India: 1) Are there Hindus in the All-India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF) or other Sikh organizations? 2) What is the attitude of the government and/or the police of the Punjab towards Hindus who are suspected of aiding Sikh militants and would they suspect Hindus of that?

1) Due to the scarcity of information on Sikh organizations' membership policies, as well as to the multiplicity of factions within the All-India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF) itself, specific information on whether there are Hindus in Sikh groups is currently unavailable to the IRBDC. However, the leader of the AISSF (Manjit faction) declared in 1991 that his faction "would recruit non-Sikhs as well as Sikhs, and would try to provide a 'suitable political alternative' to faction-ridden Sikh parties" (AFP 25 June 1991). Another source states that both low-caste Hindus and Sikhs are represented by the same Bahujan Samaj Party (Reuters 20 Feb. 1992). In recent years, so-called "moderate" Sikhs have also been the target of militants, who accuse them "of not sympathizing with the separatist campaign or associating with Hindus" (AP 10 Nov. 1991).

A Professor of Sikh studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC) stated, however, that although membership of Hindus in Sikh organisations is not impossible, the current situation would not encourage a Hindu to take part in a Sikh movement (4 June 1992). The scarcity of Hindu membership within Sikh organizations was confirmed by a representative from Asia Watch in Washington, D.C. (4 June 1992). A Professor of Political Sciences at the University of Missouri, Columbia, specializing in Sikh issues, stated that he was sure cases of Hindus supporting Sikh movements do happen, but that they are rare (4 June 1992). He added that in the rural areas of some regions of Punjab, Sikhs and Hindus live side by side and the Hindus there may be more sympathetic to the Sikhs as far as violations of human rights are concerned (Ibid.).

2) A recent Asia Watch report on the human rights situation in Punjab indicates that many among the thousands of people routinely detained in the Punjab "have been held for interrogation because they are suspected of engaging in militant activity, harboring militants or merely sympathizing with the militant cause" (Aug. 1991, 149). This information was confirmed by the above-mentioned Professor of Sikh Studies at UBC (4 June 1992). The University of Missouri specialist also confirmed that the police hunts down those who harbour militants, without considering their religious or ethnic origins (4 June 1992). Information on whether the Punjab government and/or police would suspect Hindus of supporting Sikh movements is currently unavailable to the IRBDC.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 25 June 1991. "Punjab Violence Leaves 17 More Dead."

Asia Watch, Washington Office. 4 June 1992. Telephone Interview with a Representative.

Asia Watch. August 1991. Human Rights in India: Punjab in Crisis. New York: Asia Watch.

Associated Press (AP). 10 November 1991. "Sikh Militants Kill 14 in Attack on Worshipers."

Reuters. 20 Februry 1992. "India's Ruling Party Wins Punjab by Default."

University of British Columbia (UBC), Department of Asian Studies, Vancouver. 4 June 1992. Telephone interview with a Professor of Sikh Studies.

University of Missouri, Department of Political Science, Columbia, Missouri. 4 June 1992. Telephone Interview with a Professor specializing in the Sikhs in India.

Attachments

Agence France Presse (AFP). 25 June 1991. "Punjab Violence Leaves 17 More Dead."

Asia Watch. August 1991. Human Rights in India: Punjab in Crisis. New York: Asia Watch. p. 149.

Associated Press (AP). 10 November 1991. "Sikh Militants Kill 14 in Attack on Worshipers."

Reuters. 20 Februry 1992. "India's Ruling Party Wins Punjab by Default."