JALANDHAR: The assembly of Connecticut has become the second assembly overseas to pass a resolution recognizing anti-Sikh violence of November 1984 as Sikh genocide The Public Act No 18-60 is titled ‘Recognizing Anti-Sikh Violence by Indian Government in November 1984 as Sikh Genocide’ has recently been enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in the general assembly of state of Connecticut.Senator Cathy Osten and Rep. Kevin Ryan submitted the resolution which was referred to the committee on judiciary, and passed and signed by the governor of the state. Earlier, a public hearing was also held in the Connecticut State Capital to endorse this bill in which Sikh community representatives participated and submitted their testimonies and shared their experiences with the committee.Swaranjit Singh Khalsa -- member of the Norwich Commission of City Plan as well as the World Sikh Parliament -- in his testimony before the committee, narrated gory details of the massacre in Delhi and other parts of the country. Khalsa, who has roots in Jalandhar, is also the spokesman for the Sikh Coordination Committee, East Coast.“The governor shall proclaim November thirtieth of each year to be Sikh genocide remembrance day to remember the lives lost on November 30th, 1984, during the Sikh genocide. Suitable exercises may be held in the State Capitol and elsewhere as the governor designates for the observance of the day,” the resolution reads.“This is evergreen bill and every year the governor will declare this day at official level in capital of Connecticut,” Khalsa said.Earlier, in April 2017, the Ontario assembly had passed a resolution to recognize anti-Sikh violence of November 1984 as genocide. As MPP Harinder Malhi moved the resolution, she also quoted Union home minster Rajnath Singh’s use of expression “genocide” in a public event in December 1984 for massacre of Sikhs in November 1984. All the three parties in the assembly had supported it.Reacting to the news, AAP ex-MLA Jarnail Singh has said that the Delhi assembly was the first ever assembly to pass the resolution recognizing the anti-Sikh violence as ‘Sikh genocide’ and the BJP MLAs had fully supported it.Moved by Jarnail Singh on June 30, 2015, the resolution read: “This House strongly condemns the Sikh genocide which occurred 30 years back in November 1984 and pays homage to the people killed. This House also expresses its resentment that the victims are still knocking about from pillar to post for the want of justice and are still waiting for it…..”. It also sought justice for the victims.

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