On 17 October the US state of Pennsylvania resolved to call the anti-Sikh violence as genocide. India diplomats are squirming about like headless chickens at their failure to stall the move by Sikh activists.  Yesterday, Press Trust of India -PTI, lost patience and churned out a fake story saying “the resolution has been withdrawn”. WSN editor exposes the Indian media which follows nationalism as the only benchmark for current Indian journalism.

Today, 16 November is India’s National Press Day. On the eve of this day, India’s premier news agency –the Press Trust of India -PTI, gifted a fake scoop to the Indian media by circulating the news that under pressure of Indian diplomats and the community, the US state of Pennsylvania had withdrawn the recently passed resolution declaring 1 November as Sikh Genocide Remembrance Day.

PTI has spread lies -blatant lies. The resolution to declare the anti-Sikh violence as genocide  was passed on 17 October 2018 as an uncontested resolution (190-0). 28 days later, on 13 November 2018 -the penultimate day of the current session of the Pennsylvania Assembly, Reprresentative Greg Rothman, under the influence of the pro-India lobby protested before the Speaker of the Assembly that there should be voting on the resolution. This was strongly contested by the co-sponsor of the resolution Representative Jamie Sanotra. The speaker Michael Coyne Turzai told Representative Rothman that it was too late to bring this up as he had four weeks time to register any protest. The speaker overruled the objection and did not allow any vote and therefore this resolution will stay on the statute as a permanent resolution. 

“India is always in a denial mode. The PTI story should be viewed in this context as a symptom of the malaise of denial by India and its inherent desire to foist “forgetfulness” amongst the Sikhs. ”

Ajmer Singh, Thinker and Historian

PTI could not have done better. This news agency is nothing but His Master’s Voice. It serves India so well. In its zeal to stab the Sikhs in the back, it has stabbed India in the chest, exposing India’s campaign to debunk anything anti-India.  This is not the first time and perhaps will not be the last time when PTI has so flagrantly become the spokesperson for India, especially because all other spokespersons have failed.

It is a classic official mockery by India as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the last two days discussed “how to control fake news” with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.  While Twitter has responded that it is doing its best to use technology to control such content as much as possible, India continues to circulate fake news about issues over which it has either no control or as in the present case, all their efforts to control it have failed.

Sikh thinker and historian Ajmer Singh, speaking to The World Sikh News responded by saying, “India is always in a denial mode. The PTI story should be viewed in this context as a symptom of the malaise of denial by India and its inherent desire to foist “forgetfulness” amongst the Sikhs.”

Read: Resolution passed by Pennsylvania State Assembly calling the anti-Sikh violence as genocide

In Punjab, the widely circulated The Tribune and the Punjabi Daily Ajit lapped up the story and published it without checking and verification, little mindful of the impact such news can have on Sikh readers in Punjab and the Diaspora. Outlook, The Week, Business Standard and many others also lapped it up. They were so brazen that they failed to realise that their lies will be nailed and exposed within less than 24 hours of publication.

Savour this from the PTI feed published in The Tribune, “A resolution passed in the Pennsylvania State Assembly in the US condemning the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India has been withdrawn “as if it was not passed” following efforts by lawmakers and members of the Indian-American community, sources said. Sources told PTI that about 295 resolutions were tabled in the Assembly and this particular resolution was also “sneaked” into them and got passed. The resolution was withdrawn and abolished on Wednesday “as if it was not passed” and not presented at all, community leader and Founder and Chairperson of Asia Indian Americans of Central Pennsylvania Deep Gupta said.”

“It is a classic official mockery by India as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the last two days discussed “how to control fake news” with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.  ”

How was this withdrawn? Was there a discussion before withdrawal? No details whatsoever. The icing on the cake is the typical Indian propaganda text circulated as news, which says, “He (Deep Gupta) emphasised that all the communities, whether Hindus or Sikhs, have been living in unity in the area for the past several decades and expressed hope that this “unity among community” is always maintained.”

For the record, the resolution to observe November 1 as “Sikh Genocide Remembrance Day” was introduced in the State Assembly of Pennsylvania on 15 October by Representatives Alexander Charlton and Jamie Santora and was passed as a resolution on 17 October. The resolution is a success story based on the independent research done by the representatives and the lobbying efforts of the of the Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC).

Paramjit Singh, editor of Sikh Siyasat has said, “The Diaspora has done well to nail India’s lies.”

The Sikh Genocide Resolution reads, “The Sikh genocide began on November 1, 1984, after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in capital territory of Delhi and the states of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra. The Sikh genocide lasted three days and over 30,000 Sikhs were brutally murdered or died as they were hunted in their homes, where they were hacked and burnt alive.”

Paramjit Singh, editor Sikh Siyassat speaks about Genocide and its dimensions

Speaking at a seminar in Chandigarh recently, Dr Garga Chatterjee, political analyst and speaker, Panjab University, Chandigarh said, “Their –the perpetrator’s aim is that the victims forget and if you the Sikhs cannot remember the whole truth, but remember only in bits and pieces, then you will continue to be victims. Remember the whole truth and continue to voice it loud and clear.”

When a generally perceived pro-State BJP legislator like Manjinder Singh Sirsa cannot control his guts and slaps Yashpal Singh -a convict on his way into the courtroom for his sentencing for killing Sikhs in November 1984, the anger that envelops Sikhs around this can be easily understood.

“PTI and will do well to remember that the Pennsylvania resolution is a fait accompli. The Sikh Diaspora which pioneered the Remembrance movement is not going to relent and let that sink in with India and its agencies –overt and covert.  ”

PTI and will do well to remember that the Pennsylvania resolution is a fait accompli. The Sikh Diaspora which pioneered the Remembrance movement is not going to relent and let that sink in with India and its agencies –overt and covert.  

16 November is observed as the National Press Day as this was the day when the Press Council of India was set up as a watchdog to monitor the Indian press. Since its inception, the Press Council has been toothless. Still, in the present case, will the Press Council reprimand the PTI for spreading fake news regarding the Pennsylvania resolution?

Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey speaks about Fake news

India -the land of Gandhi will stand exposed in the annals of history if it continues to deny the truth. To the Sikhs, everyone, each and every one who does not recognise June 1984 and November 1984 killings as genocide, still nurtures genocidal tendencies and we have no choice to contest this tooth and nail.

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Not very far in history, maybe on the day to mark the 50 years the genocide in 2034 or perhaps earlier, the United Nations, state assemblies and countries too would recognize the 1984 massacre as genocide and India will “stand tall” with the likes of Sri Lanka, Syria and Yemen.