Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) recently made several remarks in the U.S. House of Representatives, highlighting the alleged repression of minorities in India, especially the Sikhs, and advocating the cause of a separate state for the Sikhs, Khalistan.

Referring to the dissolution of Indian Parliament on Feb. 6 ahead of elections, Rep. Towns said in the House on Feb. 24 that “These elections, unlike ours, change faces, but don’t seem to change policy. The repression of minorities continues no matter who wins. This repression has killed over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, over 300,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, over 85,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, and tens of thousands of other minorities. More than 52,000 Sikhs, as well as tens of thousands of other minorities, continue to be held as political prisoners. Yet India cites elections like the ones upcoming to show that it is a democracy.” He placed on record anletter by Gurmit Singh Aulakh, president of the Council of Khalistan, in which Aulakh called upon Sikhs in Punjab to reject all major parties and vote for candidates who would support “the freedom of Khalistan.”