Text of letter, as received by SikhSiyasat Network, is reproduced here:
This is in response to your statement, Published in the Hindu and other News Websites on 25 June, 2011. The Hindu Headline is “Time to ‘forgive’ and build a new India, Chitambram tells Sikhs”.
You have attempted to misguide Sikhs on blacklist issue, and more unfortunate thing is that you went on to justify the denial of justice to Sikhs, who fell victims of November 1984 genocide, because asking someone to forget or forgive the excesses without delivering or secure justice, clearly means to justify the excesses. How Sikhs can forget 1984 when those making such “suggestions” have themselves not forgotten the 1919? Will Indian state forget 26/11/2008? Anyways, I do not want to argue this point in detail, as I wish to talk about the white lies of Indian Government on Blacklist Issue, the issue on which your State claim to have extended amnesty on Sikhs.
As usual, India added names of Sikhs to this list in a wholesale manner, which is evident from the fact that the Home minister of India sent a list of 185 persons, after “refining” the list afresh, to Punjab Government for its’ review on 14 May, 2010 but later it came into light that there were only 169 and 16 names were purely fictitious, due to double and triple entries. Anyways this is your Government’s working style, as your Foreign Minister can read speech of Foreign Minister of some other Country at UN organ’s meeting and You could demand those persons from some other country, who are already in your jails or are bailed out and living in India.
From those 185 names many had deceased, such as Dr. Jagjeet Singh Chauhan, or were already living in Punjab, such as Wassan Singh Jafarwal, Harpal Singh Cheema and Kulbir Singh Barapind. No surprise that Kulbir Singh was handed over to India after India sought his extradition from USA, but still his name was figuring in “blacklist”.
But on the other had many Sikhs who were denied entry to India and Punjab recently were not listed in so-called blacklist. I know at least two such cases: Lakhwinder Singh Gill (Canada) and Subhneet Kaur (New Zealand).
Lakhwinder was sent back from Amritsar Airport in January 2009 and Subhneet in January 2010. Should it mean that Government is keeping Secret list to target/harass Sikhs? Will you take the opportunity to clarify that what list was used to prevent these persons from visiting their birthplaces?
You might be aware that your Government is adding on to this list even today. Gurcharan Singh Goraya’s (living in Germany) wife has recently been denied Indian Passport by Indian Embassy in German, and the reason given is that he husband was balcklisted. Your Government has started targeting families of Sikhs. So in this direction, surely, “India has moved ahead”.
Lakhwinder Singh Gill was not permitted to attend his father’s funeral, who died this month on 19 June, 2011 after waiting for his son for more than two and half years. Will you bother to explain why Lakhwinder Singh was not permitted from 2009 to 2011 to visit his family in Punjab? Why he was prevented from looking after his ill father? Why he is not allowed to attend his father’s funeral? Why Government is not permitting him to take part in last rites of his father to be held on 29 June, 2011 at their village in Punjab? What list made by India Government is applied to do all this?
Parmjeet Singh President Sikh Students Federation