18.10.2007 - Source: Guardian

Sikh families still waiting for perpetrators of crimes to be brought to justice, human rights monitors warn; thousands of civilians gone missing during the Indian government's violent suppression of a campaign for a Sikh homeland, ended in 1995 ("India condemned over missing Sikh thousands") [ID 21341]

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20.06.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Don’t Torture Sikh Activist Extradited by U.S. ("Don’t Torture Sikh Activist Extradited by U.S.") [ID 15734]

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28.03.2006 - Source: UK Home Office

Report on general, political and human rights situation (Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Hindus; land disputes, members of Akali Dal, domestic violence, prison conditions) ("Operation Guidance Note: India") [#48239],  [ID 6528]

"[...]
3.6. Sikhs in fear of State Persecution
[...]
3.7 Sikhs in fear of non-State agents
[...]"

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16.08.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

21 years after violence against Sikhs in Delhi in 1984, victims of riots face further delays to justice; similar pattern of delays to justice and impunity for perpetrators exists for other large scale incidents of human rights violations in the country ("Victims of anti-Sikh riots face further delays") [#35453],  [ID 6529]

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17.12.2004 - Source:

Background information on International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) [ID 6530]

"[...]Working towards the establishment of an independent homeland for the Sikhs is the chief aim of the organization. The US State Department's annual Patterns of Global Terrorism, in 1999, lists the ISYF as an active terrorist organization that aspires to carve out of Indian territory an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. [...]"

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17.12.2004 - Source:

Background information on Babbar Khalsa International [ID 6531]

"[...]The BKI wants an independent Sikh state called Khalistan[...]"

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10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Internal flight for Sikhs ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 6532]

"[...]
6.132 As cited in an IRB report dated January 1999, the Indian Constitution guarantees Indian citizens the right to move freely throughout the territory of India, and to settle and reside in any part of the country. These rights are subject to restrictions as imposed by law in the interests of the general public. Punjabi Sikhs are able to relocate to another part of India and as Sikhs are a mobile community, there are Sikh communities all over India. [4i](p1)

6.133 According to an IRB question and answer series, December 1992, some 4 million Sikhs live in India outside Punjab. Sikh communities are found in most Indian cities and in virtually all States. They are generally urban and prosperous and they control important trades and occupy a prominent position within the central and regional administration. [4c](p1) An IRB response dated 12 January 1999 states that most Sikhs, particularly the better-educated and urban Sikhs, have some knowledge of English and/or Hindi. Punjabi Sikhs would have no more problem enrolling their children in school or obtaining employment than any other Indian relocating to a new area. [4i]

6.134 According to an IRB response dated 12 January 1999, there are no checks on a newcomer to any part of India arriving from another part of India, even if the person is a Punjabi Sikh. Local police forces have neither the resources nor the language abilities to perform background checks on people arriving from other parts of India. There is no system of registration of citizens, and often people have no identity cards, which in any event can be easily forged. [4i]

6.135 According to the Danish Immigration Service fact finding report 2000, “The Director of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre believed that a high-profile person would not be able to move elsewhere in India without being traced, but that this would be possible for low-profile people”. Sources from foreign diplomatic missions in India considered that there was no reason to believe that someone who has or has had problems in Punjab would not be able to reside elsewhere in India. Reference was made to the fact that the authorities in Delhi are not informed about those wanted in Punjab. [37](p53)

6.136 The US Citizenship and Immigration Services in a response to a query, (last updated on 22 September 2003) noted that, “Observers generally agree that Punjab police will try to catch a wanted suspect no matter where he has relocated in India. Several say, however, that the list of wanted militants has been winnowed [whittled] down to "high-profile" individuals. By contrast, other Punjab experts have said in recent years that any Sikh who has been implicated in political militancy would be at risk anywhere in India. Beyond this dispute over who is actually at risk, there is little doubt that Punjab police will pursue a wanted suspect. "Punjab police and other police and intelligence agencies in India do pursue those militants, wherever they are located, who figure in their lists of those who were engaged in separatist political activities and belonged to armed opposition groups in the past," a prominent Indian human rights lawyer said in an email message to the Resource Information Center (RIC) (Indian human rights lawyer 4 May 2003).” [86] (p.1)
[...]"

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10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Methods of ill treatment of Sikhs ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 6533]

"[...]6.107 The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, 1999, examined 95 male Sikhs between 1991 and 1999, of whom all but eight were educated to at least secondary school level, and roughly half came from farming families and worked on the farm after finishing their education or had farming related jobs. The majority had belonged to an organisation such as the All India Sikh Student Federation. Most had been arrested on many occasions, usually for a short time ranging from 1 to 10 days, but the total time in custody ranged from 2 days to 8 months. Most were held by the police in the village police station, and a large majority were never charged with any offence. Some of the Sikhs in the study stated that in addition to their detentions, they had been arrested, questioned and threatened many times, but not detained overnight. [30](p11-14)

6.108 All of the Sikhs examined by the Medical Foundation as part of the study as cited in the 1999 Care of Victims of Torture report, reported that they had been severely ill-treated, usually worse in the first few days of detention. The methods of ill treatment included being beaten unconscious; being beaten with truncheons, fists, boots, lathis (bamboo canes), leather belts with metal buckles, pattas (leather straps with wooden handles), rifle butts, metal rods or a metal chain, and branches torn from a thorn bush. They were beaten on various parts of the body, but principally on the back, the legs or the buttocks. Beatings over the head and on the soles of the feet were also prevalent. Many had been suspended by the wrists, ankles or hair, and beaten; some had had their wrists tied behind their back and then were suspended, causing injuries to the shoulder joints. Electric shocks were given; the infliction of burns and the removal of fingernails. Another torture method consisted of forcing the hips strongly apart, often to 180 degrees, repeatedly or continuously. A thick wooden roller or a ghotna (a pestle 4 feet long and 4 inches in diameter used for grinding corn) was often rolled down the calves or thighs with one or more of the heaviest policemen standing on it. [30](p14-16)

6.109 According to the 1999 Medical Foundation Report, much of this abuse took place during interrogation sessions, but beatings also occurred randomly at other times, including late at night when the policemen were drunk. As well as physical abuse, many suffered psychological abuse such as threats of further punishment, death or harm to their families, mock executions and extreme humiliation. [30](p15-16)

6.110 The Medical Foundation report of 1999 found that most of the Sikhs in their study were released without charge after representations by the village elders, a politician or lawyer, but on many occasions only after the payment of a large bribe. [30](p17)
[...]"

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10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Human rights concerns in Punjab - additional Information ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 6534]

"[...]6.106 The US Citizenship and Immigration Services in a response to a query, (last updated on 22 September 2003) noted that,
“Several observers suggest, though, that while Punjab police may be serious about pursuing Sikhs anywhere in India whom they view as hard-core militants, in practice only a handful of militants are likely to be targeted for such long-arm law enforcement. While noting that Sikhs who are on police lists for past involvement with armed groups could be at risk even if not presently active, the Indian human rights attorney said in his May 2003 e-mail to the RIC that, "[t]he number of persons who figure in such lists is really very small and I do not think the police and intelligence agencies have in the last years been adding many names" (Indian human rights lawyer 4 May 2003). A South Asia expert at the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research said that it is unlikely that Punjab police are currently pursuing many Sikhs for alleged militant activities given that the insurgency there was crushed in the early 1990s (U.S. DOS INR 25 Apr 2003).” [86] (p.2) [...]"

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10.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Country Report - October 2004 ("Country Report - October 2004") [#28325],  [ID 6536]

"[...]6.200 According to an Amnesty International news release dated 21 March 2000, on 20 March 2000, unidentified gunmen killed 36 Sikhs in the village of Chadisinghpoora. The identity of the perpetrators was uncertain as contradictory accounts were reported from Jammu and Kashmir. The Director General of Police believed it to be the work of Muslim rebels, and the Indian Government blamed the attack on Hizbul Mujahedin and Lashkar-i- Toiba. A spokesperson of the APHC claimed that it had been carried out by the State security agencies in order to discredit the separatist movement. No attacks on members of the Sikh community in Kashmir had previously been reported. [3h] According to a BBC news report dated 23 March 2000, Farooq Abdullah [who was then Chief Minister] admitted his Government had failed in anticipating the risk that the Sikhs faced from militants active in the State. He said he would revamp the State's security system to provide adequate protection for all minority communities in Kashmir. [32h] An independent newspaper article dated 3 November 2000 stated that Abdullah later announced a judicial inquiry into the massacre, which would also investigate the killing of five alleged militants a few days after the atrocity, who local people believed were innocent civilians who had been singled out as scapegoats. [34a] According to a BBC news article of 16 July 2002, in July 2002, the Kashmir State authorities confirmed that DNA tests proved that the five men were local residents of Anantnag District and not foreign militants. Farooq Abdullah said he would be asking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look into the killing of the men. [32ag] [...]

6.203 According to a BBC news article dated 5 February 2001, on 3 February 2001, a further attack was carried out on the Sikh community in Kashmir. On this occasion, six Sikhs were killed in the provincial capital Srinagar. No group claimed responsibility for the killings. One person was subsequently killed in clashes between police and Sikh protestors. [32aa] [...]"

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04.2004 - Source: UK Home Office

Sikh religion and historical background ("Country Report - April 2004") [#22427],  [ID 6535]

"6.75 According to the US Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2003, according to the latest government estimates Sikhs constitute 2.0 percent of the population.[2b](p1)
6.76 As noted in a background paper published in 1990 by the Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre, Ottawa, Canada the Sikh religion was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539), a high caste Hindu who denounced social and State oppression. He took monotheism from Islam, but rejected Ramadan, polygamy and pilgrimages to Mecca. He also rejected Hindu polytheism, the caste system and sati (sacrificing a widow on her husband's funeral pyre). Nine gurus succeeded Nanak. The Sikh commandments include certain prohibitions, notably against alcohol and tobacco. For men the Sikh religion requires observance of the "5 Ks": Kes (uncut hair and beard); Kacch (breeches); Kirpan (a double-edged sword); Kangh (a steel comb); and Kara (an iron bangle). [4a](p7-8)
6.77 As noted in a background paper published in 1990 by the Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre, Ottawa, Canada new religious ideologies early in the 20th century caused tensions in the Sikh religion. The Akali Dal (Army of the Immortals), a political-religious movement founded in 1920, preached a return to the roots of the Sikh religion. The Akali Dal became the political party that would articulate Sikh claims and lead the independence movement. [4a](p9)
6.78 According to an Asia Watch report (undated) following the partition of India in 1947, the Sikhs were concentrated in India in east Punjab. Sikh leaders demanded a Punjabi language majority State which would have included most Sikhs. Fearing that a Punjabi State might lead to a separatist Sikh movement, the Government opposed the demand. [22](p12-13) As noted in a background paper published in 1990 by the Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre, Ottawa, Canada, in 1966 a compromise was reached, when two new States of Punjab and Haryana were created. Punjabi became the official language of Punjab, and Chandigarh became the shared capital of the two States. However the agreement did not resolve the Sikh question. [4a](p10)
6.79 The IRB Background paper 1990 reported that tensions between Sikhs and New Delhi heightened during the 1980s, as the Government did not respond to Sikh grievances. Over the years that followed, Punjab was faced with escalating confrontations and increased terrorist incidents. Akali Dal only achieved limited concessions from the Government and Sikh separatists prepared for battle. Renewed confrontations in October 1983 resulted in Punjab being placed under central Government authority. [4a](p12-13)
6.80 According to a 2003 Amnesty International report: India Break the cycle of impunity and torture in Punjab, “The militancy period began in the early 1980’s when a movement within the Sikh community in Punjab turned to violence to achieve an independent state of the Sikhs, which they would call Khalistan. Some sections of the ruling Congress party, whose support base included urban Hindu traders, fomented this radicalization in order to weaken their main parliamentary opposition in the state, the Akali Dal party, which represented the Sikh peasantry with a more moderate agenda. In 1982 the Akali Dal launched a civil disobedience campaign against a decision to divert a river vital to Sikh farmers in the state. A number of Sikh organizations were banned and several leaders of militant groups took shelter in the Golden Temple in Amritsar.”[51](p4)
6.81 As noted in the Amnesty report on the Punjab 2003, “The radicalisation of the movement for Khalistan was met with arrests under a series of national security laws that were introduced during the 1980’s to meet the “terrorist” threat in Punjab but were enforced also in other parts of India and maintained for several years after the end of the militancy period in Punjab.”[51](p4)
6.82 According to Asia Watch report on the Human Rights in India, the violence continued and hundreds of Sikhs were detained in the first part of 1984. Followers of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale established a terrorist stronghold inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, then initiated Operation Blue Star which took place on 4-6 June 1984. The Golden Temple was shelled and besieged by the army to dislodge the terrorists. The fighting continued for five days. Bhindranwale was killed and there was serious damage to sacred buildings. [22](p18)
6.83 The Asia Watch report stated that official figures put the casualties at 493 "civilians/ terrorists" killed and 86 wounded, and 83 troops killed and 249 wounded. Later in the year official sources put the total number killed at about 1,000. Unofficial sources estimated that the civilian casualties alone were much higher. There were apparently more than 3,000 people in the temple when Operation Blue Star began, among them 950 pilgrims, 380 priests and other temple employees and their families, 1,700 Akali Dal supporters, 500 followers of Bhindranwale and 150 members of other armed groups. [22](p18)
6.84 According to a Canadian IRB issue paper dated 1989, The intervention had disastrous consequences for the Sikh community and the whole country. Sikh-Hindu communalism was aggravated, Sikh extremism was reinforced, and political assassinations increased. [4a] (p15) 6.85 As cited in Asia Watch report on 31 October 1984 Indira Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi by two Sikh bodyguards. In the days that followed, anti-Sikh rioting paralysed New Delhi, ultimately claiming at least 2,000 lives; unofficial estimates were higher. Sikhs were also attacked in other cities in northern India. [22](p19)
6.86 Asia Watch in the Punjab in Crisis report, noted that a peace agreement was concluded between the Indian Government and moderate Akali Dal Sikhs led by Harchand Singh Longowal in July 1985, which granted many of the Sikh community’s longstanding demands. However the extremists regarded Longowal as a traitor to the Sikh cause and he was assassinated in August 1985. Moreover the promised reforms did not take place. [22](p22)
6.87 According to the Europa World Yearbook, 1998, in 1987 the State Government was dismissed and Punjab was placed under President's Rule. Despite the resumption of discussions between the Government and the moderate Sikh leaders, the violence continued. [1a]
6.88 It was reported in the Europa World Year Book, 1998, that President's Rule was finally brought to an end following elections in February 1992, which were won by Congress (I). However the elections were boycotted by the leading factions of Akali Dal and attracted an extremely low turnout (only about 22% of the electorate). Beant Singh of the Congress (I) was sworn in as Chief Minister, but his Government lacked any real credibility. Despite the continuing violence between the separatists and the security forces, the large turnout in the municipal elections in September 1992, the first in 13 years, afforded some hope that normality was returning to Punjab. The local council elections in January 1993, the first for 10 years, also attracted a large turnout. [1a]
6.89 According to a Reuters news report of 7 September 1996 on 31 August 1995 Beant Singh was killed by a car bomb which exploded outside the Punjab Secretariat in Chandigarh. [10a]
6.90 Pakistan handed over 16 Sikh prisoners to the Indian officials in September 2003 as a goodwill gesture. Pakistan also released 269 fishermen who had been jailed for illegally entering Pakistan’s territorial waters.[46]"

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08.2002 - Source: European Reintegration Networking

Background information on India (including procedures for entrance, supply and care, health, education, work opportunies,...) ("Background information on India (including procedures for entrance, supply and care, health, education, work opportunies,...)") [#28646],  [ID 6537]

"[...]Im 16. Jahrhundert entstand im Punjab der Sikhismus. Der Gründer, Guru Nanak wurde als Hindu geboren und war sowohl von den muslimischen wie hinduistischen Heiligen angezogen. In ihrem Kern befand er beide Religionen für ähnlich und begann, eine Lehre ihrer Einheit zu predigen. Der Sikhismus kennt kein Kastenwesen und glaubt an die Gleichheit der Menschen. Aeusserlich sind die Sikh-Männer leicht zu erkennen: sie tragen in der Regel einen Turban, unter dem sie ihre Haare, die sie nicht abschneiden dürfen, zusammenbinden. Der heiligste Ort für Sikhs ist Amritsar, wo sich der Goldene Tempel befindet. Im Einzelstaat Punjab bilden Sikhs heute die Mehrheit, indienweit machen sie weniger als zwei Prozent der Bevölkerung aus. [...]"

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02.2001 - Source: Forum 18

Freedom of religion: report on general legal framework, registration requirements, civil and penal restrictions and religious freedom in practice ("Freedom of religion: A report with special emphasis on the right to choose religion and registration systems") [#8587],  [ID 6538]

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