Gurmit Singh Aulakh
Gurmit Singh | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 30, 1938 |
| Occupation | President of the Council of Khalistan |
Dr. Gurmit Singh (born January 30, 1938) is the self-appointed President of Council of Khalistan, an organisation that supports the Khalistan Movement.
Khalistan movement
Lobbying and political connections
Gurmit has been a lobbyist for the Khalistan cause and was able to temporarily receive occasional "support" from a few politicians in the US and UK.
- Edolphus Towns, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, from New York. He has been a "supporter" of Khalistan and Nagalim. Towns also wanted to "declare India a terrorist state" because of "the pattern of Indian terrorism against its minorities", an allegation that was summarily dismissed by the White House.[1]
- Jesse Helms, former five-term Republican U.S. Senator from North Carolina. About two decades ago, he had circumvented the State Department's refusal of a visa to separatist Khalistan activist Jagjit Singh Chauhan by inviting him to testify before a Senate agriculture committee he headed.[2]
Anti-India legislative attempts
Gurmit and his supporters have been active in introducing anti-India legislations and have opposed aid to India, without achieving any changes any U.S. policy to India.
In 1997, HR 182, the Human Rights in India Act, was sponsored by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) and Rep. Gary Condit (D-CA). to cut-off U.S. development aid to India until the president certifies to Congress that India has taken "certain steps to prevent human rights abuses" in India. Another resolution, H. Con. Res. 37, sponsored by Condit and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) called for an internationally supervised plebiscite in Punjab on the question of independence for the region. The act secured the support of only 82 members while 342 voted against it. Gurmit Singh was involved in these legislations.[3][4]
Accusations of obtaining signatures by deception
Gurmit faced accusations of obtaining signatures by deception in 2002 from US House Foreign Policy Aides when a publication on US Congress, The Hill stated that a legislative assistant to a Republican Congressman misled her office by implying to a staff member that the Congressman, John Shimkus, had agreed to sign a letter to the President calling for release of political prisoners in India.[5]
The Senior legislative assistant stated that Gurmit had already printed the letter with the name of the Congressman leaving a staff member to assume that the office had agreed to sign it.
The same publication also quoted one aide with ties to the 131-member Congressional India Caucus as saying that Gurmit had been getting away with tricking staffers into signing letters for several years.[5]
References
- ^ Varsha Bhosle (2000-11-13). "Hidden Patterns". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ Aziz Haniffa (2001-06-02). "Helms' exit is good news for India". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ "Legislation Takes on Human Rights Abuses in India". Scoop Issue 169. The National Center for Public Policy Research. 1997-07-03. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ "Dan Burton Withdraws Anti-India Measure". Rediff.com. 1999-08-03. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b A. Balu (3 May 2002). "'Khalistan' lobbyist 'tricks' US lawmakers". Chandigarh: The Tribune. Retrieved 2008-03-20.