Hindu Al-Qaeda: Asia's New 'Terror Central'

While America's 'Wag The Dog' media is busy in demonizing Pakistan, and the CIA focuses on pushing the beleaguered American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq into a new war with Pakistan, India is quietly emerging as a new 'terror central', with disturbing new developments that continue to escape the glare of the American/British media.

Figure 1: In 1999, this Australian priest and his two underage kids were burned alive by Hindu terrorists in India.

Neatly tucked under the well constructed – and expensive – veneer of 'Incredible India' advertisements on international television channels is the hottest Indian story: The fast rise of Indian religious terrorist organizations that have penetrated India's military and politics. The movement is so strong, resourceful and organized that it warrants the label India's Hindu al-Qaeda.

The arrest last week of a serving Indian army colonel who along with some other officers has allegedly transferred military funds, material and training to terrorist groups is a matter that should not escape the attention of India's neighbors, since it is directly linked to New Delhi's new desire for expanding its reach beyond its borders and to serve as the regional policeman for American interests in the Asia-Pacific.

One more reason to closely watch what's happening in India is that there is some evidence that parts of the Indian government are busy reading CIA's Latin America handbook of patronizing client militias and using them for strategic objectives. In India's case, this means Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and most importantly Pakistan and China.

The changes taking place in India are truly breathtaking. This is a nation and culture that never espoused violence. Until 1947, the Indians lived for ten centuries under foreign rule –Muslims, British, Dutch and Portuguese- without major resistance. This is the only major civilization in the region that never expanded beyond its natural borders. That's why it is important to understand that the new rise of Hindu militancy has everything to do with India's new interest in creating an image of a superpower.

The world's first religion-based genocide in the 21^st century occurred in India, where in 2002 more than 2,500 Indian Muslims were burned alive in riots by Hindu terror groups, according to a hearing conducted by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on communal riots in India and the U.S. response, held on 10 June, 2002.

While CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden was accusing Pakistan over the weekend of becoming the hub of all terrorism in the world, a newspaper in Malta on Sunday published the chilling story of an Indian priest who escaped death and recounted to his audience how India's Hindu terrorist organizations burned ordinary Christians alive and raped nuns on the streets of Orrissa in east India in August.

Pakistan gets a lot of bad press mainly from the American and the British media for religious extremism. Certainly we have a problem and we're dealing with it. But it pales in comparison with India's. Consider this: Since the start of this century, almost nine years ago, India has seen the targeted murder of over 600 Christians, most of them in riots this summer, not to mention the genocide of Indian Muslims. Hindu terror groups, like Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal, and the Durga Vahini have established militant training camps across India where members are indoctrinated against other religions and Indian Hindu supremacy is emphasized. Recently, the Durga Vahini has proudly distributed pictures of its female members wearing the sari and brandishing guns at an indoctrination camp. In Kashmir, the Indian government and military are recruiting poor Hindu peasants into Hindu militias armed to confront Muslim majority's demand for an end to Indian occupation.

There are reports now that the arrested Indian army colonel and some other officers linked to Hindu terror groups might have had something to do with the burning alive of tens of Pakistani tourists aboard the so-called friendship train service Samjhota Express in 2006.

In short, Pakistan is America's and Britain's favorite punching bag, but India is fast becoming the new terror central. And not all of it is by accident. The Indians have used this technique in Sri Lanka, where Indian money, weapons and indoctrination kept a civil war alive for decades. In China, the Indians are recruiting, training and arming Tibetan rebels fighting Beijing. And even American commentators are admitting now that India is meddling in Pakistan using contacts with old friends in the Karzai government.

There is also no question that the mythology that has surrounded Pakistani intelligence agencies' purported links to religious groups in Afghanistan and Kashmir might have impressed some Indian security officials and played a role in influencing Indian thinking.

But the problem with this genie that the Indian political and military establishments have apparently unleashed is that it is bound to feed on India's massive poverty problem, especially in the next few years when India's economy is projected to considerably slow down, starting next year, as a result of a global recession.

This religious extremist surge in India is also a matter of concern because Hindu organizations have found unexpected friends in America's Christian right and the conservatives, who are using political connections to help Hindu Indian-American organizations insert activists in key positions in American government and media. The Israeli right has also established strong ties to the rightwing Hindu militants.

It's all right for the Indians to think in terms of projecting power and adopt whatever means necessary to do it. The problem with this thinking is that expensive showoff space shuttles to Moon –when almost no one else in the world is doing it for now- won't reduce poverty among the world's largest single concentration of poor people on earth. In India.

Footnote:

• An Indian citizen, Najid Hussain, testified on June 10, 2002, in front of the U.S. COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM HEARING ON COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN GUJARAT, INDIA AND THE U.S. RESPONSE:

"During my last visit to India in March while Ahmedabad was still burning, I met a young man at Ahmedabad Railway Station with a child in one arm and a little bag in the other. He asked me if I needed my shoes polished. I did not, but said yes. He did not have the foot-rest or a stand on which I could rest my foot while he polished the shoes. So I just put one foot forward and he started to polish. All the time that he was polishing my shoes, the child did not let go of his arm and he did not force her either. He polished the shoes just with one hand holding the child in the other. I advised him that he should buy a little shoe stand that could help him polish better and with ease. With tears in his eyes, he said he lost that when the rioters burnt his house a week ago. His wife and the mother of the child was also burnt along with the house. The little child was traumatized. That was the reason she would not let go of his arm. He said he puts her down only when she is asleep.

That man was not a terrorist. That man was not a fundamentalist. That man was not an anti-national. That man had no time even to think about any of these activities. He was only an innocent, hard working and poor Muslim who had a hard time making a living and raising the family. But he was targeted just because he was a Muslim.

"In the aftermath of the killing of my father-in-law, the former Member of Parliament Ahsan Jafri, it is an unavoidable conclusion that the government of Gujarat did not just give a tacit approval to the perpetrators of the violence against Muslims, but connived in the pogrom. There are evidences that the police, the judiciary and the hospitals, all became a part of that operation in ethnic cleansing by Hindu extremists and Sangh Parivaries (BJP, VHP, RSS, Bajrang Dal) in Gujarat. The carnage carried out in Gujarat in the aftermath of Godhra incident was pre-planned. The detailed and meticulous preparation of that operation, the availability of weapons, the list of houses and businesses to be targeted based on voters lists and ration card records, the availability of bottled water for the rioters, and mob leaders getting riot instructions and help on cell phones, suggest that Godhra was only a convenient excuse. These extremists were fully prepared and on standby to carry out the violence against Muslim men, women and children, and were only waiting for the opportunity."

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More references:

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Why Are Hindus so Offended?

Why are most Hindus, even the secular and the so-called liberal ones, so offended by Center's contention that there is no evidence to suggest existence of Rama?

The obsession with Rama is a recent phenomenon. Different Hindu gods were popular in different times - more like popularity ratings. Ram has been becoming popular in the recent times, starting with Gandhi who kept repeating his name many times and culminating in Rath Yatra taken up by LK Advani.

Hindus were quite OK for a long time in accepting their mythologies as pure myth, because their gods were quite real to them and no matter what Science said, it didn't bother them. They continued to pray to them as if they were real. Only in the last century, unfortunately, Hindus have been introduced to Science which questions things. Before that, Hindus were quite happy just learning things by rote for thousands of years. Any profound questioning thoroughly discomforts most Hindus and that's also the reason why we don't see revolutionary scientific thinkers from this land. It goes without saying that even a renowned 'scientist' from India is a deeply religious man who mixes myth with reality at any point of time without qualms.
Another introduction to Hindus is the rule of law, which is a recent phenomenon. Hindus are also very averse to rules coming from the state. They would like to cross the road when they want to, just like their venerated cows. All these street lights are a major encumbrance to them. It is an 'artificial Western construct' imposed onto them which they detest completely. Rule of law demands a certain degree of exactness which Hindus are completely averse to. Hindus have wallowed and took rejoice in ambiguity. Hence a rule of law of demanding exactness is an anathema. Reproducing exact evidence is completely irrelevant since justice can be bought at a certain price- all Hindus have grown up knowing this as part of our culture- hence there is no need for actual evidence to make a case.

The other introduction that happened in the last hundred years is the familiarity with other Western religion on a massive scale. Earlier, Hindus lived as Hindus without ever knowing what Christianity or Islam was. Only in the last hundred years, they were exposed to these other religions on a more-than-desired levels - through 'unnecessary' campaigns of Gandhi, through media, and through the recent 'conversion' episodes. What they have found is that these religions had a founder and also a religious book. Hindus, instead of just accepting they don't have a founder and no religious book, tried their best to posit one such hero and one such book as its holy book. Enter Rama and enter Bhagavad Gita. Though there is no unanimity in this, in recent times Indians have been positing these two icons as symbols of Hindus. If Mohammed existed and lived, so did Rama. If Christians had Bible to quote, so Hindus had Gita.

So, when suddenly some high authority of 'secular' India suggests that there is no evidence to prove existence of Rama, these Hindus, which includes almost everyone, including those secular one and those liberal ones, stand up and protest. Because this contention directly competes with the recently formed opinions, in competition with other religions they have been exposed to.
Hindus have been taking Rama quite seriously recently, only in the last 100 years, and more so since LK Advani's Rath Yatra and the Ayodhya episode. Rama became an icon or symbol they are going to die for, just the way Muslims are ready to die (and kill) for the sake of Prophet Mohammed. While there is lot of evidence to suggest that Mohammed existed and walked on this planet in flesh and blood, and while there is scant evidence that Jesus may have existed, there is no evidence to suggest Rama ever walked on this planet. This is nothing to do with our inadequate research. It has to do with time. While Mohammed walked on this planet around 1500 years ago, and Jesus might have walked 2000 years ago, most dates for Rama are not less than 3500 years ago. Our recorded history is more robust only from the times of 800 BC in case of Western Civilizations (not including Egyptian Civilization). And Hindus have been little lax about historical documentation of their histories, mixing fantasy with facts wherever possible.
Rama may have existed, or maybe he did not exist. That does not diminish the richness of Hinduism. It should not invalidate their belief systems or their religion. But for some reason, Hindus want to compete with other modern religions and in that effort would like to validate his authenticity to suit their belief systems by asserting that their icons are indeed real just like founders of other religions.

Hinduism is an ancient religion which predates most other modern religions. Hindus should take pride, if they want to, in the fact that our religion has evolved over thousands of years instead of being static, interpreted narrowly by one single icon or one single book. But then, most Hindus do not understand the essence of their own religion beyond the mere rituals and mere competition with other religions. Self-confidence is lacking and hence this flurry of activity to posit their religion equivalent to other modern religions.

Would Hindus raise their voices if someone said there is no evidence to suggest existence of Lord Indra? Not really. Because Lord Indra is not as popular as Lord Rama these days. The same is true for Vamana avatar, Narsimha avatar, Kurma avatar, et al, of Vishnu. Rama is important but not other avatars. It is nothing to do which avatar is important. It is to do with the present generations which grew up with knowing Rama as the most popular god, thanks to LK Advani and his BJP, and sister groups such as VHP and Bajrang Dal, and also a little thanks to exposure to competing religions.

In the last hundred years, there has been a slow and concerted effort to construct Rama as the most popular god to consolidate Hindus under one banner so that they can be manipulated with one stroke. How else would you move the Hindu sentiments as one monolithic religion? Hinduism was always a collection of myths, stories, gods, books, rituals and practices. There was no unique icon to unite them all. That also poses a problems to those who would like to ensure they get the sympathies from Hindus on a religious basis. Hence, borrowing from what Gandhi had already set in motion, the modern day Hindu organizations and affiliated political parties have started to position Rama as the strong contender. Lord Krishna always had some flaws which seem to dominate more than his strengths and he would not have stood the mass appeal from a dias as much as Lord Rama whose impeccable record (other than one or two guffaws) made him the ideal contender from Hindu pantheon.

Therefore, in the last hundred years, Hindu organizations, groups, sympathizers, devout, radical, fanatic, et al, have been positioning Rama to be the icon for Hindus. Popularization of places related to Rama, stories of Rama, embracing Rama Rajya for Hindu Rashtra, etc, were carried out on a massive scale. To help this further, the present generation of Indians grew up knowing Ramayana from the TV serial. They all have images to relate to thus accentuating the belief he really existed. It is not just the political parties with vested interest that campaigned for this. It includes all Hindus who had a selfish interest to promote their religion. It includes all devout who wanted to get a ratification of his belief system. It includes even secular and liberal Hindus who wanted to glorify their culture. It also includes leftist and Marxist group who wanted to posit India as a great country with great ancient history.

Rama is not only real but 'hyper-real'. His existence cannot even be challenged because he is so real that he lives in the 'collective conscience' of billions.

Our inadequate education that does not impart rational and logical thinking completes the story. Not equipped with the right tools, most Indians get carried away by rhetoric, blind belief and superstition. They do not differentiate between what is evidence and what is 'collective conscience'. They do not differentiate between myth and reality. According to them, Rama is real and you just have to accept it. No proof required.

When the present government, led by a Christian Italian Indian woman, a Sikh, a puppet President, and a Muslim Vice-President, backs Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to suggest there is no evidence to prove existence of Rama, all Hindus, including the so-called secular ones and liberal ones, rise up in unanimous protest, because it challenges their belief systems that was carefully constructed in the last hundred years on which they have taken their inspiration and confidence. Rama's un-existence suddenly invalidates their confidence levels. It is like pulling the rug from under their feet causing them to lose balance. They just don't like it. If Islam has Mohammed in flesh and blood, and if Christianity has Jesus, in half flesh and blood, then they better have their Ram in hyper-reality. Whatever works!

Setusamudram flooded by Emotive waves

The leadership of Congress has apologized for the affidavit filed in
the Supreme Court in the case pertaining to the Sethusmaudram project.
This project which was set off by BJP led NDA regime, aims to make a
canal from Palk straights to gulf of Munnar. It involved dredging of
Adams Bridge, also called as Ramar Setu. The affidavit mentioned that
the said bridge is not a man made structure and also the Ram is a
mythological not historical figure. This affidavit set the emotive
political streams rolling their political chariots, and hue and cry
that this statement of the Government is an act of blasphemy.

Different agitations were already planned at an RSS meet to oppose
Sethusamudram project. Dharam Sansad (religious Parliament, a VHP
initiative) has been mobilized around 'faith', on the ground that this
project will destroy Ramar Sethu, the one which was built by Vanar
Sena (Army of Monkeys) to help Ram cross over to Lanka to rescue Sita.
The project was supported by most of the political parties in the
past, and cleared in particular by BJP led NDA, which is at the
forefront of making a political capital out of the issue now. The case
of worst abuse of faith for political agenda is on display! This
project when complete, will cut short the long journey of the ships
from east coast to the west coast, and vice versa. Like Panama Canal
it has been conceived to promote the transport, employment and trade.
Half way now, it has been facing two oppositions. The one is from the
environmentalists, who are worried about the destruction of flora and
fauna and the dangers of silting in the canal. These are the arguments
which need to be taken seriously.

The other ground, the one based on faith need to be dealt with at
another ground. RSS and its affiliates are promoting a view that
building this Sethusamudram will involve be destruction of Ramar Sethu
which will be detrimental to our faith. The story goes that Ravan; the
King of Lanka had abducted Sita to avenge the insult meted out to his
sister Shurpnakha, whose proposal for marrying her was turned down by
the Lord Ram. Assisted by his loyal devotee Hanuman, the Lord
mobilized monkeys and built this bridge. It is claimed that this
bridge is a marvel of engineering achievements of the Indian engineers
of that time. The assertion is that it shows the acme of technological
achievements of this land, and that there are other noteworthy
achievements like the advances in aeronautical technologies like aero
planes, missiles to name the few.

How do we understand these claims, how do we comprehend this peep in
to the past? How do we distinguish fact from fiction, history from
mythology? To reconcile history, science and mythology are the complex
questions in our public life. To begin with history of events has some
definitive characteristics, though their interpretations do vary with
the political ideologies. But what about mythology? Here these
accounts have been put forward as the fictional accounts of the past.
Some of these accounts have been associated with faith. Faith to some
extent is natural and sometimes it is being manufactured and asserted
for political goals.
As far as Lord Ram's story goes there are several versions of
Ramayana, (Many Ramayanas, Richman, OUP). Some of these are very
popular like Valmiki Ramayana and Tulasidas Ramcharitmanas. Surely the
most popular one currently is the one from Maharashi Ramanand Sagar's
mega serial which captivated the nation for couple of years. There are
other versions, which have been undermined and attacked mostly for
political reasons. Sahmat exhibition on different versions of Lord
Ram's story was attacked few years ago. Some politically motivated
people could not bear one of the versions presented in this
exhibition. It showed that according to Jataka version of Ram Katha,
in post Brahminical Buddhist Dashrath Jataka Sita is both as sister
and wife of Ram. As per this version Dashrath is King not of Ayodhya
but of Varanasi. The marriage of sister and brother is part of the
tradition of glorious Kshtriya clans who wanted to maintain their
caste and clan purity. This Jataka tale shows Ram to be the follower
of Buddha. Similarly in Jain versions of Ramayana project Ram as the
propagator of anti-Brahminical Jain values, especially as a follower
of non-violence. What do both Buddhist and Jain version have in common
is that in these Ravana is not shown as a villain but a great soul
dedicated to quest of knowledge and is a spiritual soul, with majestic
commands over passions, a sage and a responsible ruler. Popular and
prevalent 'Women's Ramayan Songs (of Telugu Brahmin Women), put
together by Rangnyakmma, keep the women's concern as the central theme
and present alternate perspective. These songs present Sita as finally
victorious over Ram and in these Surpanakha succeeds in taking revenge
over Ram.
Prof. Victor Raja Mannikam, of Satara University points out (Times of
India 14th Sept 2007) that this epic dates back to 5000 years while
Ramar Setu is over a lakh years old. Prof. V.S. Sahay of Anthropology
Department of Allahbad University says that the society described in
Ramayana represents Metal age (5000-6000 BC) and Ram's Vanar army has
not constructed the structure as it belongs to Pleistocene Age which
shows emergence of stone tools.

Marine experts tell us that the setu itself is a marine structure over
a lakh years old and not man made. It is a natural occurrence of the
continuity of sandstone sedimentation which stretches below
Dhanushkoti and isotope dating indicates that the deposition is over a
lakh years old (Prof. R. Mannikam). Thus one can conclude that Ramar
Sethu is a much older structure, called tombol, a sand deposition due
to natural process, connecting one land with another, and that it is
from times when human habitation is doubtful. The Geological Survey of
India has also ruled out its being the manmade (or monkey made!),
construction. Same way the inference from NASA satellite pictures is
that it is due to sedimentation of clay and lime stone.

Many people dispute that the Lanka mentioned in Ramayana is not the
current Sri Lanka. Since mythology does not require any proof it can
be modulated and constructed in to a faith for political purposes.
Recently in the Shabri Kumbh held in Dangs in Gujarat, the mythology
was modulated in to the service of politics. It was said, and that too
with great amount of precision, that a particular hillock, which was
earlier called Chamak Dongar, which adivasis used to worship as Shivar
Deo (protector of crops), was the precise place where Shabri had
offered berries to Lord Ram. It was rechristened and a Shabri temple
was built on the spot. Nearby, a river six kilometers away, Purna was
named as the one where Guru Matang rishi use to take bath. On the
mountain on the stone there were three marks which are being presented
as the marks where Laxman had sharpened his arrows.

The one step back of Congress leadership, Sonia Gandhi in particular,
is to try to prevent giving an emotional handle to RSS combine, who
are desperately looking to build up another emotive issue the way they
constructed the politics around Babri Mosque. The search for an issue
is desperate as the Ram temple issue is no longer en-cashable in the
electoral arena, the primary concern of BJP. The attitude of Congress
leadership can be understood only in this light, else the affidavit
filed by Archeological survey is on the dot and scientific to the
core. One witnessed the similar display of retreat when Sonia Gandhi
was to become the Prime Minister. Faced with the threat of some BJP
leaders shaving their heads and eating just gram, and the emotive
hysteria which had the potential of engulfing the national politics,
Mrs. Gandhi decided to give up the post, deflating the whole game,
depriving them of a issue and depriving the nation of the sight of
Sanyasin like leaders, with bald head etc. One is not sure whether
even now such a process of deflating the issue in the initial stages
is possible.

It is easy to construct a fly over to the future but difficult to
prevent the formation of mythological bridges of the past. Mythology
can easily be constructed and planted in the people's psyche as it is
driven by political goals and rides on horse of emotion. Reason and
logic have no place in this scheme of things. One knows that some
Mullahs, having faith in the infinite power of djinns advocated their
rulers to invest in the research for making more djinns so that power
crisis can be solved. Also with the resurgence of fundamentalism one
is hearing that Creation science is back in the race to compete with
the theories of evolution. The question is, should we misuse faith,
faith which can be an assuaging balm, for building political agendas?

Charge Sheet of the Sikh Nation Against the Indian State

The Indian State Versus The Sikh nation.

This 60-point year-to-year charge sheet tabled here is by no means totally exhaustive, but all major misdemeanours, misappropriations, mischiefs, misrepresentations, misgivings of the Indian state find a mention. Every charge individually and collectively sufficiently holds India responsible for being unfair and unjust to the Sikh people. The chargesheet will be presented to the United Nations and will be communicated to all Sikh bodies and institutes, particularly to the Sikh Diaspora whose role in solidifying the Sikh aspirational struggle has been a glorious saga in contemporary Sikh history.





Charge Sheet against the Indian State by the Sikh Nation

On the midnight of 14 August 1947, British India was partitioned and Sikhs as a people underwent the trauma and rigours of one of the biggest transfers of population in world history from West Punjab to East Punjab. Thousands of Sikhs were killed and hundreds of women were humiliated. Home and hearth were lost and the economy of the Panjabis was ruined. The Sikhs were made to leave their most cherished and sacred place, Nankana Sahib -the birthplace of Guru Nanak. According to one estimate, the Sikhs lost more than forty percent of their territory and more than six percent of their total population.

On 10th October 1947, a secret circular by the Punjab Governor, Sir Chandu Lal Trivedi, declared that Sikhs are a criminal tribe. The circular addressed to deputy commissioners of Punjab, labeled the Sikhs a criminal tribe, threat to peace and that the activities of Sikhs should be kept under watch.

In the month of February, 1948, right-wing Hindu members of the Jalandhar Municipal Committee officially resolved to adopt the Hindi language as the medium of instruction in schools of the district, to taunt the Sikhs and to decimate the importance of mother tongue Punjabi. In the same year, the Dar Commission submitted its report against the formation of linguistic states.

On 19th February, 1949, Sikh leader and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Master Tara Singh was arrested at Narela, under charges similar to sedition in nature disallowing him to participate in a religious ceremony.

On 26 January, 1950, the Constitution of India as framed by the Constituent Assembly was adopted. As the Constitution failed to be truly federal in character and did not give special rights to ethnic peoples and nationalities, the two Sikh members in the Constituent Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Mann and Hukam Singh declared that, “The Sikhs do not accept this constitution. The Sikhs reject this constitution.”

The Government of India enters into a pact with the pseudo-Nirankaris to subvert the separate and distinct entity of the Sikh religion.

In 1951, in the first census in ‘independent’ India, under explicit and implicit orders of the state machinery, Hindi was preferred over Punjabi. The ruling Congress party went to the extent of issuing an advertisement in newspapers asking non-Sikh residents of Punjab to return Hindi (in Devnagari script) as their mother tongue, even though Punjabi had been their mother tongue since ages.

On 4th January, 1952 Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, opposed the formation of Punjabi Suba. This was in total contrast to the commitment to demarcate India on a linguistic basis made by the Congress party in 1929, 1946 and 1947.

On 4th March, 1953, the Akali-led government of PEPSU province was dismissed without any ground. Upset over the misuse of Article 356 of the Constitution by the Congress government, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the founding father of the Indian constitution, while speaking in the Upper house of the Indian parliament, roared, “I wish to set fire to such a constitution.” This was the first non-Congress government which was dismissed and President’s rule was imposed.

On 6th April, 1955, a ban was imposed on the raising of the slogan “Punjabi Suba Zindabad”. Subsequently, the police under the command of DIG Ashwani Kumar entered the Darbar Sahib Complex and raided the offices of the Shiromani Akali Dal to detain Akali leaders. The Head priest of Akal Takht Sahib was arrested and tear gas shells were thrown in the perambulation around the Darbar Sahib. The Head pries of Darbar Sahib and Akal Takht Sahib were detained.

In 1957, in continuation of the anti-Punjabi language tirade, a cross-section of Hindu fundamentalists (Jan Sangh) floated Hindi Raksha Samiti under the leadership of Yag Dutt Sharma that launched a violent “Save Hindi Struggle” campaign which comprised of throwing cigarette buts in holy water tanks, tearing of pages of Sikh religious texts and shearing of hair of Sikhs by waylaying them. Discrimination was evident as Hindu hooliganism was not stopped whereas Sikhs were beaten up.

On 15th March, 1959 peaceful protestors of the Shiromani Akali Dal, on their way to the Indian parliament to protest the violation of their rights were detained, harassed, maltreated and arrested.

In 1960, the biggest Morcha for Punjabi Suba was launched. 57,000 Sikhs courted arrest. Master Tara Singh was arrested. In the same year, on June 12, a silent march was taken in Delhi protesting the arrest of Master Tara Singh. For the first time, the Delhi administration ordered that any Sikh entering Delhi or walking the streets of the city should be given a thrashing. Harbans Singh Frontier who led the first Jatha was mercilessly beaten up when he came out of the Gurdwara Sisganj Sahib.

In the sixties, the Indian state patronised and assisted the left movement in Punjab to destroy Sikh culture, Sikh traditions, Sikh religion and Sikh ethos. On 22 May, 1960, 11 Sikhs of Tarna Dal were gunned down at Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh by Mahant Gurdial Singh's henchmen who was entrenched in the Gurdwara with logistical support from police and the district administration.

The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 was passed, which dealt a death-blow to the territorial and water rights of the people of Punjab. Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Panjab Reorganisation Act placed the irrigation and hydel-power projects of the Panjab geographically in Himachal Pradesh. These provisions also gave exclusive overall control of these projects to the Central government. It was in total contravention of Article 246 of the Indian constitution and universally accepted riparian principles.

In 1967, the Congress conspired to topple the first Akali-led government by engineering defection and thereafter withdrawing its support, and imposing President’s rule.

In 1970, Sikhs settled in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh were forcibly evicted from there under one pretext or the other. In recent times, the Sikh-majority district of Udham Singh Nagar was also forcibly attached to the newly carved state of Uttaranchal Pradesh against the express wish of Sikh residents in that area.

In 1971, in a move to scuttle the importance of martial races in the Indian armed forces, the defence ministry under Jagjivan Ram, took a policy decision, to recruit army personnel on the basis of population rather than merit. The percentage of Sikh participation in the Indian Armed Forces was gradually reduced to a meagre 2 percent. Promotions to high-ranking Sikh officers were scuttled on pretext or the other. The government compelled Sikh officers, both in the Defence and Civil services to renounce their Sikh identity (i.e. Kesh and Kirpan) if they desired promotions and possible retention in their services. This illegal and racial discrimination continues.

In 1972, 12 Sikhs were killed by the Punjab police in Gurdwara Sadabart, near Ropar.

In 1973, the Shiromani Akali Dal adopted the Anandpur Sahib Resolution but the Indian state and media launched a vicious campaign against it, dubbing it as anti-national.

Upon the imposition of emergency in 1975, thousands of volunteers of the Shiromani Akali Dal opposing the emergency imposed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi were incarcerated.

On April 13, 1978, thirteen Sikhs were killed in cold-blood by the pseudo-Nirankaris in the heart of Amritsar who had been given permission to voice anti-Sikh sermons in the holy city of Amritsar by the Punjab government. In the same year, 4 Nihang Sikhs were killed at Pundri, Haryana, by police of the Akali Dal supported Haryana Government under the chief ministership of Chaudhary Devi Lal. In the same year Sikh protestors were fired at in Kanpur and Delhi leading to death of some activists.

As the Punjab and Sind Bank was understood to be the banks of Sikhs and Punjabis, when the bank reached the zenith of its glory, in 1980, the bank was nationalized and brought under the direct control of the government of India.

On 14th January 1980, copies of Guru Granth Sahib were burnt at Chando Kalan in Haryana.

On 4th January, 1980 Baba Gurbachan (neo-Nirankari) and 64 associates accused in the case of the murder of 13 Sikhs on April 13, 1978 were acquitted by the Sessions Judge of Karnal, Mr. Gupta. It is an open secret that all attempts were made by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and others to influence the judiciary for their acquittal.

On 1st May 1982, the Dal Khalsa, which was struggling for Sikh rights was banned by the Indian Government. Sometime later, the All India Sikh Students Federation, which was one of the oldest Sikh youth organizations working amongst Sikh students for propagation of Sikh religion was also banned by government of India.

During the Asian games in 1982, Sikhs were banned from entering Delhi. With full tacit approval of the state authorities, Sikhs were badly humiliated at various places in Haryana. Their shops were looted and property destroyed.

On 4th April, 1983, 26 Sikhs were killed by the police, at Kupp, near Malerkotla, during the "Rasta Roke" agitation of the Akali Dal.

In 1983, the State Reserve Police and the Central Reserve Police were directed by the government to attack Gurdwaras on the slightest pretext. During the year, Gurdwara Sahib Sisganj, Delhi, Gurdwara Imli Sahib, Indore, Gurdwara Sahib, Churu, Rajasthan, Gurdwara Sahib Chandokalan, Haryana and Gurdwara Sahib, Chowk Mehta, Amritsar were attacked.

From February 15-20, 1984, the Hindus of Haryana under the guidance of the Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and senior police officials, attacked innocent Sikhs in the cities of Panipat, Rohtak, Kaithal Karnal, Ambala, Jind and other parts of Haryana province and killed 20 Sikhs, burnt six Sikh shrines and looted more than 200 Sikh houses and shops. The hair and beards of many Sikhs were shaved off by the Hindus in the presence of heavy contingents of police and Central Reserve Police.

In June 1984, on the orders of the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Darbar Sahib and 37 other Gurdwaras were attacked by all sections of the Indian Armed forces and other security agencies, killing thousands of Sikhs, desecrating the holy premises, vandalizing heritage records and artifacts. They not only killed the fighting forces but also innocent Sikh men, women and children.

During the attack on Darbar Sahib, the Sikh Reference Library was vandalized by the Indian Armed Forces and the looted material has not been returned to this day.

After the attack on Darbar Sahib, an internal circular of the Indian Army entitled, Baat Cheet exhorted members of the Indian Armed Forces to earmark baptized Sikhs, all of whom were labeled as dangerous people who were supposed to be having direct links with ‘terrorists’.

In November, 1984, Sikhs were attacked in 87 towns and cities in 'secular' India. According to estimates by human rights organizations atleast 10,000 Sikhs were virtually butchered or burnt alive. Officially, 3,700 Sikhs were killed in a matter of 48 hours. More than 200,000 Sikhs rendered homeless and without work. More than 358 Gurdwaras were desecrated and destroyed. Justifying this official pogrom against the Sikhs against the Sikhs, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shamelessly proclaimed, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”

On 25 July 1985, the Rajiv-Longowal accord was reached which contained unattainable and unachievable proposals. The Accord was attained under deceit and pressure on Sant Longowal. Still, for the record, no part of the accord has been implemented.

Since 1986, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been debarred from officially entering Punjab for documenting human rights violations. This ban still continues.

In 1987, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 was passed. This act violated all norms of criminal jurisprudence. Every safeguard guaranteed by the Constitution, all international standards of human rights laid-down by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were violated by this Act, even though India is a signatory to both these declarations. The Sikhs suffered the consequences of TADA. Thousands of Sikh youth were detained, tortured, and killed both in Panjab and in other Indian states.

On 12th May 1987, the Akali government in Punjab was dismissed by misusing Article 356 of the Indian constitution.

On 14-15 September, 1988, Sikh students of the Engineering College at Bidar in Karnataka were subjected to a brutal racial attack in which many students were killed and a large number of them were injured.

In 1988, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi introduced the 59th amendment to the constitution of India, rescinding the right to life of the people of Punjab and enabling more discriminatory laws against Punjab.

On 13th January, 1988, Sikhs were injured and killed in Jammu & Kashmir during the procession to observe the birthday celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh.

On 6th January, 1989, without substantial evidence, Kehar Singh was hanged. The advocates and judges colloquium objected to this judicial murder, but it was still carried out.

A written circular was sent by the Director General of Police, Mr. K. P. S. Gill to all Senior Superintendents of Police in Punjab dated 30 August, 1989, giving details of rewards to them for the apprehension and liquidation of wanted “terrorists/extremists”.

In 1990. Prime Minister V.P. Singh introduced the 65th amendment to the constitution, to prolong Presidential Rule in Panjab. This was repeated in 1991 by Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar when he initiated the 75th Constitutional Amendment.

In 1991, the Bombay police issued a circular to collect details of Sikh residents to cause them harassment and humiliation.

Elections scheduled to be held in June 1991 were aborted only 24 hours prior to polling time by the then President Mr. R. Venketaraman on advice from Prime Minster-designate Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao. This illegal order was implemented by Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. T.N. Seshan.

On 28 July, 1991, a circular was issued in the Terai region asking Sikh residents to prove their innocence. Police intimidation and restrictions on purchase of property became the norm in this Sikh-majority area of the State of Uttar Pradesh.

In 1991, Brigadier Sinha of the Indian Army publicly declared that the only way to subvert the culture of the Sikhs was to rape and humiliate Sikh women.

On 15 March, 1992, a written discriminatory order was issued by the state government of Rajasthan for registration of land owned by Sikhs.

On 3 April, 1992, former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organisation, Justice Ajit Singh Bains was arrested under the anti-people legislation, TADA. Inspite of massive protests by human rights activists, lawyers and political activists, the Punjab and Haryana High Court did not intervene.

On 8-9 June, 1992, five innocent villagers from village Behla, district Amritsar were used as a human shield by the security agencies comprising of the Punjab police and the Central Reserve Police Force in an operation against Sikh insurgents. All were killed and later dubbed as militants.

On 9 October, 1992, Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda and Bhai Sukhdev Singh were sent to the gallows under the provisions of the TADA act, which was later on held null and void by the Supreme Court of India. It is significant to mention that as many as 400 petitions challenging the validity of T.A.D.A. were pending judgment for more than 8 years in the apex court. The decision though was taken after hanging Jinda and Sukha.

On 1 January, 1993, the former Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib, Bhai Gurdev Singh Kaonke, who had been kidnapped by the police a few days ago, was tortured and extrajudically killed by the Ludhiana police.

In 1993, 11 Sikh young pilgrims on way by bus to Hazur Saheb, Nanded from Pilibhit were removed from the bus and shot dead in cold blood in front of all other passengers by the police, alleging that they were all “terrorists”.

On 8-9 November, 1994, six Sikh undertrial detenues under TADA, in the Pilibhit prison in the state of Uttar Pradesh were brutally beaten to death by the 42 members of the prison staff with support from the infamous Provincial Armed Constabulary of Uttar Pradesh. 22 other Sikh detenues were seriously injured.

On 6 September, 1995, human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra, who had unearthed gross human rights abuses in the district of Amritsar about individuals who had disappeared involuntarily was tortured and killed extrajudicially.

Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Human Resources Minister earmarked 100 crores for the celeberation of 300 years of Khalsa Panth. Most of the money was apportioned to RSS supported organizations for penetrating into Sikh institutions to undermine the separate identity of the Sikhs and diluting Sikh ideology with the motive of evolving pan-Hinduism which propagates the Sikhs to be a sect of Hinduism.

On 20 March 2000, coinciding with the visit of US President, Bill Clinton, 35 young Sikhs were killed in Chittisingpura, Kashmir by state vigilantes. This has been proved without doubt but the state has not taken any action so far.

In June 2005, sedition cases were registered against the leadership of the Dal Khalsa and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) when they participated in a function to observe the anniversary of the attack on Darbar Sahib.

In the year 2007, while the blasphemous activities of Sirsa dera chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim have been allowed to continue, in complete violation of legal provisions, sedition charges have been foisted against Sikh leaders. Earlier such false and baseless allegations were foisted against Dal Khalsa leaders.

(This charegsheet was prepared as a result of a seminar organised by the Dal Khalsa.