(Fremont, CA, June 5, 2009) Operation “Blue Star” marked the beginning of the Government of India’s systematic policy in Punjab of destroying fundamental human rights in the name of “national security,” and launched a new era of impunity and the erosions of the rule of law in India.

View our photo essay on Blue Star, containing images from the assault and eyewitness accounts. For a detailed account, read Chapter 1 of Ensaaf’s report Twenty Years of Impunity.

Twenty-five years ago, on June 2, 1984, the Indian government declared Punjab a “restricted area,” banning travel to Punjab and the Indian Army assumed police functions. On June 3, the government imposed a statewide shoot-on-sight curfew, forbade news coverage of the attack, and cut phone lines across Punjab. Eyewitnesses reported that over 10,000 pilgrims and 1,300 workers had gathered inside the Harminder Sahib complex (popularly known as the Golden Temple) by June 3 to join a civil disobedience campaign or to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of the fifth Sikh Guru. The Harmandir Sahib complex—the center of Sikh religious and political life—is located in Amritsar city.

Beginning on June 4, the Indian army launched a full-scale military assault upon on the complex and attacked 41 other gurdwaras (Sikh house of worship) on the pretext of removing armed militants quartered in these gurdwaras. During the three-day assault, the military employed cannons, tanks, helicopters, and special forces to target those trapped inside the gurdwara complex. Inside the complex, the Akal Takht suffered destruction of its first floor; bullets punctured the Harmandir Sahib; and the Army looted and burned down the Sikh Reference Library, housing rare manuscripts and Sikh artifacts.

After the initial military operations ended, military personnel detained and executed civilians and non-combatants captured alive in the gurdwara complex, including women and children. One eyewitness reported military personnel executing 150 Sikhs at point blank range, after tying their hands behind their backs with their turbans.

The Army never released a list of the dead. To destroy the evidence of its crimes, the military secretly cremated en mass the bodies of its victims. Security forces would continue to use secret mass cremations for more than a decade after Operation Blue Star to destroy the bodies of victims of its “disappearances” and extrajudicial executions, extensively discussed in Ensaaf’s recent reports.

Twenty-five years later, the government continues to refuse to hold accountable senior military officials, civilian leaders, or lower level military personnel responsible for targeting civilians and the excessive use of force during the military operation. International humanitarian law (IHL), or the law of war, requires the military to make a distinction at all times between military targets and civilian life and property, and strictly prohibits military from targeting civilians. Targeting civilians during a conflict constitutes a grave breach of IHL. International humanitarian law further requires the use of force to be proportionate to an actual threat. Given the large number of civilians killed and the extent of damage caused to the Harmandir Sahib complex during the operation, the Indian army’s use of force was excessive and violates the principal of proportionality.

Without a true accounting of the abuses perpetrated by the government, as well as justice and reparations for victims and survivors, impunity will continue to prevail in India. Ensaaf’s joint report with Human Rights Watch suggests a comprehensive framework to address the institutionalized impunity that has prevented accountability in Punjab from 1984 to 1995. The detailed recommendations include establishing a commission of inquiry, a special prosecutor’s office, and an extensive reparations program.

Reprinted from an Ensaaf Press Release

The folks over Gursikh Speedmeeting are at it again. Here are the details of their next event, a Gursikh Cruise:

GSSM: A Golden Opportunity for Gursikh Singles to Mingle!
June 27th, 2009 in New York City

What is GSSM?
Good relationships are built on understanding, communication and trust. We all know that only happens face-to-face. GurSikhSpeedMeetings provide a way for individuals to meet with other GurSikhs one-on-one to see if there is that “CLICK”.

How Does it Work?
GSSM assembles a manageable group of Gursikh men and women at a stylish venue. Typically, 15 Sardarnis and an equal number of Sardars participate in the event. The meeting begins with about 30 minutes of casual mingling and ice-breakers to take into account for IST. After that, the speedmeet begins. The women take their chosen seats and the men take their assigned seats. After 10 minutes, the men are rotated (yes, they favor the ladies!), so that in approximately 2 hours, each registrant spends 10 minutes with every person of the opposite gender. During all communications, the organizers stress the GSSM rules and only after a mutual “CLICK” is established will any contact information be shared.

What to expect from GSSM?
Meet other Gursikhs in an opportunity that is not offered anywhere else.
Make new friends and contacts.
Realize that this event is not just for matrimonial purposes.
Be assured that your contact details will remain private till a “CLICK” is agreed.
Expect an awkward and anxiety filled evening, but be pleasantly surprised when you end up having fun!

Select Testimonials from Past Events
“I loved it! I think the time allotted for each person was perfect. Nice venue. Good food. This was truly a lovely event .
“It was a great experience!!! Very well organised. Never thought these many girls were looking for Gursikh boys.”
“Met some great prospects. A lot of good eligible bachelors who were educated and well-rounded.”
“I was reluctant at first, but I did enjoy myself. It was nice! You should hold another one in a few months!”
“It was really fun, you did a great effort, please organise it again. As you stated repeatedly, marriage should not be the sole motive as I made some great friends tonight.”
“I had fun…met great guys. Thanks for conducting this and hope you will organize more meetings.”
“Great job! Keep running these events. You guys rock! Thanks a lot!”

What’s new?
We have added an optional NYC cruise before the evening GSSM event on the 27th of June. This is based on feedback from previous participants, who expressed a desire for such an event in order to allow more time for informal mingling.

NYC Cruise Details
Experience the grandeur of New York’s skyline on this two-hour highlights cruise. Sit back and relax while you cruise past New York’s major sights, and enjoy a close encounter of the best kind with the Statue of Liberty. Your cruise takes you sailing down the Hudson, around Battery Park, up the East River, past the South Street Seaport and under the Brooklyn Bridge. Part entertainer, part historian, your knowledgeable tour guide brings New York’s breathtaking sights and fascinating history to life.

Additional Service of “VIRTUAL CLICKS”
Each event is unique in that it is solely dependant on the participants, but potential “CLICKS” could occur with individuals from past events.
Behind the scenes, time is spent on connecting people outside the normal GSSM events to see if potential matches can be made with previous participants.
Criteria is met and the ice is broken as there is a common denominator of having attended at least 1 GSSM event.
First step is to mutually approve of individual descriptions (restricted access on site is under development).
Pictures are then provided, if mutually approved again, only then is contact info exchanged resulting in a “VIRTUAL CLICK”!

How to Register
There are a limited number of seats, so reserve your seat today! From experience, the GSSM events get registered for quickly and many Singhs and Singhnis have been turned away well before the registration deadline!

To request further information, please send an email to gursikhspeedmeeting@khalsa.com

To register, please visit www.gursikhspeedmeeting.com

Reflection

Thanks to John Devor for the tip…

From Manbeena Kaur:

I am still looking for an Education intern for the Summer 2009 semester! I am looking for someone who is interested in educating the greater community on who Sikhs are and creating a positive image for Sikhs in society. Please read below for more details.

Commitment
· 35/hours a week for 10 weeks this summer at our New York City office (located in downtown Manhattan)

Qualifications
· College student (preferable undergraduate)
· Hardworking
· Dependable
· Organized
· Excellent communication skills (speaking and writing)
· Strong passion to work for the empowerment of unrepresented communities

Below are some of the tasks you could be working on:
· Compile information for and coordinate educational material distribution
· Develop infrastructure and coordinate logistics for Coalition sponsored training programs
· Assist with efforts to implement Sikhism into state curriculums
· Oversee www.khalsakids.org and create new material for site
· Coordinate nationwide educational projects
· Manage network of youth activists for various initiatives (media-watch, SSAs, etc.)

A work-study option can be discussed if interested. Accepted Education interns will receive a $500 stipend. If you or someone you know is interested, please send a resume and cover letter to manbeena@sikhcoalition.org. The deadline for submitting is May 15, 2009.

For further inquires, please contact:

Manbeena Kaur
Education Director
manbeena@sikhcoalition.org

Nice job guys!

I’ve seen Sikhi referenced several times over the past 8 years on The Daily Show, my favorite television program. Thankfully, in this clip, Sikhism got a few moments of mention. I’m thankful because now, an affluent, intelligent segment of America knows that Sikhs exist — regardless of the content of the piece. It’s just nice to get acknowledged, you know? What do you think?

This week in God

This piece really hits the nail on the head. If you attend Gurdwara and understand Ardas (the prayer spoken when everyone stands up), you’ll find many specific examples of Sikhs who would rather give up their lives than cut their hair and surrender their identity — Rajdeep brings that spirit into today’s context.

Washington Post Letter to the Editor, published Sunday, April 5, 2009; Page A18.

A March 29 article on the destruction of the Sikh religious identity ["A Ritual Slowly Unravels in India; Alarm Grows as More Sikh Youths Give Up Turbans"] mischaracterized the nature and significance of the Sikh turban.

For observant Sikhs, tying a turban is neither a ritual nor a sign of extremism; it is a declaration of Sikh identity and signifies commitment to the Sikh principles of justice and universal equality. The turban distinguishes a Sikh as an ambassador of his or her faith and is a source of strength and pride for millions.

Throughout history, oppressors have persecuted Sikhs by targeting their identity; during the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms in India, when thousands of Sikhs were massacred, their turbans were stripped from their heads and their unshorn hair was forcibly cut before they were murdered. If the Sikh articles of faith truly had no value, our oppressors would not have subjected them to systematic destruction.

As a Sikh, I reject the notion that wearing a turban or maintaining uncut hair is prohibitively wearisome or any more tedious than, say, shaving a beard or waxing one’s legs. The case for what the article called “daily tedium” is often a smoke screen for loss of faith, lack of pride, susceptibility to peer pressure or all of the above. Young Sikhs are merely accelerating the work that their oppressors could not finish.

RAJDEEP SINGH JOLLY
Arlington

After reciting the Oath of Allegiance, 144 people became American citizens during a special naturalization ceremony in Washington. The opening sentence of the oath reads: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.”

Sikh in Picture Of The Day

Thanks Mandeep Kaur for the pointer!

Macleans, a prominent Canadian publication features Baljit Singh, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. Check it out. Besides being featured in the lead paragraph of the story, there’s a profile of Baljit, which we have included here:

Baljit Singh, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan

How committed is Singh to his students? For the past eight years, he and his family have lived with them. He’s the first prof to participate in a University of Saskatchewan program designed to bolster academic advising by asking a professor to make his home inside an undergraduate student residence.

Approachability and empathy are the hallmarks of his teaching. “If you were frustrated, you could talk to him,” says Sharmila Makhan, a former student who now practises emergency veterinary medicine in Vancouver. “That’s not something you could do with a lot of the professors.” Indeed, Singh, who prides himself on recruiting Aboriginal students to his research lab, is most passionate when recalling the students who have stuck with university due to his counsel. “These are the people who were just one step away from leaving,” he says. “Some of them have done their master’s degrees now, a couple are in Ph.D. programs, a couple have finished their M.D. programs.”

That student-centred philosophy stems from his own early academic difficulties. Singh, a former president of the American Association of Veterinary Anatomists, flunked anatomy at Punjab Agricultural University because “I did not like it—I did not like the subject, I did not like the way it was being taught.” India’s universities were “very regimented,” he says. “I was the most happy when I was learning on my own by doing things.” Such experiences convinced him that students learn most and best when they are actively engaged in the learning process. “Students have to become equal partners in designing a learning program,” he argues.

It’s a conviction he’s demonstrated works in practice. A few years ago, Singh identified an ongoing complaint among his first-year students: they learn the basics of animal anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, but until third year, they are frequently denied access to the kinds of hands-on learning that would help them make sense of the book learning. Singh’s response? He created a clinical role-playing game not unlike an episode of TV’s House. Students receive a case history detailing the health travails of an animal. Working in a group, the students dissect the data until they arrive at a conclusion as to what new information they require to reach a diagnosis—an MRI scan or blood report, say. The process continues, with more and more information doled out to the team according to the students’ decisions. “This clinical scenario helps them to integrate the information and also relate it to a very specific example of a clinical abnormality,” says Singh.

Almost more impressive than the teaching method is the persistence with which Singh pursued its implementation. The course was not part of the curriculum when he began recruiting students and profs—all on a voluntary basis: no pay for the profs, no credit for the kids. It ran for five years before becoming a recognized course in 2007.

But Singh is unfailingly modest. “I wish I had these types of opportunities,” he says. “I’m sure I would have learned much more and become an even better student—and, later on, teacher.” None of his teaching awards are displayed on his office walls. “I’ve done reasonably well in my life,” he says. “But it’s simply because I had outstanding teachers.”

Here’s a link to a PDF copy of the print article: baljit-singh-macleans. Special thanks to our scout in Canada, Agent PKF, for providing this tip!

Speedily jumping in to the 21st century, the Sikh Coalition has launched a blog. Sweet! Hopefully they will post all of their alerts and press releases here, so there’s one place to go to find them, neatly ordered by release date, complete with comments from readers.

If you really want to to be on the cutting edge, I recommend the following steps for every organization:

1) create a ’sikh coalition’ twitter account
2) use “posterous” to create the blog — just email post@posterous.com and emails get posted. It’s the best kind of blog.
3) Set up Posterous to automatically post to twitter
4) Set up Twitter to automatically post to Facebook

There you go, that’s all you need to do. Here’s my twitter account and posterous, if you’re interested: posterous twitter