Source: The Hindustan Times

http://www.hindustantimes.com/2004/Feb/10/181_567629,00050001.htm

On February 10, 2004 The Hindustan Times reported that "Senator John Kerry, who had raised the hackles of the Sikhs with a remark that was seen to equate the community with terrorism, has issued an apology and set the record straight. The apology by Kerry, the Democratic front-runner in the US presidential race, came just when the issue was threatening to snowball with a host of Sikh organisations up in arms against the remark. Several leading lights of the community petitioned him for a swift retraction and an unconditional apology. While holding forth on terrorism during his campaign run in Oklahoma, Kerry had spoken of acts of terrorism by the likes of IRA in Northern Ireland, the Basque separatists in Spain and 'the Sikhs in India'. In his clarification, Kerry said that his reference was only to some terrorist groups which had invoked Sikhism in the past to commit acts of terror in India."