Two references to the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)-Bittu Faction were found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. Mondes Rebelles writes that the Bittu faction split from the All India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF) in 1984 and was primarily active in northern Europe and Canada (1996, 696). The Indian Express refers to the arrest of Amarjit Singh, the "former President of the Bittu faction of the International Students Youth Federation (ISYF) in New Delhi" (29 Dec. 1999). Further information on the Bittu Faction of the ISYF could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Please see the text and attachment of IND19561.E of 17 January 1995 for general information on the ISYF. IND30758.EX of 10 December 1998 and IND27942.F of 6 October 1997 both provide some information on the Bittu faction of the All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF).

The US Department of State in its Patterns of Global Terrorism 1999 identifies the ISYF as an "active" group as well as an organization which provides "external aid" to Sikh militant cells (Apr. 2000).

A 21 August 1999 article in The Tribune describes Daljit Singh Bittu, Gursharan Singh Gama and Daya Singh Lahoria as "top terrorists presently lodged in Tihar and Nabha jails."

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate 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 see below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

The Indian Express [Chennai]. 29 December 1999. Ritu Sarin. "Terror's Transit Lounge." http://www.indian-express.com/ie/daily/19991229/ian29035.htm [Accessed 20 Oct. 2000]

Mondes rebelles: acteurs, conflits et violences politiques. 1996. Jean-Marc Balencie and Arnaud de la Grange. Paris: Éditions Michalon.

Patterns of Global Terrorism 1999. 2000. US Department of State, Washington, D.C. http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1999report/1999index.html [Accessed 20 Oct. 2000]

The Tribune [Chandigarh]. 21 August 1999. "3 KLF Terrorists Arrested." http://www.tribuneindia.com/99aug21/head2.htm [Accessed 20 Oct. 2000]

India Country File. Resource Centre.

IRB Databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

World News Connection (WNC)

Unsuccessful attempts to obtain information from 2 non-documentary sources.

Internet Sites including:

Amnesty International

Burning Punjab

Country Reports

Federation of American Scientists

Frontline [New Delhi]

Human Rights Watch

Patterns of Global Terrorism 1998, 1999

Panthic News

Search Engines including:

Dogpile

Google

Hot Bot

Lycos

Metacrawler