. These fundamentalist assertions have reinforced the „traditional purity of culture‟ and perceived the dominant culture as a threat to its existence. The interaction of these fundamentalist assertions and the mono-cultural nature of the state-controlled nation with the multi-cultural social reality has created conditions for conflicts. The gradual process of de-democratisation of politics and flouting of the precious facet of democracy coupled with the steady erosion of the vitality of democratic institutions, has presented violence as a viable form of grievance redressal mechanism in the eighties. Terrorism in Punjab resulted in the killing of more than ten thousand people. It fractured the social fabric and blunted the sensibilities of the people. These developments made democratic institutions and processes, political parties and moderate leadership irrelevant. Liberal political parties, having lost control over political events, could not articulate and further their ideological and political programmes. The agenda for politics was dictated by the hardliners within the Sikh politics and the repressive state apparatus. 1 Much of the politics in the eighties was nurtured by fundamentalist ideology, ruthless political and administrative acts, and protagonists of brutal and senseless killing.
    [Show full text]
  • Treatment by Authorities –Anti-Sikh Violence – Activists – Akali Dal Party – Sikhs 13 April 2011
    Country Advice India India – IND38564 – Treatment by Authorities –Anti-Sikh Violence – Activists – Akali Dal Party – Sikhs 13 April 2011 1. Are there reports that those who, since 2006, called for investigations into the violence against Sikhs – which occurred in the period from the early 1980s to 1993 – have been targeted by Indian authorities? Limited information was located to suggest that persons are targeted by Indian authorities on the basis of their calling for investigations into violence against Sikhs during the 1980s and early 1990s. Three reports were located where arrests by police have shut down public demonstrations involving the theme of post-1984 violence against Sikhs. According to information on the sikhsiyasat.net website, on 3 November 2010 activists from various Sikh organisations blocked railway tracks, in protest against slow progress in legal cases linked to the 1980s violence. These demonstrations occurred in two locations within Punjab: Amritsar and Fatehgarh Churian to its north.1 Both locations are depicted in Map 1, below, close to the India-Pakistan border. 1 „Punjab shuts down to protest against denial of justice to Sikhs; Railways schedule went off the track‟ 2010, sikhsiyasat.net website, 3 November http://www.sikhsiyasat.net/2010/11/03/punjab-shuts-down-to-protest-against- denial-of-justice-to-sikhs-railways-schedule-went-off-the-track/ – Accessed 7 April 2011 – Attachment 1 Page 1 of 8 Map 1: Amritsar, Punjab, India. Those arrested for these demonstrations included leaders from Sikh groups including the Khalsa Action Committee (KAC) and the All India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF).2 3 It is noteworthy that the AISSF is included on the South Asia Terrorism Portal website‟s current list of terrorist groups in Punjab.4 The protest in Fatehgarh Churian was reportedly led by a member of Shiromani Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani), a group further discussed in the response to Question 2.
    [Show full text]
  • India: Treatment of Members and Supporters of the Shiromani Akali
    Home > Research > Responses to Information Requests RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS (RIRs) New Search | About RIRs | Help 30 April 2012 IND104058.E India: Treatment of members and supporters of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar/Mann) party, particularly those who speak publicly about the treatment of Sikhs by the Indian authorities or those who call for the creation of Khalistan (a separate homeland for Sikhs); whether members are monitored by the police for signs of links with terrorism (March 2009-April 2012) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa 1. Shiromani Akali Dal Political Parties The Political Handbook of the World (PHW) 2011 lists two political parties under the name Shiromani Akali Dal (hereafter the Akali Dal): Akali Dal, led by Parkash Singh Badal, the Chief Minister of Punjab; and Akali Dal (Mann), which is also called the Akali Dal (Amritsar) (PHW 2011, 632, 637). This latter group is led by Simranjit Singh Mann (ibid.; The Hindu 14 Nov. 2011). In 1 April 2012 correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of the World Sikh Organization (WSO) of Canada noted that the Akali Dal (Badal) political party is currently in power in Punjab as part of a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sources identify the BJP as a Hindu nationalist party (WSO 1 Apr. 2012; PHW 2011, 631). According to the WSO representative, the Akali Dal (Amritsar/Mann) and another faction called Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani) are groups that advocate the creation of Khalistan, a separate Sikh state (1 Apr. 2012). 1.1 Opposition to the Akali Dal (Badal) Party The WSO representative said the Akali Dal (Amritsar/Mann) and Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani) "oppose" the Akali Dal (Badal), the ruling party, and have consequently faced "harassment" from them (1 Apr.
    [Show full text]