NEW YORK (Web Desk) – Prominent Sikh leader Amarjit Singh has said that with the help of Pakistan, Sikh community can make Khalistan a separate state to get rid of Indian state terrorism.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Pakistan Executive Editor Usman Mujib Shami, he disclosed the details behind the initiation of Khalistan movement and ongoing tension between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of Uri attack.
Amarjit Singh who also heads “Khalistan Affairs center” in Washington sought to enlist the help of Pakistan diplomatically to resolve the longstanding issue of Khalistan.
To a question regarding Indian allegations of Pakistani involvement in Uri attack, he slammed the Indian administration and opined that at a time when Indian oppression in Indian Occupied Kashmir is at its worst, why would Pakistan carry out such an activity that could hurt the Kashmir cause. It doesn’t endorse Pakistan’s cause for Kashmiri struggle.
He threw his weight behind the statement of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Gillani that Uri attack was executed to divert attention from state violence in restive region as the same was done back in 2002 when as many as 35 Sikhs were killed just before the visit of US President Clinton to divert the attention of international world.
He claimed that India has released funds for induction of SPO’s (Special Police Officers) to keep Indian government abreast of the inside information of Occupied Kashmir. Amarjit took aim at Indian administration which blamed Pakistan for Uri attack without any formal investigations.
Shedding light on the Khalistan movement, Amarjit Singh disclosed that India was never a state and it would never be a state due to existence of multi-cultural communities. He indicated that India was destroyed by British regime as they knocked down three empires including Marahta Empire, Bahadur Shah Zafar led Mughal Empire and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh Empire but Muslims were fortunate to have Quaid-e-Azam as their leader who led them to their destination.
He remarked that at the time of partition Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Premier of India assured Sikh community of protection of their rights.
“I have no objection that if brave Sikhs of Punjab are given a province in the north so that they are also able to experience the glow of freedom” Amarjit quoted Nehru as saying adding that the Premier guaranteed Sikhs of passing no law unacceptable to Sikhs. That was the time, the Sikh community relinquished their demands of a separate state but to their dismay, the Indian leadership took a U-Turn and deprived Sikhs of their rights saying “Circumstances have now changed”.
Amarjit expressed grief over Indian constitution that refers three communities, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists as Hindus disposing off their rights as minorities due to which Sikh legislators refused to ratify the constitution. He claimed that after series of injustices, the Sikh community decided to resist Indian occupation with armed struggle in 1984.
Reflecting on the illegal killing and abductions of Sikh youth, Amarjit revealed that after operation “Woodrose” in 1984, Sikh locals aged between18-35 were abducted and no human rights organizations were allowed entry to inspect the atrocities committed by Indian forces but according to rough estimates almost one lac fifty thousand people were killed in the operation.
He said that after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in Delhi, as many as seven to eight thousand Sikhs were burned to death that led to armed resistance against the Hindu regime. The Sikh leader maintained that Hinduism in its spirit is not a religion, it’s a mythology and mythology is based on imaginations.
He opined that India has never been friendly with its neighbors but rather has been belligerent as in case with Srilanka and Nepal. He voiced that India would shatter apart like Soviet Union and Yugoslavia due to ongoing insurgencies in different parts of the region.
He berated International powers for inking defense pacts with the same Narendra Modi who was barred from entering countries like Canada and United Kingdom.
Amarjit stressed the need for a buffer state “Khalistan” from Wagah to Jamnah and from Hussainiwala Border to Gujrat to balance the tension between Pakistan and India. Amarjit Singh expressed that Sikhs were left with no other option than to indulge in armed struggle after braving the state oppression for three decades.
He said that had Pakistani leadership shown vision in 1984, Khalistan would have been a reality. He went on to say that clashes between Sikh community and Muslims surfaced at the time of partition but state violence in Indian occupied Punjab compelled the community to revisit the ties with Hindus and to divert to Muslims.
He expressed that now India has taken up the Balochistan issue, so should Pakistan take up Khalistan issue as an antidote. He suggested that Hazrat Mian Mir laid foundation stone of Golden Temple and Pakistan has protected the worship places of Sikhs for decades. He urged Pakistan to support Sikh community on the diplomatic front to achieve the dream of “Khalistan” state.
