The Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh organisation, is happy with U.S. President Barack Obama’s call to India to uphold religious freedom, but is worried by the “sea change” in the U.S. policy towards India which it says has failed to protect human rights as mandated in international agreements, especially the U.N. Charter.
“Sidelining human rights and political rights for commercial interests is a major cause for concern not only for the Sikhs but all nationalities that once banked upon the U.S.,” Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh said in a statement on Wednesday. The minorities expected Mr. Obama to confront the government over violations of basic human rights, he said.
The Dal Khalsa, which observed the Republic Day as “black day,” organised protests at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Moga against the “constitutional wrongs, injustices and discriminations.” India’s claim of being a democratic country stood exposed as it kept robbing Punjab of its riverwaters, and the Sikhs were denied their democratic rights and distinct identity through Hindu laws, he said. “Any legitimate struggle was suppressed through force.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Singh said Mr. Obama should have been made aware that India’s Constitution denied the minorities the right to self-determination, a legitimate one under international law.