Information on whether family members of the security forces are targeted by Sikh militants in Punjab could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

However, the following information may be of general interest.

According to a number of sources, the situation today in Punjab is "normal" and the human rights situation has improved considerably, (Brack 24 Jan. 1997, 6, 10; Nair 24 Jan. 1997; Mann 24 Jan. 1997). According to Lawrence Brooks of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), "violent Sikh seccessionists...have found it increasingly difficult to operate in Punjab...[and] the overall media coverage supports the position that the violent phase of the Sikh secessionist movement [in Punjab] has lost whatever momentum it once had" (Brooks 24 Jan. 1997, 5). Since the August 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, the last major Sikh terrorist attack in Punjab, Sikh terrorist attacks have occurred infrequently (ibid., 5, 7).

For additional information on this subject, the normality in Punjab and on the strength of the Sikh militant movement there at the present time, please consult the following documents, all of which are available at Regional Documentation Centres: Extended Response to Information Request IND26376.EX of 17 February 1997 on information on Punjab from four specialists, the DIRB Question and Answer Series paper India: Sikhs in Punjab 1994-1995 of February 1996, Extended Response to Information Request IND20566.E of 21 August 1997 on the human rights situation in Punjab since September 1993.

The speaking notes for Bob Brack and Gurinder Singh Mann are attached to Response to Information Request IND26409.E of 21 February 1997 and the French translations of them are attached to Response to Information Request IND26410.F of 21 February 1997. The speaking notes of Lawrence Brooks are attached to Response to Information Request IND26476.E of 5 March 1997 and its French translation is found attached to Response to Information Request IND26477.F of 5 March 1997. These Responses are available at Regional Documentation Centres.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Brack, Bob, Deputy Program Manager, Immigration, Canadian High Commission, New Delhi. 24 January 1997. "Speaking notes for the 24 January 1997 Punjab conference hosted by the IRB in Montreal.

Brooks, Lawrence, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Ottawa. 24 January 1997. Speaking notes for the 24 January 1997 Punjab conference hosted by the IRB in Montreal.

Mann, Gurinder Singh, Department of Religion, Columbia University, New York City. 24 January 1997. Speaker for the 24 January 1997 Punjab conference hosted by the IRB in Montreal.

Nair, Ravi, Executive Director, South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC), New Delhi. 24 January 1997. Speaker for the 24 January 1997 Punjab conference hosted by the IRB in Montreal.

Additional Sources Consulted

Afrique Asie [Paris]. Monthly. September 1996-present.

Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. September 1996-January 1997.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996. 1997.

Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly. September 1996-April 1997.
DIRB. November 1996.

Human Rights Information Package: India.

_____. April 1996.

Contextual Information Package: India.

_____. Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. October 1996-present.

_____. "India" country file. September 1996-present.

_____. "India: Amnesty International" country file. September 1996-present.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. (Internet)

Foreign Report [Surrey]. Weekly. September 1996-present.

Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook 1996. 1996.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1997. 1996.

India Today [Delhi]. Fortnightly. September 1996-present.

Jane's Intelligence Review [Surrey]. Monthly. September 1996-February 1997.

Jane's Intelligence Review: Special Report [Surrey]. Quarterly. June 1996-present.

Journal of Democracy [Baltimore, Maryland]. Quarterly. April 1996-present.

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies [Villanova]. Quarterly. Summer 1996-Winter 1997.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. September 1996-January 1997.

La lettre de Reporters sans frontières [Paris]. Fortnightly. September 1996-present.

News from Asia Watch [New York]. Monthly 1996-present.
Office of Asylum Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. June 1996.

India: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.

Political Handbook of the World: 1995-1996. 1996.

On-line search of media sources.