Mann Condemns Hindutva Indian state. 43 Sikhs gunned down by IA to blame Kashmiris

[Awesome]

Panthic Weekly: Mann Condemns Hindutva Indian state

Jammu, Kashmir - Our party members came here yesterday (24.9.2007) to attend the Bhog of Sardar Sant Singh Teg, a great Sikh patriot and revolutionary, who rubbed shoulders with other prominent liberators of the 20th century and helped them achieve their respective goals, like Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Gandhi, Nehru, Sheikh Abdullah, Teja Singh Swatantar, Master Tara Singh, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala. When I was in Bhagalpore jail for five years he gave my aged parents solace, inspiration and hope.

The tragedy of Sikh leadership is that though they have participated in other revolutions, but we have not been able to solve the vexed national problem of the Sikh peoples. The Indian Constitution vide its article 25 still, after 60 years clubs the Sikhs as a part of the Hindu religion. Shamefully we are governed by the Hindu Code Bill and Hindu Marriage Act though the British-India government in 1909 legislated the Anand Marriage Act for the Sikhs. Article 21 of the Constitution lays down that “no person will be deprived of his life and liberty without the procedure laid down by law”. But in Kashmir in 2000 the Indian Army to disturb communal harmony on the eve of former President Clinton’s visit gunned down 43 Sikhs in cold blood to put the blame on Muslim militants. Despite our party’s memorandums to the President of India, Prime Minister, Jammu and Kashmir Governor and its Chief Minister the accused army officers have not been brought before the law, in spite of violating article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Since 1947 there are thousands of Sikhs who migrated from West Kashmir to this part of Jammu Kashmir. They have still not got their state citizenship. To put salt on our wounds BJP and Congress leaders are now stating that in the national interest it was necessary to adopt state terrorism and kill Sikhs in extra judicial murders. But after World War II at the Nuremberg Trials in Germany it was held that the German Nazi’s who killed 6 million jews and took the plea that this genocide took place in the “national interest” were all hanged. Today the press and media tell us daily that the Indian Army guns down 8 to 9 Kashmiri Muslims. Is this done as per article 21 of the Constitution? When will the Kashmir dispute be settled? The format of UN Security resolution of plebiscite is the only peaceful, democratic and humane way to settle this vexed problem.

Our party stands for peace in South Asia. Strong leaders make good and dependable neighbours. Therefore our party wants Gen Pervez Musharraf who has stood like a rock against extremism and protected the life, liberty and property of the Sikh minority, back as President, with or without uniform and Ms. Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister. He has played a positive role after 9/11.

Our party condemns the current military exercises by the British and Indian armies in Ladakh. This is like showing a red rag to the bull. It will bring us the enmity of the Islamic world and China as the naval exercises by India in the Bay of Bengal with USA, Australia, Japan and Singapore have already done to upset the apple cart of peace in South Asia.

Whereas our party is worried about peace in our region we are also concerned about the uprooting of the Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir. As refugees they are losing their culture, language and ethnicity. This is a great tragedy of post 1947 Hindutva leadership who wish to rule by the jackboots of their military strength instead of liberal, democratic and constitutional methods. The undoing of article 370 in 1953 in Kashmir and a policy of genocide of the minorities, Operation Bluestar 1984, demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, genocide in Gujrat of the Muslims by the Modi BJP government and the discrimination against the Dalits and Dravidians is leading to conditions that split the monolithic states of Soviet-Union and Yugoslavia in the 1990’s. The much heralded 9% economic growth has not percolated to India’s peripheral states, Jammu and Kashmir, Panjab, Bengal, Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and the North East. The benefits of this growth are confined to the Aryan Hindu heart land only. This is a great destabilizing factor. The burning of effigies of Tamilnadu, Dravidian Chief Minister Karunanidhi by right-wing BJP and RSS forces who claim Aryan decent are activities that are strengthening fissiparous and centrifugal forces against the current Hindutva Indian state.

Our party also applauds the initiative of President Bush’s foreign policy endeavour to serve notice and stop all aid to the Burmese military junta which has uprooted democracy in that country for over two decades and detained its Nobel Peace Prize winner Ms Aung San Suu Kyi for the same period of time. Unless the American’s persuade India to follow suit this humanistic venture of the American’s will fail.

Simranjit Singh Mann,

President, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)

The Akali Dal President didn't hold back. Paints a very monstrous image of the Hindutva brigade and all it's deeds. Bluestar, Babri, Gujarat, Gunned down Sikhs, 9 Kashmiris killed a day, so on.