Sikh Caucus

Book excerpt: It is an old trick in the intelligence setup of major states to create their own stringent but controlled opposition. This has a twofold objective. First, it attracts and centralizes opposition resources and honest grassroots members, inciting them to put on a great show of force. Second, it ensures that this "resistance" remains only a pretense and prevents them from achieving anything of real value because the duplicitous leadership don't want any true change to come of it. It has always been a challenge to maintain the purity of any movement or organization. Infiltrating to sabotage from within and give a bad name, thus justifying the unleashing of oppression, has often been the basic framework in which the intelligence agencies have worked in India in the context of suppressing minorities. But this is very difficult to document. The author of this short but incisive book has done a wonderful job of exposing a fraudulent scheme which seems to have no other purpose than to stifle our Sikh community's political voice in the United States of America. In this particular case of the Sikh Caucus, the deception has been named and nailed. This kind of documentation is perhaps the most effective way of leading the community to the straight path. Treading that path is necessary to avoid being bogged down in the quicksand of extreme slogans made without any preparation or consideration of the consequences - something which accomplishes nothing more than to attract a disproportionate reaction that decimates the true struggle. Perhaps in the future, the community will take greater care to avoid emotionally pledging unquestioning loyalty to the people who display the most influence and power, only to finally find themselves betrayed. Rather, those who alone deserve our cautious and conditional support are the brave souls who speak the truth consistently and live a straight, simple, and honest life. - Rajvinder Singh Bains, Advocate, Punjab & Haryana High Court