Council of Khalistan 21st Annual Convention

Council of Khalistan 21st Annual Convention

Very Successful Much Progress in Last Year

FREMONT, CA., October 12, 2008 – Delegates came from Canada, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Yuba City, California, and many other locations to the Council of Khalistan's 21st annual convention, which was held October 11-12, 2008 at Gurdwara Sahib Fremont in Fremont, California. The convention was very well attended and successful. The local Sangat of the Bay Area was very enthusiastic and attended in large numbers. The meeting began with Ardas (Sikh prayer.) Delegates presented their views on how to achieve Khalistan and expedite its liberation. Many resolutions were passed, including resolutions in support of a sovereign, independent Khalistan, condemning the establishment of Deras by fake gurus, and other resolutions. "These Deras are a danger to the Sikh religion," said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan.

"I would like to thank the Sangat of Fremont, especially Gurdwara President Sardar Harjot Singh Khalsa, Gurdwara Secretary Sardar Satnam Singh Khalsa, and Advisor Paramjit Singh Sekhon, for hosting this wonderful event and for their hard work in making it happen," said Dr. Aulakh.

Speakers included Dr. Aulakh, Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon, Sardar Jasbir Singh, Sardar Manmohan Singh Randhawa, Bhai Amardeep Singh Amar, Bibi Manjit Kaur Sekhon, Sardar Sukhchain Singh, Sardar Paramjit Singh Sekhon, Sardar Jagtar Singh, Dr. Ranbir Singh Sandhu, Sardar Jaspreet Singh, Sardar Avtar Singh Missionary, Professor Makhan Singh, Sardar Parminder Singh Prawana, Sardar Gurmit Singh Barsal, Sardar Karnail Singh Khalsa, Sardar Madan Singh, Sardar Ala Singh, Sardar P.S. Shahi, Sardar Amrit Pal Singh, Sardar Jagdeep Singh Katro, and Sardar Jaswant Singh Dhaliwal. The Sikh Educational Trust of Canada presented a DVD entitled "Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh: His Life and Mission", prepared by Sardar Kavneet Singh Pannu of Philadelphia. Dr. Sandhu said that "the Sikh Raj will be of the Khalsa Panth, not of any individual." He also noted that "we can't prepare a list of the youth killed [by the Indian government] because [Chief Minister Parkash Singh] Badal played a role in stopping it."

Dr. Aulakh reviewed the progress during the last year. He presented a report on human rights violations at the UN Commission on Human Rights meeting in Geneva in June. Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon, Director of the Human Rights Wing of the Council of Khalistan, also attended the Commission on Human Rights meeting in September and presented a memorandum from the Council of Khalistan. The convention passed a resolution commending commission Chairman Charles Greaves for holding these hearings.

India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, according to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and human-rights groups and reported in the book The Politics of Genocide by Inderjeet Singh Jaijee. Dr. Aulakh reported that Sardar Jaijee and Bibi Baljit Kaur of the Movement Against State Repression (MASR) told him that if it were not for the efforts of the Council of Khalistan, that number might be ten times as high. Remember that former Member of Parliament Balram Jakhar said, "to preserve the unity of India, if we have to eradicate 2 crore (20-million) Sikhs, we will do so." They urged Dr. Aulakh to continue this work.

The Council of Khalistan has preserved the history of the Sikh Nation since 1984 through more than 1500 statements in the Congressional Record by many Members of Congress of both parties. "We thank all these Members of Congress, current and former, for their help," Dr. Aulakh said. These statements are being preserved in a book published by the Vishav Sikh Council entitled The U.S. Congress on the Sikh Struggle for the Independence of Khalistan, which will be published by the end of the year. It will probably be a two-volume set, as it is over 2,000 pages. These two volumes should be displayed in every Gurdwara, every Sikh home, and libraries throughout the world.

India has also killed more than 89,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, and thousands of Christians and Muslims elsewhere in the country, as well as tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits ("Untouchables," the dark-skinned aboriginal people of South Asia), Manipuris, Tamils, and other minorities. The Indian Supreme Court called the Indian government's murders of Sikhs "worse than a genocide."

According to a report by MASR, 52,268 Sikhs are being held as political prisoners in India without charge or trial. Some have been in illegal custody since 1984! Amnesty International reported that tens of thousands of other minorities are also being held as political prisoners. We demand the immediate release of all these political prisoners.

Sikh activists have been arrested for holding peaceful marches, making speeches, and raising the flag of Khalistan. Recently, the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Sri Singh Sahib Joginder Singh Vedanti, was forced out of office by allies of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Akali Dal. The Akalis are in a political alliance with the militant, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is determined to destroy the Sikh religion.

Delegates spoke in support of independence for Khalistan and discussed the need to remain active at the grassroots level. They stressed the need for the active participation of the local Sangat, not only in Fremont but worldwide. A resolution was passed expressing the urgent need for the Gurdwaras to take responsibility for financing the Washington office.

The money of the Gurdwaras belongs to the Sikh Nation and that money is to be used to disseminate, promote, propagate, and protect the Sikh religion. The Washington office is doing that. The Council of Khalistan has preserved the true history of the Sikh Nation since 1984 by documenting every major incident in the Congressional Record, internationalizing the Sikh struggle for independence, and exposing the Indian government's repression against the Sikhs and other minorities.

Indian police arrested human-rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra after he exposed their policy of mass cremation of Sikhs, in which over 50,000 Sikhs have been arrested, tortured, and murdered, then their bodies were declared unidentified and secretly cremated. He was murdered in police custody. His body was not given to his family.

"Only a sovereign, independent Khalistan will end the repression and lift the standard of living for the people of Punjab," said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. On October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation declared its independence from India, naming its new country Khalistan. "Democracies don't commit genocide."

History shows that multinational states such as India are doomed to failure. Countries like Austria-Hungary, India's longtime friend the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and others prove this point. India is not one country; it is a polyglot like those countries, thrown together for the convenience of the British colonialists. It is doomed to break up as they did.

"As Professor Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht, said, 'If a Sikh is not a Khalistani, he is not a Sikh'," Dr. Aulakh noted. "We must continue to press for our God-given birthright of freedom," he said. "Without political power, religions cannot flourish and nations perish. India claims to be a democracy. It is time it recognized the right of self-determination for all people in South Asia."

Parmjit Singh Sekhon (Dakha)

President

Dal Khalsa Alliance

510-774-5909