lsingh

Please put forward ideas on the best way to help the victims. People do want to contribute but need transparent accounts and regular reports on how money is being spent. Remember the tsunami , Sikhs contributed a large amount to charities then. Sikhs spend millions on cultural activities and building projects, why not contribute to a 84 fund.

15th August Day of protest Reuters Thursday August 11, 10:58 PM Sikh groups reject PM's apology for 1984 riots By Indo Asian News Service Chandigarh, Aug 11 (IANS) Sikh political and religious groups Thursday rejected the apology made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that left hundreds of Sikhs dead in New Delhi and elsewhere. The Sikh groups - led by Shiromani Akali Dal - said the apology from the Sikh prime minister was unacceptable and inadequate. The Punjab Rights Forum called a protest day Aug 15 against what it said was the ruling Congress party's 'anti-Sikh stand'. It asked Sikh men to wear black turbans and women to adorn black 'dupattas' Aug 15 as a mark of protest. It also urged Sikhs not to celebrate Independence Day. The groups demanded that the apology for the ghastly killing of innocent Sikhs - allegedly by Congress activists and leaders in the wake of the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards, should come from the Nehru-Gandhi family and particularly from Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Intervening in a discussion on the Nanavati Commission report on the riots in the Rajya Sabha, Manmohan Singh apologised to his Sikh community and the nation for the violence that some leaders of his Congress were accused of instigating. 'I have no hesitation in apologising not only to the Sikh community but to the nation because (the riots) negated the concept of nationhood,' he said. 'I bow my head in shame for what happened... but there are ebbs and tides in a nation's history.' But an Akali Dal spokesman said the prime minister's apology was misplaced since he was not even a primary member of the Congress when the killings took place in 1984. Others who rejected the prime minister's apology included the Dal Khalsa and the Akali Dal headed by radical leader Simranjit Singh Mann. They said the Congress had been shielding its leaders who got hundreds of Sikhs killed in 1984 and had been part of a conspiracy against the community. The organisations said that Sikhs would never forget atrocities against them even if they forgave the perpetrators of crimes against them.

So the Home Minister Rao who became PM and the Army Chief are not senior? Army involved in Sikh massacre http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=12357 Posted on 09 Aug 2005 # IANS Rao, Alexander lied to make me scapegoat: 1984 LG Gavai By Deepshikha Ghosh, New Delhi: Former Delhi lieutenant governor P.G. Gavai says big shots like former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and former principal secretary P.C. Alexander "lied blatantly" while making him a "scapegoat" for delayed action in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Gavai, who has been blamed by the Nanavati Commission of Inquiry for not taking enough action in stemming the riots, said he was considering legal action to clear his name. "I have been very restrained, but people are bent on doing harm to me, making me a fall guy...the only thing left in India today appears to be the legal recourse," Gavai told IANS from his home in Nagpur. "If it comes to that, yes...I will." The G.T. Nanavati Commission tabled in parliament Monday has accused Gavai of not paying attention to the law and order situation in Delhi while the city burned and Sikhs were being murdered on the streets. Gavai, 78, said Nanavati, a retired Supreme Court judge, had no idea of how things worked in an administration and had not done a thorough job. He said he felt helpless when mobs were on the streets of Delhi and his pleas for calling in the army were not drawing the desired response. "The lieutenant governor is the administrator of a union territory, but he is answerable to the ministry of home affairs. It is the home ministry that controls the paramilitary forces, and I was told Delhi had no forces. "It was not within my powers to summon the army on my own." Gavai said major general J.S. Jamwal, then general officer commanding, Delhi area, of the army told him he could spare forces "only for Connaught Place". "I said why should I want forces in Connaught Place, when the riots are taking place in trans-Jamuna (east Delhi)?" The former LG also said the army officer refused to speak to the police commissioner, increasing the delay. "The home ministry was not willing to give me any succour, and Delhi Police also did not have enough forces..." While dismissing Rajiv Gandhi as "misguided", Gavai accused two people of "lying blatantly" - Narasimha Rao and Rajya Sabha MP Alexander, then principal secretary to the prime minister's office. Rao - who was then home minister - said Gavai was attending Rajiv Gandhi's swearing-in ceremony on Oct 31 night when riots were raging in the streets on New Delhi. "I wasn't there! It is a pack of lies!" Gavai asserted. "When it comes to the crunch, you need a scapegoat." He accused Alexander of lying his way out of the blame when he was responsible for delaying action. "I told Alexander - whom should I meet? At a meeting held Nov 1 at 11 a.m., I said the army should be called in without wasting a moment. Alexander, Rao and army chief A.S. Vaidya were in the meeting. "Everyone agreed, then Alexander said another meeting should be held at 5 p.m. in the presence of the police commission and the army chief. (Alexander) delayed action from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Later he denied everything!" Alexander, said Gavai, was one of the "most blatant liars" he had seen. "He disowned everything, in the presence of everybody!" Gavai said he told Rajiv Gandhi, when he met him Nov 2, to drive away all the Congress leaders hovering around. "He did. But when he told me there was a delay in calling the army, I kept quiet and said I did not want to comment. I just said 'your mother was a great woman'." When Rajiv Gandhi asked him to "go on leave", Gavai said he told Alexander: "A lieutenant governor does not go on leave. He has to put in his papers." Two previous commissions held Gavai partly responsible for the delayed action in checking the riots sparked by the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her own Sikh bodyguards on Oct 31, 1984. More than 2,700 people were killed in Delhi and elsewhere in the riots that continued for three days, allegedly instigated by Congress leaders and workers. He said Nanavati was the wrong choice for such a probe. "You appoint Nanavati to probe the (2002) Gujarat riots, you appoint the same man for 1984 riots - is there no other judge in the country? Has he, in fact, pointed to any lapses on my part?" Gavai, who claims to have received compliments from Indira Gandhi for setting up the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in record time, said he is tired of being blamed again and again, when big shots have got away scot-free. "I am a helpless man. I am 78. By training I have been a lawyer...I have been in social work. I have no desire to do anything now. The atmosphere in India is hardly conducive to a principled stand. It reeks with corruption and bad governance..."

http://www.khalistan.com Council of Khalistan PRESS RELEASE Contact B. Singh, Esq. 202-337-1904 (email khalistan@khalistan.com) Sikhs Will Protest Indian Independence Day, Monday August 15, 2005 What: Demonstration to protest Indian Independence Day celebration When: Monday, August 15, 2005, 9:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Where: In front of Gandhi statue at Indian Embassy, Q St. between Massachusetts Ave. and 21st St. NW, Washington, DC Why: To commemorate the Sikhs and other minorities murdered by the Indian government since Indian independence, to demand the release of all political prisoners, and to demand a sovereign, independent Khalistan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON, D.C., August 12, 2005 –Sikhs from around the East Coast will gather by the Gandhi statue at the Indian Embassy on Q St. between 21st St. and Massachusetts Ave. NW in Washington, DC on Monday, August 15, 2005, at 9:15 a.m. to protest the celebration of Indian Independence Day. Sometimes India moves the celebration to the Ambassador’s residence. If they do, the demonstration will move there. 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. It has also killed over 89,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, more than 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 the Movement Against State Repression (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. 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. The police never released the body of former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Gurdev Singh Kaunke after SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna murdered him. Ghotna has never been brought to trial for the Jathedar Kaunke murder. No one has been brought to justice for the kidnapping and murder of Jaswant Singh Khalra. “Although Sikhs gave 80 percent of the sacrifices for India’s independence, India has massacred Sikhs since achieving independence,” said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, which is leading the demonstration. On October 7, 1987, the Sikh Nation declared its independence from India, naming its new country Khalistan. “Only a sovereign, independent Khalistan will end the repression and lift the standard of living for the people of Punjab. We are here to demand freedom and self-determination, rather than the genocide that has been inflicted on us for so many years,” he said. “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. Recently, the Punjab Legislative Assembly passed a bill annulling all water agreements with the Indian government, preventing the government’s daylight robbery of Punjab river water. Punjab needs its river water for its crops. In the bill, the Assembly explicitly stated the sovereignty of Punjab. “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. We must make our voices heard for our fellow Sikhs and all oppressed minorities in India.”

The BJP and the Badal Dal were in power for 5 years and they did not punish anybody, they are just making noise for political gains. The BJP feel tainted over what they did in Gujarat and Badal has lost support due to his RSS policies. If they got into power again you would not hear a word from them in support of Sikhs. All the Indian parties are as bad as each other when it comes to Sikhs.

Please provide details of demonstrations around the world regarding 'Indian Independence' With the nanvanti 84 report shown to be a whitewash Sikhs should demonstrate in large numbers. There is one in Toronto outside the consulate on the 15th Aug.

Army involved in Sikh massacre http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=12357 Posted on 09 Aug 2005 # IANS Rao, Alexander lied to make me scapegoat: 1984 LG Gavai By Deepshikha Ghosh, New Delhi: Former Delhi lieutenant governor P.G. Gavai says big shots like former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and former principal secretary P.C. Alexander "lied blatantly" while making him a "scapegoat" for delayed action in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Gavai, who has been blamed by the Nanavati Commission of Inquiry for not taking enough action in stemming the riots, said he was considering legal action to clear his name. "I have been very restrained, but people are bent on doing harm to me, making me a fall guy...the only thing left in India today appears to be the legal recourse," Gavai told IANS from his home in Nagpur. "If it comes to that, yes...I will." The G.T. Nanavati Commission tabled in parliament Monday has accused Gavai of not paying attention to the law and order situation in Delhi while the city burned and Sikhs were being murdered on the streets. Gavai, 78, said Nanavati, a retired Supreme Court judge, had no idea of how things worked in an administration and had not done a thorough job. He said he felt helpless when mobs were on the streets of Delhi and his pleas for calling in the army were not drawing the desired response. "The lieutenant governor is the administrator of a union territory, but he is answerable to the ministry of home affairs. It is the home ministry that controls the paramilitary forces, and I was told Delhi had no forces. "It was not within my powers to summon the army on my own." Gavai said major general J.S. Jamwal, then general officer commanding, Delhi area, of the army told him he could spare forces "only for Connaught Place". "I said why should I want forces in Connaught Place, when the riots are taking place in trans-Jamuna (east Delhi)?" The former LG also said the army officer refused to speak to the police commissioner, increasing the delay. "The home ministry was not willing to give me any succour, and Delhi Police also did not have enough forces..." While dismissing Rajiv Gandhi as "misguided", Gavai accused two people of "lying blatantly" - Narasimha Rao and Rajya Sabha MP Alexander, then principal secretary to the prime minister's office. Rao - who was then home minister - said Gavai was attending Rajiv Gandhi's swearing-in ceremony on Oct 31 night when riots were raging in the streets on New Delhi. "I wasn't there! It is a pack of lies!" Gavai asserted. "When it comes to the crunch, you need a scapegoat." He accused Alexander of lying his way out of the blame when he was responsible for delaying action. "I told Alexander - whom should I meet? At a meeting held Nov 1 at 11 a.m., I said the army should be called in without wasting a moment. Alexander, Rao and army chief A.S. Vaidya were in the meeting. "Everyone agreed, then Alexander said another meeting should be held at 5 p.m. in the presence of the police commission and the army chief. (Alexander) delayed action from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Later he denied everything!" Alexander, said Gavai, was one of the "most blatant liars" he had seen. "He disowned everything, in the presence of everybody!" Gavai said he told Rajiv Gandhi, when he met him Nov 2, to drive away all the Congress leaders hovering around. "He did. But when he told me there was a delay in calling the army, I kept quiet and said I did not want to comment. I just said 'your mother was a great woman'." When Rajiv Gandhi asked him to "go on leave", Gavai said he told Alexander: "A lieutenant governor does not go on leave. He has to put in his papers." Two previous commissions held Gavai partly responsible for the delayed action in checking the riots sparked by the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her own Sikh bodyguards on Oct 31, 1984. More than 2,700 people were killed in Delhi and elsewhere in the riots that continued for three days, allegedly instigated by Congress leaders and workers. He said Nanavati was the wrong choice for such a probe. "You appoint Nanavati to probe the (2002) Gujarat riots, you appoint the same man for 1984 riots - is there no other judge in the country? Has he, in fact, pointed to any lapses on my part?" Gavai, who claims to have received compliments from Indira Gandhi for setting up the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in record time, said he is tired of being blamed again and again, when big shots have got away scot-free. "I am a helpless man. I am 78. By training I have been a lawyer...I have been in social work. I have no desire to do anything now. The atmosphere in India is hardly conducive to a principled stand. It reeks with corruption and bad governance..."

http://www.asianage.com/main.asp?layout=2&...&RF=DefaultMain SAD wants probe on Sikh J&K killings - By Our Special Correspondent Srinagar, Aug. 8: The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the March 2000 killing of 35 Sikhs by unidentified assailants at Chattisinghpora in southern Anantnag district of the restive state, while sharply reacting to then chief minister Farooq Abdullah’s claim that he wanted to institute an inquiry into the incident to nail the truth but was prevented by the NDA government from doing it. The former chief minister’s statement, made during a press conference in Jammu on Saturday, has only given credence to the charge that the massacre was masterminded by security agencies as then US President Bill Clinton was touring India. The Akali Dal leaders, at an emergency meeting held in Jammu on Monday, criticised the former chief minister for making such a statement. Dr Abdullah was earlier quoted as saying, "I wanted to institute an inquiry for exposing the real culprits of the Chattisinghpora massacre but the NDA government scuttled my plan." Akali Dal state unit president Mohan Singh, who presided over the meeting, told mediapersons that the Sikh community had taken a serious note of the charge levelled by the former chief minister and wanted the BJP, the National Conference and the Akali Dal (Badal), which were part of the NDA, to clear their position vis-à-vis the reported scuttling of the inquiry plan. He said that soon after the massacre took place, the community leaders met Dr Abdullah, "but he never disclosed anything about the NDA gameplan". Also, as the then chief minister had never announced his intention of holding a judicial or CBI inquiry, he said that by blaming the NDA, he was also holding Akali Dal (Badal) responsible for coming into the way of probe into the gory incident. The SAD appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and J&K chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.

The interesting thing is that the Indian media complained about the Police brutality as most of the people hurt were Hindus. In Punjab 100,000+ Sikhs are killed and nobody cares , in fact the Police are given promotions and bounties for killing Sikhs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4721555.stm Last Updated: Wednesday, 27 July, 2005, 13:28 GMT 14:28 UK 'Super cop' guilty of harassment Gill has been ordered not to drink in public India's Supreme Court has upheld the conviction for sexual harassment of a policeman who became a national hero. "Super cop" KPS Gill must pay more than $4,500 compensation to a female civil servant who said he slapped her bottom while drunk at a 1988 cocktail party. The Supreme Court ruled out a three-month prison term for Gill. Gill, now retired, denied the charges. He shot to prominence as Punjab police chief in the early 1990s when he led efforts to crush Sikh militancy. Alcohol ban Gill was head of Punjab police when he molested Rupan Deol Bajaj, a senior female bureaucrat who worked for the elite Indian Administrative Service. He was convicted 10 years later of "outraging her modesty". The Sessions Court in Punjab sentenced him to three months in prison in 1998. That was later commuted to a year on probation by the state high court, which ordered Gill to pay compensation to his victim and a fine. Upholding the conviction, two Supreme Court judges on Wednesday ordered that the officer pay the compensation as well as $500 in legal expenses. Ms Bajaj refused to accept the compensation and said the money should be donated to a women's welfare home. Gill was also ordered not to drink in public by the Supreme Court. But the judges said a jail term was not necessary as he had already served probation. Human rights The BBC's Abhishek Prabhat in Delhi says Gill enjoyed iconic status for his success in stamping out Sikh militancy. He was dubbed a one-man army and feared by criminals across the country, earning him the "super cop" nickname. Three years ago he was called out of retirement as Gujarat security adviser after religious riots swept the state. Gill, who now heads the Indian Hockey Federation, has been a controversial figure for years. He was accused of excesses in Punjab by human rights groups.

The following is a video clip of the protest This link has a short reuters news piece: http://rds.yahoo.com/S=53720272/K=sikh/v=2...3",650,450

The Daily Times War of words between Sikhs and others as Manmohan arrives By Khalid Hasan WASHINGTON: The Manmohan Singh visit has triggered a war of words in newspaper pages between separatist Sikh groups and those opposed to them. While the Washington Post Monday, the day of the Indian prime minister’s arrival on a two-day official visit, ran a full-page advertisement inserted in the name of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, a little known group, complete with a flattering picture of the Indian leader, the Washington Times ran a rival one signed by 37 Sikh Gurudwaras and organisations accusing the Indian government of “systematic abuse of human rights directed against the Sikhs.” A demonstration outside the White House by Khalistani supporters from all over the United States was also due to take place on Monday evening. The pro-Manmohan Singh advertisement, which cost far more than the one in the smaller circulation and less-read Washington Times, said there were half a million Sikhs living in the United States but welcomed the Indian leader “on behalf of the two million Indians” resident in this country. While all the signatories were either Sikh individuals or Sikh organisations, nowhere in the body of the advertisement’s text did the word Sikh even figure. The rival blast from separatist Sikhs called India “the so-called world’s largest democracy” which gives “very small space to minorities, particularly monotheistic Christians, Sikhs and Muslims.” It called India’s record “dismal” and accused the British of handing over India to “fascist upper caste Hindu minority” which has refused to recognise the right of any minority to pursue happiness or live as an equal. A news release by the groups said, “The current reign of terror let loose in the Sikh Homeland of Punjab, on orders of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was appointed - not elected - by the widow of former Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, is no different, we are sorry to say, than the actions of his predecessors, Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi and her son, Rajiv Gandhi.” The “appeal” published in the Washington Times to President George Bush urged him to “take up with the visiting Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, the current campaign of systematic abuse of human rights directed against the Sikhs. Torture of all kinds is being used on hundreds of incarcerated Sikh political activists - in the horrible and unhealthy jails of the Punjab in the Sikh Homeland. These Sikh detainees have been arrested under orders of the dynastic and oligarchic Indian state which masquerades as a democracy … Please also ask him to end the witch hunt of the Sikh minority he has ordered, in the Sikh Homeland of Punjab, and let our people go.” At the weekend, in an article in Boston Globe, Jaskaran Kaur, executive director of ENSAAF, “a non-profit organisation fighting impunity in India,” charged that “despite receiving praise as the world’s largest democracy, India’s human rights record falls dismally behind countries that have only recently shed their legacy of dictatorships.” She wrote that since December 1996, the Committee for Information and Initiative in Punjab has struggled before the Indian National Human Rights Commission in a lawsuit addressing police abductions that led to mass cremations, but without avail. The commission, she added, has received over 3,500 claims from Amritsar alone, one of 17 districts in Punjab, but during the past eight years, it has not heard testimony from a single survivor. Jaskaran Kaur wrote, “India’s counter-terrorism practices have left a legacy of broken families, rampant police abuse, and a judicial system unwilling to enforce fundamental rights. As India ignores its past, it continues to employ the same Draconian measures in places such as Kashmir. While Prime Minister Singh extols India as a leading democracy, the international community must weigh the devastation and insecurity wrought by a national security policy based on systematic human rights abuses and impunity.”

Does anybody know the times for the demo start?

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH India: White House Hosts Prime Minister Singh July 15, 2005 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Government of India New Delhi, India Dear Prime Minister Singh: As you travel to the United States this weekend to promote India’s image abroad and to seek a greater role for India on the world stage, this is an opportunity for your government to demonstrate to the world that it takes its human rights obligations seriously. India has gained significant influence in the region, and as an emerging power, your foreign minister will soon be meeting with his G-4 colleagues and other states to discuss the possibility of India gaining a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. India’s human rights record, both at home and in international affairs, will be a significant factor in India’s suitability for such a seat. We understand India and the United States will launch a democracy initiative during your visit to Washington. We hope that this initiative wi ll contribute to the promotion of pluralism and other rights in South Asia and beyond. We also note with appreciation India’s strong support for a return to democracy after the King of Nepal seized power in February. In a letter on May 28, 2004, Human Rights Watch congratulated you on assuming the office of Prime Minister and called your attention to the fragile human rights situation in India. We welcome the efforts of your government in addressing some of these issues, particularly the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and a review of the oft-abused Armed Forces Special Powers Act. However, as you well know, many other critical issues still require action. These include threats of further sectarian violence, prevalent child labor, widespread caste discrimination, impunity for the armed forces, and judicial and legal reform. Human Rights Watch welcomes the initiatives by your government to address the burgeoning HIV/AIDS crisis in India and has participated in consultations with the planning commission to frame fresh policy on this issue. However, there is an urgent need for an immediate and robust response from your government in reforming the country's health care system to address the HIV/AIDS crisis. Your government is pursuing a peace process to resolve the conflict in Kashmir, but human rights violations are continuing in the region, as well as in other parts of the country where there is unrest. India's legal system, in the past a pillar of India’s democracy, is no longer as strong as it once was, and there is urgent need for reform. As you meet with President George W. Bush, we urge you, therefore, to treat the promotion and protection of human rights as a primary goal of your government. We suggest the following eight issues as matters of priority: Impunity: While the Prevention of Terrorism Act has been repealed and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is bein g reviewed, there are many other laws that also allow security forces to operate with virtual impunity from prosecution for criminal acts. For instance, Indian law requires permission from a relevant government department before a civil servant can be prosecuted for a crime. Impunity continues to facilitate human rights abuses by the armed forces. Unless those responsible are promptly and prosecuted in public trials, such acts will continue. The armed forces insist that their personnel are disciplined through internal procedures, but such cases appear to be rare. Public trials, vital in the many cases of unlawful “encounter killings” and other extrajudicial executions, torture, “disappearances,” and other abuses by India’s armed forces, are rarer still. To reestablish the rule of law, we urge your government to make accountability for the armed forces the highest priority. This is also the view of the many Indian nongovernmental organiza tions, lawyers, and human rights activists we work with on a daily basis in India. It is important that accountability take place with transparency, without which it is difficult for the victims to be convinced that justice has been served. We also ask you to work to empower the National Human Rights Commission to investigate cases of alleged human rights abuse by the armed forces. Protect the rights of minorities and combat communal violence: We congratulate you in the prompt and effective handling of the situation after the recent attack in Ayodhya to prevent retaliations against the minority community. However, in many states, groups pursuing communally divisive policies are still operating freely. We urge you to bring to account those responsible for orchestrating or inciting violence against religious and ethnic minorities. It is crucial to launch a public campaign to prevent future communal violence like that in Godhra or in the riots that followed in othe r parts of Gujarat state. This campaign should include public service announcements aimed at educating the population through efforts to raise awareness of minority rights, and unequivocal condemnation of religious violence and extremism. In states like Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, there has already been a relentless campaign by some groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to engage in violence and communal attacks against minority Christians and Muslims. It is important that your government be particularly vigilant against violence by extremist organizations who preach religious hatred whether they are Muslim or Hindu. Accountability for those responsible for the mass killings in Gujarat, Punjab, and Bombay: We urge you to do everything in your power to end impunity for past campaigns of violence against minorities, prosecute and punish those responsible for criminal offenses during the anti -Sikh violence in 1984, the post Ayodhya violence in December 1992 and January 1993, and the attacks in Gujarat in 2002. In Punjab in the 1980s, hundreds of people were illegally detained and executed by security agencies trying to end the secessionist conflict. Those responsible have still not been punished despite recommendations from the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission to investigate serious and credible allegations of extrajudicial executions. The recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission on the post-Ayodhya violence in Bombay also should be implemented without delay. Your party as the opposition took positive action to support the rights of those killed or injured in the 2002 riots in Gujarat. However, there continue to be inordinate delays in the investigation of cases to bring those responsible to trial and those pursuing justice need continued protection. In all these cases, we urge you t o appoint independent investigators who will examine all the cases and bring those responsible to trial. Police officers and officials responsible for the excessive use of force should be prosecuted; those with the power and duty to stop the violence but who stood by and allowed the violence to take place should be punished. Your government should also vigorously pursue those officials responsible for the planning and implementation of the violence in each of these cases. We also encourage you to protect witnesses to prevent them from being threatened for providing evidence to the police or courts. In a September 2004 report, Discouraging Dissent: Intimidation and Harassment of Witnesses, Human Rights Activists, and Lawyers Pursuing Accountability for the 2002 Communal Violence in Gujarat, we documented how those campaigning for Gujarat riot victims have come under attack. Their safety should continue to be an important concern for your government. Continue work toward ending the conflict in Kashmir: We congratulate you on your recent efforts in Kashmir, including initiation of the bus service between Srinagar and Muzzafarad that will allow greater freedom of movement and allow separated families to meet with each other. However, serious violations of human rights have remained a constant feature in Kashmir over the last decade. Gunmen who have targeted civilians should be brought to trial. At the same time, your government should investigate credible reports of Indian security agencies involved in torture, arbitrary detention, and summary executions. Some 3,000 people are still missing in Kashmir after they were detained by security forces. We urge you to ensure that security agencies respect human rights law in Kashmir, and punish those found guilty of violations. Promote the rights of Dalits, tribals and economically marginalized: Your government has in itiated discussions with local Dalit rights groups to address the issues of caste-based discrimination. But as we documented in a May 2005 report After the Deluge, India’s Reconstruction Following the 2004 Tsunami, caste-based discrimination remains a major problem in rural India despite over five decades of legislation banning such acts. It was not government officials, but survivors of the upper caste communities who survived the tsunami, who refused to share emergency shelters and relief material with their Dalit neighbors after the tsunami. Tribal communities faced similar discrimination. The experience after the tsunami proves that there is urgent need to vigorously enforce laws against discrimination. Your government should routinely inform communities that such discrimination is illegal, promote dialogue with the ultimate aim of encouraging all caste groups to live together with mutual respect, and monitor and respond quickly to conflicts between caste gro ups, including those encouraged by organizations and individuals with political agendas. Protect the rights of children: Your government is pursuing a policy to ensure universal education for children. These ideas need to be urgently and effectively implemented. Millions of children are going to work instead of learning at school. The Indian government should protect children from engaging in the worst forms of child labor. Hundreds of thousands of children are bonded laborers who toil as virtual slaves, particularly in the silk industry. Your government should acknowledge the existence and extent of bonded child labor and take immediate measures to enforce the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and other relevant laws regarding bonded child labor. India should ratify ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. It is also important to encourag e parents to send their children to school, but they can only do so when education is accessible to all. Currently almost half the children in India are out of school. Discrimination on the basis of caste and religion has to end in schools. India should ratify the 1960 Convention Against Discrimination in Education. Prevent discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS: India is soon expected to have the largest number of people in the world living with HIV/AIDS. Stigma and discrimination against them is widespread in India, connected in large part to fear and misinformation about how the virus is spread. Despite the entry of HIV into the general population in many places, it continues to be associated with already-stigmatized people, such as commercial sex workers, men who have sex with men, and migrants. Many such persons often have to cope with violent assault upon them. Many living with HIV/AIDS are denied employment and hundreds of thousands of chi ldren who have been born with HIV face discrimination from birth. We urge you to advance legislation, proposed by your party while in opposition, to prohibit discrimination against persons vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS virus. We also urge you to repeal section 377 of the Indian Penal code, which effectively criminalizes sex between men and is frequently used as justification for harassment of HIV/AIDS educators. Your government should encourage public statements and appearances from high level government authorities to protect the rights of those vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Judicial and legal reform: It is essential that the judiciary plays its proper role in addressing the culture of unlawful “encounter killings” and other illegal summary executions of criminal suspects. To address widespread torture by the police and other security forces, we also urge your government to ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Deg rading Treatment or Punishment, which India signed in 1997. We strongly urge you to immediately implement the recommendations by the National Police Commission that call for mandatory judicial inquiry in cases of alleged rape, death or grievous injury of individuals in police custody. The Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms headed by Justice V.S. Malimath has suggested better training of police, judges and prosecutors to end corruption and incompetence. These should be accepted. We urge your government to provide training and appropriate forensics and technical capability to the police so that they can better investigate crimes and human rights abuses. However, many of the recommendations value expediency over the fundamental right of the accused to a fair trial, and pose a serious threat to the basic guarantees of due process in the criminal justice system. We suggest a careful examination of these recommendations in order to ensure that judicial reforms sati sfy Indian and international human rights standards. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to a fruitful dialogue with you and your government on these and other matters. Sincerely, Brad Adams

Protest by American Sikhs awaits PM Vimal Sumbly Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 14 A protest demonstration awaits Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he visits Washington on July 18 to meet American President George Bush over a cup of tea. Sikh demonstrators from all across the US would assemble at Lassayette Park, protesting the alleged violation of civil and political rights in Punjab. According to Prof Jagmohan Singh, secretary-general of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Amritsar, the demonstration will have hundreds of Sikhs, carrying placards denouncing the detention of Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, president and other leaders of the party and Kanwarpal Singh of Dal Khalsa. He said the demonstrators will also protest the alleged violation of human rights in Punjab and the spate of state repression let lose by the Indian Government in Punjab. He said American Sikhs will demand the release of Sikh youths languishing in jails for a very long time. The Sikh demonstrators will include women and children and they will seek a peaceful resolution of the Sikh problem. He alleged that Dr Manmohan Singhs Congress Government was responsible for continuing the policy of repression in Punjab. He said prominent among the participants in the demonstration include the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), America Region, the Sikh Youth of America, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur International Society and more than two dozen gurdwara committees. Some of these are gurdwara sahib, Richmond Hill, New York, gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar, New Jersey, and gurdwara Khalsa Darbar, New Jersey. These demonstrators will arrive from the tri-states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pensylvania. He revealed that a full-page advertisement would be placed in the Washington Times highlighting the role of the Indian Government since 1947 against the Sikhs in Punjab. Before this, there was a protest organised by sikhs against Dr Manmohan Singh and the Indian Government in London. Sikhs have also protested in California, vancouver and Toronto outside the Indian Embassies in these cities. The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) will continue its campaign in the international arena to gain support for restoration of fundamental rights of the people of Punjab, he said.

An excellent interview on BBC News 24, first time I have heard the Sikh reaction to the bombings on TV. PS. where did Sky come into it on some of the posts ?the first post clearly said BBC News 24.