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Jaswant Singh Khalra

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Jaswant Singh Khalra
Singh Khalra speaking at Gurudwara Sahib in Canada
Born(1952-11-02)2 November 1952
Khalra, Tarn Taran, India
Died(1995-09-06)6 September 1995[1]
Cause of deathExtrajudicial execution
OccupationHuman rights activist
SpouseParamjit Kaur Khalra

Jaswant Singh Khalra (1952–1995)[2] was a prominent Sikh human rights activist.

He garnered global attention for his research concerning 25,000 illegal killings and cremations involving the Punjab police, and that the police had even killed about 2,000 police officers who refused to cooperate.[3]

Khalra was last seen in September 1995, washing his car in front of his house in Amritsar. Six Punjab police officials were later convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for Khalra's abduction and murder.

Activism

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Jaswant Singh Khalra was the director of a bank in the city of Amritsar in Punjab during the militancy period in Punjab. Following Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, the police were empowered to detain suspects for any reason, ostensibly as suspected terrorists. The police were accused of killing unarmed suspects in staged shootouts and burning thousands of dead bodies to cover up the murders.[4][5]

Khalra was investigating four major cases at one time and continued to collect evidence and witnesses. These cases included the custodial killing of Behla, the human-shield case concerning the death of seven civilians, the cremation of 25,000 unidentified bodies in Punjab, and that police had killed about 2,000 police officers not collaborating in counter-terror operations.[6] The Central Bureau of Investigation, a Union Government agency, concluded that police had unlawfully cremated 2,097 people in Tarn Taran district alone.[3]

As per CBI investigation records quoted by Supreme Court (speaking through Sathasivam J - as his Lordship was then - and Chauhan J in Prithpal Singh v State of Punjab)[7] he was a human rights activist working on the abduction, elimination, and cremation of unclaimed human bodies during the Militancy Period in Indian Punjab. The court observed that the police had been eliminating young persons under the pretext of being militants and disposing of their bodies without record.[8]

While searching for some colleagues who went missing, Khalra discovered files from the municipal corporation of Amritsar which contained the names, ages, and addresses of those who had been killed and later burnt by the police.[9] Further research revealed cases in 3 other districts in Punjab, increasing the list by thousands.[10]

The National Human Rights Commission released a list of some of the identified bodies that were cremated by the police in the Police Districts of Amritsar, Majitha, and Tarn Taran between June 1984 and December 1994. The Supreme Court of India and the National Human Rights Commission of India have certified the validity of this data.

Jaswant Singh Khalra asserted there could have been over 25,000 Sikhs illegally killed and cremated by the state. To date, families of those who "disappeared" during the insurgency are awaiting confirmation of the fate of their missing loved ones. A list of names has been published by Tribune India.[11]

Family

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Khalra's grandfather, Harnam Singh, was an activist in the Ghadar movement for the independence of India. Harnam Singh was also one of 376 passengers of the ship, Komagata Maru which famously sailed from British-Hong Kong, via Shanghai, China, and Yokohama, Japan, to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, British India. Of them, 24 were admitted to Canada, but the other 352 passengers were not allowed to disembark in Canada, and the ship was forced to return to India. Harnam Singh, among others, was arrested upon their arrival and was tried in the Lahore conspiracy case against the British empire and was later imprisoned in Lahore jail.

Jaswant Singh's wife, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, has continued her husband's activism and is a noted human rights activist herself. Jaswant Singh's two children Navkiran Kaur and Janmeet Singh are his living children. His living family members include his father Kartar Singh, mother Mukhtar Kaur, three brothers Rajinder Singh Sandhu, Amarjeet Singh Sandhu (both live in the United Kingdom) and Gurdev Singh Sandhu (lives in Austria) and five sisters: Paritam Kaur, Mohinder Kaur, Harjinder Kaur (retired BEO) Balbir Kaur (retired headteacher) and Beant Kaur.[12]

Death

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On 6 September 1995, while he was washing his car in front of his house, Khalra was abducted by personnel of Punjab Police and taken to Jhabal Police Station.[13] Although witnesses gave statements implicating the police,[13] and named Director General of the Punjab Police, Kanwar Pal Singh Gill as a conspirator,[14] police have denied ever arresting or detaining Khalra. Further, the police have claimed to have had no knowledge of his whereabouts.

In 1996, the Central Bureau of Investigation found evidence that he was held at a police station in Tarn Taran and recommended the prosecution of nine Punjab police officials for murder and kidnapping.[13] Those accused of his murder were not charged for ten years,[15] though one of the suspects, Senior Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Sandhu was murdered in 1997. However, his murder was staged as a suicide.[13] On 18 November 2005, six Punjab police officials were convicted. Two defendants, Deputy Superintendent Jaspal Singh and Amarjit Singh, were sentenced to life imprisonment and the others to seven years imprisonment for Khalra's abduction and murder.[16] On 16 October 2007, a division bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court, chaired by Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and A N Jindal, extended the sentence to life imprisonment for the other four accused: Satnam Singh, Surinder Pal Singh, Jasbir Singh (all former sub inspectors) and Prithipal Singh (former head constable).[17][18]

On 11 April 2011, the Supreme Court of India dismissed the appeal filed against the sentence to life imprisonment for the four accused, scathingly criticizing the atrocities committed by Punjab Police during the disturbance period.[19][1]

Legacy

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Memorial

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The City Council of Fresno approved the proposal to rename Victoria Park after Jaswant Singh Khalra on 26 August 2017.[20] After bringing the motion before the City Council, the council member Oliver Baines said, "Jaswant Singh Khalra for Punjabi/Sikh Community is like Martin Luther King Jr. for my community."[21]

Films

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An upcoming Punjabi movie is about to be made on the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra named Punjab 95 featuring Diljit Dosanjh.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Activist Khalra custodial death: SC upholds life in jail for Punjab cops". The Times of India. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  2. ^ "The Valiant – Jaswant Singh Khalra: New Book Launched". Sikh Siyasat News. 26 October 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b The Politics of Religion in South and Southeast Asia, p. 74, Taylor & Francis, by Ishtiaq Ahmed.
  4. ^ "Who Killed the Sikhs". Journeyman Pictures. 4 June 2002. "a portion of this documentary can be viewed here"
  5. ^ "Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India," Archived 11 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Human Rights Watch & Ensaaf Joint Report, 18 October 2007. pp. 29-30.
  6. ^ Politics of genocide: Punjab, 1984-1998, Inderjit Singh Jaijee, p.101, Inderjit Singh Jaijee, 1999
  7. ^ Prithipal Singh v. State of Punjab, (2012) 1 SCC 10
  8. ^ "khalra custodial death-sc upholds life in jail for Punjab cops". Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  9. ^ SBS Dateline. April 2002. "a portion of this episode on Punjab can be viewed here" Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Kumar, Ram; Singh, Amrik; Agrwaal, Ashok & Kaur, Jaskaran (2003). Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab. Kathamandu (Nepal): South Asia Forum for Human Rights. ISBN 99933-53-57-4 "Biography of Khalra, Chapter 1, Reduced to Ashes (pdf, 5 MB)" p.54.
  11. ^ "NHRCList". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  12. ^ Kumar, Ram; Singh, Amrik; Agrwaal, Ashok; Kaur, Jaskaran (2003). Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab. Kathamandu (Nepal): South Asia Forum for Human Rights. ISBN 99933-53-57-4.
  13. ^ a b c d "A mockery of justice: The case concerning the "disappearance" of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra severely undermined". Amnesty International. 31 March 1998.
  14. ^ "K.P.S. Gill visited Khalra in jail, says witness". The Tribune, Chandigarh, India. 17 February 2005.
  15. ^ Meenakshi Ganguly (27 September 2005). "Other Screams of Terror". Human Rights Watch.
  16. ^ "Punjab Cops Convicted of 1995 Murder of Activist Khalra". Ensaaf. Archived from the original on 23 November 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2007.
  17. ^ "Khalra murder case: HC grants life imprisonment to 4 cops - Chandigarh - City - NEWS". The Times of India. 16 October 2007. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  18. ^ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News". Tribuneindia.com. 6 September 1995. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  19. ^ “Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in C.A Nos. 523 of 2009”[permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ "California city names park after Sikh human rights advocate". NBC News. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  21. ^ "Fresno (CA) City Council To Rename Park After Jaswant Singh Khalra". SikhNet. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
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