Date: 9/15/2003
The Sikhs of BROKEN BHARAT (PARTITIONED INDIA) need to reflect on the plight of HUNDREDS OF HINDUS who are being shot dead year after year on their own territory called Bharat.
How many Hindus wailed over the plight of quarter of a million Hindu refugees from SOUTH Kashmir?
In that HINDU MORASS the case for 60,000 forgotten Sikhs seems a weak one. The world at large is not interested in either Hindu or Sikh.
Now read on the posting by a Sikh gentleman, meant for his own community. We should really feel for the PERISHING NATIVE INDIANS, that is, the "HINDUS" in any shape and form.
Also please spare a thought for the Tamils in the South and Sri Lanka, and the Hindus of Eastern and North Eastern India who are feeling the NOOSE tightening around their necks due to increase in MUSLIM population in those areas.
...................The Forgotten 60,000
"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile." Article 9, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The detention of around six hundred prisoners of war for over two years by the American army at Guantanamo Bay following the war in Afghanistan has raised grave concerns and shock across the globe. Almost all governments and human rights groups have expressed concern about the way no one has yet been tried or charged of any crime. The media has also highlighted the unlawfulness of the men being kept under lock and key for so long without being charged for any offences.
These prisoners are being held against their wishes even in the face of complaints by Human Rights groups the World over.
Nevertheless, their plight is miniscule when compared to that of the Sikhs. Since the early 80s the Indian government along with actively killing and carrying out human rights abuses on the Sikh community has illegally detained around 60,000 Sikhs, some of whom were mere children.
These cases have been well documented by Amnesty International and ther independent Human Rights organizations. Some Sikh political prisoners have been held since 1980 without charge or trial. How can a country that proclaims to be the Worlds largest democracy continue to hold political prisoners?
Shamefully the Sikh community around the World appears to have forgotten or in many cases willingly ignored the plight of these 60,000 Sikh's in run down and un-inhabitable jails in India.
"Tens of thousands of Sikh and Muslims still languish in jail today, without charge or trial" Amnesty International
Most of the Sikhs rotting away in Indian prisons were arrested during the early 80s when Punjab witnessed grave troubles due to the heavy handedness and state terrorism created by the government at the time. The majority of Sikhs were peacefully protesting by blocking traffic and holding sit in demonstrations to gain basic human rights and equal status.
It has now been over 20 years since these people have been decaying away; some have even died in jail with out a hope of being tried in a Court of Law or at least being formally charged.
Why is it that the World jumps to the defense of six hundred prisoners kept for two years at Guantanamo Bay, yet fails to take notice of 60,000 Sikhs who have been held illegally and mostly for minor acts for over twenty years?
It is startling to see Governments and even the people of America complaining about prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay and being ignorant of the plight of the Sikhs in the dungeons of India.
What excuse us Sikhs have living in comfortable homes and enjoying the glow of freedom of the West for not as much as lifting a finger to help fight for the legal release of the thousands of our Sikh brothers and sisters who are rotting away unlawfully in Indian jails? We should note that these people were protesting for the fair and equal rights of all Sikhs.
As Sikhs we claim that our history and people who died for the Sikh religion are very close to our hearts, as we remember them daily in the Ardas. But what about the living martyrs who the World has turned a blind eye to for so many years? Think how you would feel if your brother, sister, mother or father was held in the most appalling conditions, possibly for the rest of their lives with out any hope of ever being put on trial.
In the West we need to campaign and raise awareness about this disgraceful situation. It is the duty of Sikhs to feel the pain of other Sikhs (as well as other people) and tell the World of what has happened.
Do not simply ignore what you have just read, as it is real and affects real people everyday. Please air your concerns to all political and human rights bodies. Please spend a few minutes to write to your MP and express you concerns to|: "Your Local MP's name", House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA. Please also send a copy of your letters to John McDonnell Esq MP, Pump Lane, Hayes, Middlesex, UB3 3NB.
..........................Thank You.
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