In an Open Letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, World Sikh News editor Jagmohan Singh expresses deep gratitude for his kind and timely intervention standing up for the rights of the farmers of Punjab and India. He writes that “It is heartening that despite India’s diplomatic umbrage, the Canadian Prime Minister has stuck to his guns and reiterated his stand for standing with people who protest in a peaceful and democratic manner for their rights.” This is the beginning of a new era of international intervention in Indian affairs especially those relating to denial and suppression of human rights, civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights of minorities, ethnic nationalities and regional identities.

HON’BLE JUSTIN TRUDEAU: WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH! GREETINGS FROM HOMELAND PUNJAB! THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU INDEED! 

Thank you for leading the international community in raising the consciousness of the world to the trials and tribulations of the farmers of Punjab and other parts of India protesting new farm laws which spell their death-knell at the hands of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party-led Indian government. Your expression of solidarity with those whose democratic rights are being trampled in Punjab has ushered in a new era of international refrain and condemnation of India -the so-called world’s largest democracy.

All these years, India has had a huge, larger than life image -an invincible pseudo image. The violence of the euphemistically called land of Gandhi has not entered the narrative of the world community and the United Nations. The false and farcical Gandhism has overshadowed the repression of the Indian state for the last five decades and more.

For the last 40 years, as a political and human rights activist, I have written hundreds of documents, press releases, news stories and opinion pieces seeking international intervention by the international community. The documentation ruing the fact that the fact-finding teams of the United Nations, Amnesty International, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Human Rights Watch and many other internationally respected human rights bodies are not allowed into Kashmir, Punjab and the North-East did not elicit the due response from international forums.

The gargantuan image of India stands smashed with your one-minute speech expressing concern about the safety and rights of Punjab farmers.

The presence of the international Sikh Diaspora, the participation of Sikh Americans, Sikh Canadians, Sikh Britishers, Sikh Australians, Sikh Europeans in the local, regional and national affairs of the countries that they have adopted as their second homes, the selfless service to humankind by scores of Sikh organisations, Gurdwaras and individuals during the current Coronavirus pandemic and during other tragedies and events through food, medicine and logistical help has stood them in good stead. The Sikhs have lived up to their daily supplication of Sarbat da Bhala -Welfare of all humanity.

The gargantuan image of India stands smashed with your two-minute speech expressing concern about the safety and rights of Punjab farmers. The speeches of Canadian Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial parliaments have not only assuaged the feelings of the Punjabi farmers hurt by the water cannons and tear gas of the Indian government forces, but encouraged them to continue their relentless struggle and take the battle into the heart of India’s national capital Delhi and into the drawing rooms of the powers that be.

The intervention through tweets and speeches by scores of political leaders in the United Kingdom, the USA, Australia and many other regions has rightly put the Indian government to shame. India which never responded to UN concerns now finds itself on the backfoot with the spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General endorsing the right to protest by everyone. This unthinkable has been achieved due to the soft diplomacy of the Sikh Diaspora and of those Sikh organisations and activists in Punjab who have been petitioning respective governments and the UN all these years.

The Indian reaction to your intervention is on expected lines. In the past, there have been incidents when Canada has backtracked under the pressure of India. You do not need to worry. The vast market of Punjab may not be up to the size of India, but the love for Canada of the Punjabis will more than compensate for that. This will be the beginning of a new era of cooperation.

We await a grand gesture from you and your government on the question of refugee rights of the Sikh Afghans pending with your government for the last many years.

I expect that you and multicultural Canada will not stop here. I hope you will take all possible cases of denial of human rights of Sikhs and the people of Punjab. We await a grand gesture from you and your government on the question of refugee rights of the Sikh Afghans pending with your government for the last many years.

May God Almighty bless you, your family, your colleagues, your government and the people of Canada a very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year 2021. Sikhs continue to cherish the images and videos of your visit to Amritsar two years ago.

May the New Year 2021 usher in a world without fear of Covid19. Your brave and bold stand will surely be the harbinger of a new chapter in Sikh-Canada relations.

Yours sincerely

Jagmohan Singh
Editor, The World Sikh News