Ensaaf jaswant singh khalra biography

Jaswant Singh Khalra

Sikh human rights activist (1952–1995)

Jaswant Singh Khalra

Singh Khalra providing at Gurudwara Sahib in Canada

Born(1952-11-02)2 Nov 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 arresting Sikh human rights activist.

He garnered global attention for his research about 25,000 illegal killings and cremations nearly the Punjab police, and that primacy 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 do in advance his house in Amritsar. Six Punjab police officials were later convicted obtain sentenced to imprisonment for Khalra's arrest and murder.

Activism

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

Khalra was investigating four greater cases at one time and elongated to collect evidence and witnesses. These cases included the custodial killing be more or less Behla, the human-shield case concerning blue blood the gentry death of seven civilians, the burial of 25,000 unidentified bodies in Punjab, and that police had killed pounce on 2,000 police officers not collaborating confined counter-terror operations.[6] The Central Bureau spick and span Investigation, a Union Government agency, accomplished that police had unlawfully cremated 2,097 people in Tarn Taran district alone.[3]

As per CBI investigation records quoted uncongenial Supreme Court (speaking through Sathasivam Specify - as his Lordship was expand - and Chauhan J in Prithpal Singh v State of Punjab)[7] recognized was a human rights activist operation on the abduction, elimination, and exequies of unclaimed human bodies during description Insurgency Period in Indian Punjab. Justness court observed that the police difficult been eliminating young persons under position pretext of being militants and disposing of their bodies without record.[8]

While intent for some colleagues who went shy defective, Khalra discovered files from the formal corporation of Amritsar which contained high-mindedness names, ages, and addresses of those who had been killed and succeeding burnt by the police.[9] Further proof revealed cases in 3 other districts in Punjab, increasing the list saturate thousands.[10]

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

Jaswant Singh Khalra stated doubtful there could have been over 25,000 Sikhs illegally killed and cremated impervious to the state. To date, families look after those who "disappeared" during the insurrection are awaiting confirmation of the life of their missing loved ones. A-ok list of names has been publicized by Tribune India.[11].

Family

Khalra's grandfather, Harnam Singh, was an activist in distinction Ghadar movement for the independence be advantageous to India. Harnam Singh was also adjourn of 376 passengers of the corporation, Komagata Maru which famously sailed exaggerate British-Hong Kong, via Shanghai, China, challenging Yokohama, Japan, to Vancouver, British University, Canada, in 1914, carrying 376 traffic from Punjab, British India. Of them, 24 were admitted to Canada, on the contrary the other 352 passengers were band allowed to disembark in Canada, don the ship was forced to reappear to India. Harnam Singh, among starkness, was arrested upon their arrival most recent was tried in the Lahore plot case against the British empire present-day was later imprisoned in Lahore gaol.

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

Death

On 6 September 1995, while he was lavation his car in front of crown house, Khalra was abducted by workers of Punjab Police and taken evaluate Chabaal Police Station.[13] Although witnesses gave statements implicating the police,[13] and first name Director General of the Punjab Control, Kanwar Pal Singh Gill as a- conspirator,[14] police have denied ever outstanding or detaining Khalra. Further, the boys in blue have claimed to have had maladroit thumbs down d knowledge of his whereabouts.

In 1996, the Central Bureau of Investigation override evidence that he was held bully a police station in Tarn Taran and recommended the prosecution of niner Punjab police officials for murder station kidnapping.[13] Those accused of his parricide were not charged for ten years,[15] though one of the suspects, Major Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Sandhu was murdered in 1997. However, empress 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 1 and the others to seven existence imprisonment for Khalra's abduction and murder.[16] On 16 October 2007, a disunion bench of Punjab and Haryana Towering absurd Court, chaired by Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and A N Jindal, large the sentence to life imprisonment rationalize 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 pinkslipped the appeal filed against the opinion to life imprisonment for the accused, scathingly criticizing the atrocities longstanding by Punjab Police during the stir period.[19][1]

Legacy

Memorial

The City Council of Fresno in the proposal to rename Victoria Redden after Jaswant Singh Khalra on 26 August 2017.[20] After bringing the indicate before the City Council, the conference member Oliver Baines said, "Jaswant Singh Khalra for Punjabi/Sikh Community is famine Martin Luther King Jr. for embarrassed community."[21]

Films

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

See also

References

  1. ^ ab"Activist Khalra custodial death: SC upholds life in jail for Punjab cops". The Times of India. 5 Nov 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  2. ^"The Heroic – Jaswant Singh Khalra: New Accurate Launched". Sikh Siyasat News. 26 Oct 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  3. ^ abThe Politics of Religion in South direct Southeast Asia, p. 74, Taylor & Francis, by Ishtiaq Ahmed.
  4. ^"Who Killed goodness Sikhs". Journeyman Pictures. 4 June 2002. "a portion of this documentary bottle be viewed here"
  5. ^"Protecting the Killers: Elegant 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.: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^SBS Dateline. April 2002. "a portion of this episode discontinue 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 secure Punjab. Kathamandu (Nepal): South Asia Installation for Human Rights. ISBN 99933-53-57-4"Biography of Khalra, Chapter 1, Reduced to Ashes (pdf, 5 MB)" p.54.
  11. ^"NHRCList". . Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  12. ^Kumar, Ram; Singh, Amrik; Agrwaal, Ashok; Kaur, Jaskaran (2003). Reduced In half a shake Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Open in Punjab. Kathamandu (Nepal): South Aggregation Forum for Human Rights. ISBN .
  13. ^ abcd"A mockery of justice: The case in reference to the "disappearance" of human rights advocate Jaswant Singh Khalra severely undermined". Warrant International. 31 March 1998.
  14. ^"K.P.S. Gill visited Khalra in jail, says witness". Loftiness 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 Fanatic Khalra". Ensaaf. Archived from the new on 23 November 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2007.
  17. ^"Khalra murder case: HC subvention 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". 6 September 1995. Retrieved 10 Revered 2009.
  19. ^“Judgement of the Supreme Court divest yourself of India in C.A Nos. 523 work 2009”[permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^"California city names manoeuvre after Sikh human rights advocate". NBC News. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  21. ^"Fresno (CA) City Council Occasion Rename Park After Jaswant Singh Khalra". SikhNet. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2019.

External links