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Sikhs Proclaim No War
Jagmohan Singh
 LONDON: Anyone
who thought that Sikhs would sit back and allow India and Pakistan
to wage their daily verbal duel and war cries without opprobrium
from any quarters is in for a rude shock. Just as civil society in
the two countries has geared up to denounce any possibility of war,
the Sikhs too, as a people have shown exemplary solidarity to
jointly proclaim peace in the Indian sub-continent and ask the two
countries not to ignore the sentiments and concerns of the
non-combatant Sikh populace in the region.
Continued war
mongering between India and Pakistan, which has reached fever pitch
since 26/11 has brought about a rare unity amongst Sikh groups from
Punjab
and across the world seeking intervention of the international
community, particularly the United Nations for building public
opinion against war between the two countries and usage of nuclear
arsenal of the two countries built up by them over the decades.
Making
their intentions absolutely clear in unmistakably direct terms, the
document submitted by a consortium of 36 Sikh
 organisations from
Punjab, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe and the United States to the
Indian, Pakistani and French Embassies on 26 January, calls for
immediate de-escalation of the hostile rhetoric between the two
countries and urging the international community to do exert
diplomatic pressure enabling the two countries to engage in dialogue
and avert war, which is likely to bring about nuclear catastrophe in
the region, particularly in the homeland of the Sikhs –Punjab.
The Sikh nation,
presently sandwiched between the two warring cultures, stands for
universal peace and brotherhood. Historically we have been wronged
a lot and the present war hysteria, which presents a dangerous
situation for the entire region, is likely to engage the Sikh people
in their severest test ever and is also likely to annihilate
thousands of innocent people on both sides of the Radcliffe line,
but the majority of the brunt is likely to be borne by the Sikhs and
Punjabis.
Advocate
activist Ranjit Singh Srai, who was instrumental in bringing about
this rare feat amongst the Sikhs said that, “Sikhs are looking for
the UN to intervene on their behalf if the Indian government fails
to act on their demands.”
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The 36 Sikh
organisations which submitted the Appeal
American
Gurdwara Prabandakh Committee, Anti-defamation Sikh Council for
Freedom of Khalistan, USA, Baba Banda Singh Bahadhur Society
Abbotsford, Canada, Council of Khalistan, Dal Khalsa
International, UK, Daljit Singh Bittu, Presidium Member,
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) (Panch Pardhani), Punjab, Dr.
Amarjit Singh, Director, Khalistan Affairs Centre, Washington
DC, USA, Gurdwara Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar, Abbotsford, Canada,
Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar, Surrey Canada, International Sikh
Youth Federation (Germany), Italy Sikh Council, Justice (Retd.)
Ajit Singh Bains, Convenor, Punjab Human Rights Organisation,
Kanwarpal Singh, Political Affairs Spokesman, Dal Khalsa,
Punjab, Kashmir Singh, Gen-Secretary, British Sikh Federation,
Khalistan Government in exile, Khalsa Human Rights, UK, Kulwant
Singh Dhesi, British Sikh Council, Mohkam Singh, Convenor Khalsa
Action Committee, Punjab, Narain Singh, Shiromani Sikh Council
International, Punjab, National Council of Gurdwaras, UK,
National Sikh Committee Italy, Navkiran Singh, Advocate, General
Secretary, Lawyers for Human Rights International, Punjab,
Ontario Gurdwara Committee (OGC), Canada, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar),
UK, Shiromani Akali Dal (Punj Pardhani), Canada, Shiromani Akali
Dal (Punj Pardhani), France, Shiromani Sikh Council, UK, Sikh
Council of Belgium, Sikh Federation (UK), Sikh Foundation
Switzerland, Sikh Secretariat, UK, Sikh Youth of America,
Simranjit Singh Mann, President, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar),
Punjab, United Sikh Federation, Canada, Voices for Freedom,
Young Sikhs (UK). |
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He further
pointed that leaving nothing to chance, the list of demands has been
forwarded to various UN forums in Geneva as well. On behalf of the
multifarious religious, social, human rights and political bodies of
the Sikh Nation, the urgent appeal was presented to the embassies in
London by Amrik Singh Gill, President Sikh Federation (UK), Amrik
Singh Sahota, OBE, President, Council of Khalistan, Balbir Singh,
Shiromani Sikh Council, UK, Councillor Gurdial Singh Atwal,
Chairman, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), UK and Co-ordinator SAD(A)
International Committee, Gurmej Singh Gill, Prime Minister,
Khalistan Government in Exile and Manmohan Singh, Vice-President Dal
Khalsa International.
“Neither India
nor Pakistan has been willing to sign up to the UN's
non-proliferation regime or unilaterally renounce their nuclear
weapons capabilities in order to create a nuclear weapons-free South
Asia, underlining their willingness to use such weapons. The Sikhs,
for whom the consequences are unimaginable, therefore have no
alternative but to appeal to the international community to take
immediate steps to stop yet another calamity imminently befalling
them” says the well-drafted appeal.
Spelling out the
need for such a united step by the Sikhs, the spokesperson said
that, Sikhs stood for peace in the Indian sub-continent and wanted
the two countries to resolve all disputes politically, taking into
account the aspirations of the Sikh nation. He said that if it is
not so done as part of a conflict-resolution process, the
geo-political situation has the full potential to degenerate into a
Gaza-type human rights nightmare for the Sikh people in their
homeland
Punjab.
Tracing the
track of Sikh sufferings from 1947 to the present times, the appeal
condemns the consistent denial of the right to self-determination to
the Sikhs, upholds Sikh nationhood and proclaims that “Until those
sovereign rights are restored, which we submit will help provide an
enduring solution to the problems of the region as a whole, it is
the duty of the international community to deliver that protection
and prevent the potential annihilation of the world’s fifth largest
religion.”
Speaking for
Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and all others living in this region,
this urgent action appeal categorically asks “The UN High
Commissioner on Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Commission and
other UN bodies to establish a dialogue with Indian and Pakistani
leaders to make them fully aware of their human rights obligations
towards the Sikhs and to formally warn those leaderships that any
breach of international law or mass rights violations in this
context will result in action by a duly constituted criminal
court.”
When was the
last time you came across such a unified Sikh effort? It surely
calls for commendation by the Sikhs in
Punjab and the
Sikh Diaspora across the globe which is ever anxious about the
political situation at ground zero in the Sikh homeland.
28 January 2009
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