To commemorate the World Human Rights Day, the galaxy of representatives of struggling peoples and nations, gathered at Chandigarh on Saturday Dec 8 to deliberate upon the human rights conditions in their respective areas and chart out common and specific strategies for conflict resolution in respective homelands.

Er. Ghulam Rasool Dar, General Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Janab Haqeem Abdul Rasheed and Advocate Mohammad Ashraf Lone of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, Prof. S. A. R. Geelani of Delhi University, Mr. Joyson, former Convenor of the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights, Senior Advocate Harvinder Singh Phoolka and Bhai Mohkam Singh, convenor of the Khalsa Action Committee presented Kashmiri, Naga and Sikh perspective respectively. Justice Retd Ajit Singh Bains presided over the seminar on Whither Human Rights of India?

FULL TEXT OF THE KEY-NOTE ADDRESS

Dear Brethren:

In the Name of God Almighty, kindly accept my greetings,

On behalf of the Sikh nation and the Dal Khalsa, I consider it my privilege to welcome you all to this historic occasion. Today is indeed a historic moment. All the peoples and nationalities gathered here are God-fearing and devout followers of their respective faiths and religions.

It is a matter of great pride that all peoples and nationalities represented here have a legacy of sovereignty. The Kashmiris, the Nagas, the Manipuri people and the Sikhs have had self-rule for many years and decades. The nation states of these peoples had a chequered history about which we are rightfully proud of.

It is a matter of regret that all the nationalities assembled here have had their sovereignty usurped by the Indian state, either by chicanery of Indian imperialists or by default of their own leadership.

Since our subjugation in the early fifties of the last century, we have all experienced slavery, torture and abrogation of our civil, economic, religious and political rights. At various points in contemporary history, each one of us has undergone repression in one form or the other. It has been a matter of degree not of kind. We have been treated virtually as enemies.

During the last sixty-seventy years, our political life has undergone a metamorphosis. Substantial sections of our population and a sizeable chunk of our leadership have been Indianised and they participate in every political process of the country. Some of the revolutionary organisations have also experimented in the past. Existentialism seems to be the goal of a majority of our peoples.

The Kashmiris, Manipuris, Nagas and Sikhs have faced the Indian bayonet throughout the period of Indian independence. The police, the para-military and the military have been extensively used against all of us at various times. There is no doubt that independent India has killed more people extra judicially than were killed by the British. During the ninety-eight year British rule, there was not a single custodial death, whereas now people get killed by the dozen in police custody without uproar, either from the executive or the judiciary. Unlawful arrests, illegal detention, custodial deaths, extrajudicial killings, biased trials and capital punishment have been showered upon us without reprieve.

All of us have been governed by a set of laws which cannot stand scrutiny under norms of criminal jurisprudence, the provisions of the Indian constitution or the standards set by the UN Protocol on Civil and Political Rights. The impunity enjoyed by the security forces in each of our respective homelands has emboldened them beyond control.

From the Delhi of 1984 to the Gujarat of 2002, political parties like the Congress and the Bharatiya Janta Party have reaped the benefits of political bigotry and vandalism. We believe that like the leaders, the masses too who quietly acquiesce to this role of the government are equally responsible for the sad plight of the regional and religious minorities and ethnic peoples and nationalities.

A 16-year-old schoolgirl is disrobed in the middle of the road and made to run on the streets for a full 45 minutes in the heart of Gauwhati, the capital of Assam. Chanu Sharmila – a frail but determined lady is on fast for the last six years protesting the Armed Forces Special Forces Act in Manipur and other parts of the northeast. Wailing Kashmiri mothers mourn the acts of the Indian army almost every day and the images are seen in the print media and in sections of the satellite television medium. The leading prosecuting agency in the country, the Central Bureau of Investigation colludes with high-ranking leaders and expresses inability to trace key witnesses in the November 1984 anti-Sikh carnage cases. The agony of the Nagas finds no mention in more than three-fourth part of the country. Indian courts continue to discriminate between one category of victims and criminals as compared to the others.

All of us here have been at the receiving end of the mainstream media, who has ignored our agony and grief. Notwithstanding our fundamental beliefs, commitments and facts, a big section of the print and satellite media has always tainted us in wrong light. This it has done either at the behest of the powers that be or demonstration of its own inflated sense of patriotism and bias against minorities. We are however thankful for small mercies which have given us some solace from time to time.

Though we have heard voices of sympathy and empathy from many a quarter, but in totality, the international community has failed all of us. As a result of the pressures of modern day politics where self-interest is paramount; the pain, sufferings and rights of other peoples are not only secondary but also subject to commercial interests of the country in question.

Though we should all take some blame for our inefficacy in lobbying, by and large, all of us have been effectively ignored by various wings of the United Nations. At every appropriate forum, the Indian state has spitted lies after lies about the deteriorating human rights situation in Kashmir, Panjab, Nagaland and Manipur and all of it has been lapped up by the august body. The Universal Declaration for Human Rights is a nice piece of paper which carries no weight with brown imperialists cocooned in the corridors of power in Delhi. We, however, continue to clutch on it as the last straw.

Significantly, though we have been overtaken by events of history and though some of our own people sometimes question the rationale of our approach, all representatives of the organizations here are convinced that the future of our peoples and nations lies in seeking and obtaining the right to self-determination. Universally, this right has rarely been exercised but wherever it been, it has reaped results.

On this occasion, let us all congratulate the people of Eritrea and East Timor who have in the recent past gained freedom through a determined struggle and the instrument of self-determination. It is significant that in each of our cases, our moral, legal and political lien over our sovereignty still stands.

I think that we would be failing in our duty if we do not express solidarity with all other ethnic peoples who are in the thick of formation of their nation-states in South-Asia, particularly the people of Tamil Eelam. We should condemn the flagrant violations of the fundamental rights of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

Some laudable attempts were made in the past by some individuals and organizations to forge unity among us all but rightly or wrongly, wittingly or unwittingly, there have never been consistent and coordinated attempts to wage a determined and joint struggle. To begin with, let us start exchange and dissemination of information of human rights violations and arrange for media exposure on a regular basis. Let us set up a coordinating agency, manned by representatives of all our organizations. In keeping with the times, let us put to effective use latest technologies, including the internet, to reinforce and focus on the rights of all constituents present here today.

On this historic day, let us all pledge to join hands. There is no doubt that each struggle has its own peculiar features. Our perception about the status of each struggle and the support bank that we enjoy differs. Be that as it may, it is now time to look towards a bright future by rendering moral, legal and logistic support to each other.

( This text was read by Kanwar Pal Singh, general secretary, Dal Khalsa )

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SEMINAR
After serious deliberations on the human rights conditions in respective areas, the following resolutions were unanimously passed:

1. India must sign and ratify the Optional protocol of civil and political rights. The United Nations must ensure that fundamental rights of the people are protected and India is effectively made accountable to various international forums.
2. This gathering seeks the implementation of the Right to Self-determination of the people of Kashmir, Nagaland, Manipur and Panjab. The United Nations must create a climate whereby the real aspirations of the people of these regions are truly known and demonstrated.
3. The government of India must create a climate of tolerance and respect for ethnic peoples and nations. A mechanism to control mass violence must be put in place so that minorities are not made subject of rebuke, ridicule and revenge by the state.
4. The impunity granted to the police, the para-military and the military must be withdrawn forthwith. The extra-constitutional powers given to the security forces under which they carry on gross human rights violations must be terminated and only universal norms of criminal jurisprudence should be implemented. The Armed Forces Special Powers
   Act must be withdrawn in the north-east and detained activist, Chanu Sharmila must be released and allowed to lead a normal life.
5. This meet calls for the immediate arrest of the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr. Narendra Modi for his open condoning and glorification of an extrajudicial murder. His candidature in the forthcoming Gujarat elections must be cancelled and he should be debarred from contesting elections till he is tried for his fascist remarks and utterances. This meeting also notes that the Indian Supreme Court is to discuss the case of Mr. Modi on 10th December, which is the World Human Rights Day and it would be significant to note as to how the apex court adjudicates the matter.
6. All representative organizations gathered here have resolved to support all efforts being made by Amnesty International, the United Nations and other bodies to abolish death penalty from the world. We appeal to the Indian government to take the first step in this direction by deciding to have a moratorium on capital punishment until it is finally removed from the statute. The sentence of all people on the death row across the country must be commuted by the government.
7. This meet calls for the immediate and unconditional release of political detenues of Kashmir, North-east and Punjab languishing in jails.
8. In a historic move, the Dal Khalsa, All Party Hurriyat Conference and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front have decided to form a coordination body whose setup and parameters will be announced in due course. This body will make consistent and coordinated attempts to wage a determined and joint struggle in order to ensure that ethnic, religious and cultural minorities are able to maintain their distinct identity. We will exchange and disseminate information of human rights violations and arrange for media exposure of the information on a regular basis. We will pursue other peoples and nations to join this campaign. We have also resolved to provide moral, legal and logistic support to each other.