Author Hardeep Singh

AMRITSAR: During Rakhar Punya festival, Sikh bodies are organizing a Panthic Conference on August 19 at historic village Baba Bakala to raise the issue of release of Sikh political prisoners including pro-freedom Sikh leader Amritpal Singh, an MP from Khadoor Sahib constituency. 

The information in this regard was shared on the X handle of Amritpal Singh who is lodged in Dibrugarh Jail of Assam under contentious National Security Act (NSA). “Keeping in view of present sensitive circumstances of Panth, the Panthi gathering is being organized for release of Bandi Sikhs (Sikh political prisoners)”, reads the post shared on X with poster carrying images of Amritpal Singh and Sarabjit Singh, who is son Shaheed Bhai Beant Singh and was recently elected as an MP from Faridkot constituency. 

This conference is being considered as important for politics of Punjab after re-emergence of pro-freedom Sikh politics in the state. With Punjab seeing decimation of largest Sikh political party due to wrong doings of Badal family which is controlling the party, the Sikh leaders are trying to revive and maintain the Sikh politics. 

Release of Sikh prisoners is a major and long pending demand of the Sikhs, but Indian government is not paying heed toward it. For more than three decades, the Sikh prisoners have been languishing in different jails across India. They are not being released despite having completed their jail terms. 

Since April last year, Amritpal Singh along with his nine aides have been lodged in Dibrugarh jail of Assam under the NSA. 

A day before the recently held parliamentary elections which were contested by Amritpal Singh as an independent candidate and he registered a thumping victory, Mann-led AAP government extended his and his nine aides detention under the NSA by one more year. While doing so, the Mann government did not bother the growing resentment among the people of Punjab against it.