R

Citations

• 20 I. & N. Dec. 621

Syllabus

R-, 20 I&N Dec. 621 (BIA 1992) ID 3195 (PDF) (1) The fact that a Sikhfrom the state of Punjab in India was beaten and threatened by Sikh militantsbecause he resisted their recruitment efforts did not establish persecutionon account of political opinion or any of the other grounds enumeratedin the Immigration and Nationality Act. (2) The mistreatmentof a Sikh in Punjab by Indian police in the course of an investigationdoes not establish eligibility for asylum or withholding of exclusionand deportation where the purpose of the mistreatment was to obtain informationabout Sikh militants who sought the violent overthrow of the Indian Governmentrather than to punish him because of his political opinions or merelybecause he was a Sikh. (3) While the Sikh applicantfor asylum may fear returning to Punjab because of the mistreatment heexperienced there at the hands of the Indian police, he has not demonstratedcountry- wide persecution or mistreatment of Sikhs by the central governmentor other Indian groups, and therefore he has not established a well-foundedfear of persecution in India. (4) Absent a threat ofpersecution on a country-wide basis in India and in light of the factualcircumstances of his case, a Sikh applicant does not merit a grant ofasylum in the exercise of discretion even if it were assumed that he sufferedpast persecution in Punjab.