London, UK - India's Independence Day was marked in the UK by a major demonstration by Sikhs and Kashmiris vocally highlighting their rejection of Indian control over their respective homelands. India's independence in 1947 for them signalled simply the replacement of one colonial power with another. The protestors demanded that their nations be allowed to exercise the right of self-determination, as enshrined in international law, which has been been forcibly denied to them by a increasingly belligerent and Hindutva orientated state which has just this week been put on a US Congress 'watch -list' for violent suppression of religious minorities.
Massive and systematic human rights abuses in Indian occupied Punjab and Kashmir , which together have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, were condemned by leaders of both communities who called for Indian political and security officials to be brought to justice by UN established international courts.
The Federation of Sikh Organisations, UK and the All Parties International Kashmir Co-ordinating Committee organised the protest by their respective communities. Leading Kashmiris and Sikhs spoke in unison, not only in favour of freedom but also in opposing India's claim to a seat in the UN Security Council. They pointed out the naivety and irresponsibility of allowing what they called a serial violator of international law and human rights in to one of the ultimate law enforcing world bodies.
Amrik Singh Sahota, OBE (President, Council of Khalistan) referred to the recent panic in the Indian media over a paper produced by a leading Chinese Foreign Policy think tank which proposed the dismemberment of the artificial Indian state in to nation states which would produce stability and prosperity to the region. He said it was ironic that India, on its independence day, was having to reflect on that inevitable outcome. Mohammad Ghalib (President, Tehreek-e- Kashmir) said it was better that India recognised that the aspiration for freedom could not be indefinitely suppressed and came peacefully and voluntarily to the negotiating table so that the process could be undertaken in an orderly fashion in accordance with the democratic wishes of the affected peoples.
Sikh leaders later attended a roundtable conference organised by the World Kashmir Freedom Movement which condemned India's attempts to create a divide between the two aspirant nations. It may be recalled that Indian security forces carried out the cold blooded killing of 38 Sikhs in Chattisingpura in Kashmir in March 2000 during the visit of then US President Bill Clinton, but blamed Kashmiris for the atrocity. Bill Clinton himself later clearly identified 'Hindu militants' as the culprits. Sikh and Kashmiri leaders affirmed their solidarity and pledged to continue working together, both in their homelands and internationally, to secure justice and freedom.
