In response to a Member's concern with a statement made by a source in the above-mentioned Question and Answer paper, the DIRB asked two other professors with specialized knowledge of Sikhs to comment on the information provided by Professor Joseph O'Connell, a specialist on Sikhs at St. Michael's College, Toronto, who spent last summer in India. Professor O'Connell stated that:
young male Sikh students who advocate the establishment of Khalistan or who protest publicly against the government of India may be unsafe anywhere in India, especially if they have drawn attention to themselves by holding marches or writing anti-government statements (18 Sept. 1992).

Professor Bruce La Brack of the Department of Sociology, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, has carried out extensive research on the Sikhs and just returned from India in early January 1993. Please find attached the text of a telephone interview conducted on 4 January 1993 and proofread by Professor La Brack on 7 January 1993.

Professor Milton Israel from the Department of History, University of Toronto, is an acknowledged Canadian expert on India and on Sikh history. Please find attached his comments, sent by fax to the DIRB on 5 January 1993, on Professor O'Connell's statement.

Both sources partially confirm the statement that young male Sikh students may be unsafe in India if they have drawn attention to themselves.

La Bracq, Bruce. Professor, Department of Sociology, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California. 7 January 1993. Fax message sent to DIRB.

Israel, Milton. Professor, Department of History, University of Toronto, Toronto. 5 January 1993. Fax message sent to the DIRB.