Sikhs: 544th birth anniversary of “Guru Nanak Sahib

by Zaheerul Hassan

The Kashmir Diaspora Alliance congratulates all of humanity in general and in particular the Sikh nation of Punjab (Khalistan) on the 544th birth anniversary (Prakash Divas) of “Guru Nanak Sahib.” Sikhs visitors have appreciated arrangements made by Pakistan at Lahore and Nankana Sahib .

Indeed, he is a revered by all whosoever happens to read his Gurbani and History. He was the founder of the Sikh religion, and was born on 20th October 1469 at Nankana Sahib now in Pakistan.

The Sikhs are a separate nation; they are neither Muslims nor Hindus. They follow one God, and believe in the Guru Granth Sahib which is a divine and holy scripture. Although grave atrocities have befallen the Sikhs in the past and continue today there are still more than thirty million followers of the Sikh religion. Prior to partition, Sikhs were spread out all over the Indian subcontinent. However, after the partition of August 15th, 1947, they were the majority in Punjab. Initially after partition, Punjab included; Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Although the Sikhs deserved their own separate sovereign state at the time of partition, they did not receive it due to the British predominantly serving the interests of Hindus. This is contrary to historical realities as the Sikhs have always been a sovereign nation. Despite the Indian government’s efforts to distort the demographic makeup of Punjab, the Sikhs still remain the majority. The Sikh Homeland of Khalistan today consists of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab with the capital of Chandigarh.

Similarly, Manadawar, Junagarh, Hyderabad, and 42,000 square miles area of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (also known as Internationally Disputed Areas of Jammu and Kashmir by the UN) along with its Muslim population were pushed under the slavery of Indian rule. Despite Indian claims of secularism and the perpetuation of democratic values, minorities such as the Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Dalits are not safe in India. The holy sites of the Sikhs (Gurdwaras) (the Darbar Sahib Complex, in Amritsar, Punjab, Sikhs Supreme Seat of Polity, The Akal Takht Sahib), Churches, and Mosques of minorities have all been desecrated and destroyed in the past in an undeclared ‘armed attack’ by the armed forces and the law-enforcing personnel of India. Just some recent examples are; the Sikhs’ Darbar Sahib Complex and the famous and historic Babri Mosque of the Mughal period. Attacks on minorities are also widespread; an Australian Christian priest with his two young sons was burned alive by a Hindu mob, raping of the Roman Christian Nuns, Dalits, etc. The ruling elite class of Hindus via the Indian government has been committing grave atrocities upon the Sikhs to the sum of 270,000 Sikhs having been mercilessly murdered. Similar figures are also present for other minorities. All this is happening in “secular and democratic” India under Hindu Dictatorship.

It is extremely important to realize that freedom is a God given right of every individual and every nation. Therefore, we are justified in demanding the right of self-determination for Indian Punjab (Khalistan), Manadawar, Junagarh, Hyderabad and Jummu area of Indian occupied Kashmirer. However, annexing of remaining part of Kashmir be sorted  as UN resolutions, This right would be in line with the rights conferred to East Timor, South Sudan and recently promised to Palestine/Scotland. Rest assured, our fight will not end until every single occupying soldier exits the occupied territories.

In fact, extremists Hindu of India always tried to create rift between Sikhs and Muslims. They were also behind 1947 riots. UN should pressurize India to resolve the issue of Khalistan, Kashmir, Indo-China border conflict and Water issue of South Asia for saving the world from the next nuclear war.