To
Mr António Guterres United Nations Secretary-General United StatesMarch 24, 2023
Subject: Case of Arbitrary Deprivation of Liberty, Human Rights Violations, and Ethnic Cleansing in Punjab, India
Dear Mr. António Guterres,
I am a national award-winning journalist, social activist, and human rights defender based in New Delhi, India Today, I have sent a petition (reproduced below) to Mr Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for his immediate intervention to protect the human rights of people in Punjab.
These people who mostly belong to the Sikh religion are facing extreme persecution and threats by the current Punjab Government in collusion with the Central government of India. During the past few days, the police and security forces have arrested and imprisoned hundreds of Sikhs arbitrarily without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves.
Internet services have been shut down in most parts of Punjab and local citizens who want to protest peacefully to get the arbitrarily arrested people released are facing severe police brutality and false police cases filed against them. The police are randomly searching the houses of residents and terrorizing them in order to suppress their voice against the state atrocities.
Although I have sent my petition (given below) to the UN Human Rights chief Mr. Volker Türk, I request you to take up this case on an urgent basis so that people - including men, women, children, and senior citizens - who need immediate assistance could be saved from persecution and harassment perpetrated by police and state administration.
The detailed petition and my contact details are given below on the following pages. Request for immediate response.
Thank you.
Rakesh RamanTo
Mr Volker Türk
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
March 24, 2023
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson, 52 rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Subject: Case of Arbitrary Deprivation of Liberty, Human Rights Violations, and Ethnic Cleansing in Punjab, India.
Petition: This petition is being filed under Article 9, Article 10, Article 11, and other relevant sections of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Note: Since the Indian courts and other local judicial forums are biased in favour of the regime and controlled by the regime, justice cannot be expected in India Therefore, this petition is being filed at OHCHR to seek justice. [ Please click blue hyperlinks in this petition to study different aspects of the case in detail. ]
Petition Against: Government of Punjab Government of India
Petition By: Rakesh Raman
Dear Mr. Volker Türk,
I am a national award-winning journalist and human rights defender based in New Delhi, India Since I originally belong to the Punjab state, have studied at Panjab University Chandigarh, and worked at Mohali in Punjab, I fully understand the issues of Punjab, an Indian state where nearly 60% people in a population of 30 million belong to the Sikh religion. [ My detailed profile is given below. ]
I am sending this petition to you to seek your immediate intervention to save innocent people of Punjab who are facing extreme persecution being perpetrated by the Punjab Government in collusion with the Central government headed by prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi.
The case details are given below:
1. On 18 March 2023, Punjab Police launched a major crackdown led by hundreds of police and security personnel armed with lethal weapons and traveling in dozens of vehicles against Mr. Amritpal Singh who leads a social reform group ‘Waris Punjab De’ (or inheritors of Punjab)
2. After hours of operation, police arbitrarily arrested and jailed more than 100 of Amritpal Singh supporters without following any rule of law. Police also claimed that Amritpal Singh escaped when police were chasing him. However, social and political activists believe that the Sikh leader is in police custody and the police might kill him in a fake encounter
3. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann – who is a member of parliament (MP) from Sangrur in Punjab – has expressed his apprehension that youth Sikh leader Amritpal Singh may be eliminated by Punjab Police.
4. After his tweets in support of Amritpal Singh, Mann’s Twitter account was suspended. Amritpal Singh’s parents also alleged in video interviews that their son is in police custody as he never wanted to escape They also add that police could have arrested him from home instead of chasing him in a dramatic way.
5 Reports suggest that Amritpal Singh and his supporters are arbitrarily charged under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) because they are demanding a separate state Khalistan for Punjabis – particularly Sikhs The Khālistān movement is a Sikh separatist campaign that seeks to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khālistān (‘Land of the Khalsa’ or the Land of Purity), in the Punjab region.
6 Sangrur MP Simranjit Singh Mann is also a Khalistan protagonist and his persistent campaign for an autonomous Sikh state was one of the main factors behind his election victory in 2022 As Punjab has been facing extreme unrest, most Sikhs prefer to have a separate properly governed state to bring peace and prosperity back to Punjab. They demand a plebiscite on the issue of Khalistan.
7 However, the Indian government – in collusion with the Punjab government –suppresses the Khalistan movement with the use of force against Sikhs. Simranjit Singh Mann said that the current Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann has failed in maintaining peace and he is colluding with the Central government to create trouble for Sikhs in the state.
8. As Bhagwant Mann is a totally incapable and illiterate politician, under his government, Punjab is facing extreme political turmoil, unemployment, illiteracy, agricultural downturn, bureaucratic and political corruption, drug addiction, mafia culture, youth exodus, religious fundamentalism, and other evils that have made life miserable for the people of Punjab.
9 The main political groups including the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are full of corrupt politicians who are hell-bent to ruin Punjab. In order to save the people of Punjab from the impending disaster, some civil society groups keep protesting and raising their voice against the political corruption and continuous misgovernance in the state.
10 However, the government uses draconian laws such as the NSA or the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to crush such protests with force even when they are peaceful
11. People expect the Indian authorities to protect human rights in Punjab. A UK MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi urged in his tweet on March 19 to respect the rights of all in Punjab. He expressed concern over the news of Amritpal Singh and random arrests of his associates. “Very worrying reports coming from India, of the imposition of an internet blackout in the Punjab state, with mass arrests and restrictions on gatherings Praying that the tense situation is soon resolved and that human rights of all are respected,” Dhesi said.
12 Amritpal Singh is leading a state-wide initiative in Punjab to save youth from drug addiction which is widespread in the state. Since it is believed that the Punjab drug mafia is being clandestinely run by some politicians and other criminals, they wanted to get rid of Amritpal Singh.
13 This is the main reason that Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann - who is an illiterate and addict - launched a crackdown in collusion with the Central government to implicate Amritpal Singh and his supporters in fabricated cases by using draconian laws such as the National Security Act (NSA)
14. Now, without any evidence, the Punjab Police is making a slew of false allegationssuch as his links with Pakistan and possession of weapons - against Amritpal Singh in order to implicate him in false cases and tarnish his character.
15. It is largely believed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) politician Bhagwant Mann has joined hands with the Central government of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi for oppression in Punjab because under a secret agreement he wants his AAP colleagues released from jail
16. An AAP leader Manish Sisodia has been jailed for his alleged involvement in a massive liquor scandal in Delhi. Complaints have been filed against the Bhagwant Mann government also because Sisodia’s controversial liquor policy is being implemented in Punjab also.
17. Another AAP leader Satyendar Jain is in Delhi’s Tihar jail for his alleged involvement in a serious money laundering case If Bhagwant Mann attacks Sikhs in the state, it will be electorally beneficial for Modi who leads a Hindu outfit Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
18 In return, it is possible that the Modi government would release AAP’s Sisodia and Jain from jail. So, there is a likelihood that as part of a dirty political game plan, the Punjab Government of Bhagwant Mann is harassing and persecuting Sikhs under a secret quid pro quo deal with the Modi government
19. The Punjab Government also committed a gross human rights violation as it is alleged that instead of keeping the recently arrested people in Punjab jails, the government allowed them to be imprisoned in a remote Dibrugarh jail in Assam so that their relatives should not meet them
20. The chattering classes fear that with his acts of oppression, CM Bhagwant Mann will bring the days of terrorism back to Punjab Under his government, Punjab is facing extreme political turmoil, unemployment, illiteracy, agricultural downturn, bureaucratic and political corruption, drug addiction, mafia culture, youth exodus, religious fundamentalism, and other evils that have made life miserable for the people of Punjab
21. With the aim to hide his failures, Bhagwant Mann is diverting people’s attention to unrelated issues such as his oppressive operations against the people of Punjab Now, because of massive corruption and misgovernance in his regime, people are demanding an autonomous state in the form of Khalistan so that peace and prosperity could be brought back to the land of Sikh gurus
22. The Bhagwant Mann government has also unleashed police terror on peaceful protesters - including men, women, and senior citizens - who are demanding the release
of Amritpal Singh and others who have been arrested illegally. The protests against the Bhagwant Mann government are not only being held in Punjab, but Sikhs are protesting in different parts of the world against his repression of innocent Sikhs.
23. It is believed that the law and order situation will worsen in Punjab if Bhagwant Mann is not removed from the CM position in the state Since the traditional political groups including the ruling AAP, BJP, Congress, and SAD are full of corrupt politicians who are hell-bent to ruin Punjab, a new political structure is required in the state.
24. With selfish motives, the Bhagwant Mann government - along with the Hindu Modi government - is also supporting a dangerous trend to eliminate the entire Sikh community from Punjab In this trend which amounts to ethnic cleansing, the Punjabi language is being gradually removed from Punjab, the Sikh history is being distorted, the Sikh youth are being slowly killed with lethal drugs, Sikhs are being implicated in false cases, and most Sikhs are being encouraged to leave Punjab and go abroad This move will help the Modi government establish Hindu regime in Punjab as part of its strategy to make India a Hindu Rashtra (a country only for Hindus, where minority communities including Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians will be persecuted and will not be allowed to enjoy equal rights )
25. Now the national media controlled by the Modi government is spreading blatant lies and releasing conjecture-based reports to persecute Amritpal Singh, his supporters, and all those who belong to the Sikh religion. They are being labeled as Khalistanis and Sikh terrorists. The police and the entire state administration are spreading fake news to justify their criminal acts and violations of fundamental human rights in Punjab
26. In February 2023, the police tried to implicate Amritpal Singh and his associate in a false case. Amritpal Singh went with his supporters to the Ajnala town near Amritsar in Punjab to get his associate released as he was arrested by the police in a fake case. In the scuffle that took place at the Ajnala police station, it is reported that some police
officials and supporters of Amritpal Singh got injured
LAWLESSNESS IN INDIA
Global reports have been repeatedly accusing the Indian regime of extreme corruption and human rights violations. The 2023 edition of Freedom in the World report released in March by Freedom House states that the judiciary in India suffers from corruption and the courts have shown signs of increasing politicization. Several key Supreme Court rulings
Stop Human Rights Violations in Punjab India Petition by Rakesh Raman March 24, 2023 Page 6 of 9
in recent years have been favorable to the ruling regime while the courts continue to issue rulings favoring the government headed by PM Modi. The report also says that India is a “Partly Free” country.
In its report released on March 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of State has accused India of extreme human rights violations and rampant corruption According to the report, the state crimes happening in India include unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on freedom of expression and media, and serious government corruption
A global report released on March 2, 2023 by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project has asserted that India under the rule of PM Modi continues to be an electoral autocracy and has lost its status of a democracy. [ Please click here to read the details. ]
Since the police and security forces in India act as private militia hired by the government, in this current case of Punjab, it is assumed that the police are extracting confessions from arrested people and witnesses under duress and torture The police stories are so vague and suspicious that they cannot be verified and trusted.
This Punjab case should have been resolved by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India. But NHRC - like other courts - is a corrupt, toothless outfit headed by Arun Kumar Mishra. In July 2022, I had filed a petition at the Human Rights Council Branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to get NHRC chairman Arun Kumar Mishra removed and prosecuted However, he has not been removed.
Therefore, justice cannot be expected in India
Some Media Reports in the Punjab Case
Global Condemnation: India Today (23 March 2023) [ Link ]
Diplomatic Row with UK: Al Jazeera (23 March 2023) [ Link ]
Some Videos of Social and Political Activists in the Punjab Case
Media Interaction [ Link ]
Speech [ Link ]
Stop Human Rights Violations in Punjab India Petition by Rakesh Raman March 24, 2023 Page 7 of 9
REQUEST FOR ACTION
You are requested to coordinate with the Indian authorities to get all the arrested persons released and take punitive action against those who have committed any kind of human rights violations in Punjab - particularly in the ongoing case. I will be available through online / virtual meetings to further explain various aspects of the case
ABOUT THE PETITIONER: RAKESH RAMAN
The petitioner in this case Rakesh Raman is a national award-winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation. Besides working at senior editorial positions with leading media companies, he was writing an exclusive edit-page column regularly for The Financial Express (a daily business newspaper of The Indian Express Group)
Nowadays, for the past 12 years, he has been running his own global news services on multiple news sites. He runs various environment protection, education awareness, and anti-corruption campaigns, and publishes digital magazines and research reports on different subjects.
Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.
At present, Rakesh is associated with the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project as a Country Expert for India to provide expert research inputs on multiple topics pertaining to democracy and governance. The V-Dem Project is managed by V-Dem Institute under the University of Gothenburg, Sweden
In order to inform the Indian citizens and the global community about the extent of corruption in India, he compiled and released in October 2022 a comprehensive report on corruption in the country. Under the title “India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022),” the research report covers diverse aspects of corruption in India
He has also been publishing The Unrest news magazine since 2020 to cover international issues including democracy and human rights and The Integrity Bulletin news magazine since 2018 to cover local and international corruption issues to engage with different stakeholders who are trying to combat corruption in the world. He has also
announced the new project for 2023 to compile the India Corruption Research Report 2023 (ICRR 2023). You can click here to know about the project.
He has launched a nationwide campaign to introduce social democracy in India in order to build an egalitarian society in which all citizens could enjoy equal rights, opportunities, freedoms, and access to justice He is running an editorial section / microsite “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” to cover the election news, events, and political campaigns.
He is also running a nationwide campaign to save school students of India from directionless education so that students could acquire modern skills that can help them in the job market In his anti-corruption activities, he participated in a global petition led by Germany-based international organization Transparency International to call for the UN General Assembly Special Session against Corruption, UNGASS 2021, to direct all countries to set up central, public registers of beneficial ownership
He runs a community-driven anti-corruption social service “Clean House” to help the residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice in housing societies where millions of people suffer because of rampant corruption and lawlessness. He has also formed an environment protection group called Green Group in New Delhi, which is the most polluted national capital in the world
As Rakesh has been facing constant threats including death threats for his editorial and anti-corruption work, the Paris-based international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that defends freedom of journalists has urged the Indian government to save him from threats and persecution.
Contact
Rakesh Raman
Editor, RMN News Service [ Website ]
Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, India
WhatsApp / Mobile: 9810319059 | Contact by Email
Stop Human Rights Violations in Punjab India Petition by Rakesh Raman March 24, 2023 Page 9 of 9