Author Hardeep Singh

CHANDIGARH Family of Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra who laid down his life for human rights of Sikhs, has spoken on censoring Diljit Singh Dosanjh-starrer Punjab ’95, a biopic on the human rights activist, beyond limits and demanded the movie be released in its original form.  

Khalra exposed the truth of mass level enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings including fake encounters of more than 25000 Sikh youths, which were carried out by Indian security forces during the Sikh struggle from 1984 to 1994. In 1995, he was abducted and murdered by cops. He is recognized as Shaheed (martyr) by the Sikh nation and global human rights bodies. Six Punjab police officials were convicted for his murder 10 years later.

Indian Censor Board which is also known as the Central Board of Film Certification (CFBC), has increased the proposed cuts in the film from 85 to 120. It asked for the renaming of Khalra’s character. CBFC has asked the makers, Honey Trehan and Ronnie Screwvala, to drop Punjab ‘95 as the film’s name – a reference to the year Khalra died. The most pivotal change is to not call the protagonist Jaswant Singh anymore.

As per the board, the movie cannot claim to be based on real-life incidents. Also, mentions of Punjab and the district of Tarn Taran are to be dropped, along with any reference to the national flag of India, Canada, or UK, as per report of Indian news portal ‘The Wire’.

Reacting to nearly banning the movie, Khalra’s wife Paramjit Kaur, daughter Navkiran Kaur Khalra and son Janmeet Singh Khalra has written a open letter to the CBFC, makers and Sikh institutions. This letter which is circulated on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) is as follow: 

“Over 3 years ago, as Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalsa’s family, we read a film script on the life and work of Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra and gave our permission to Mr. Honey Trehan to direct this film, with Diljit Dosanjh playing the lead role. As was promised to us, the makers showed us the completed film, titled ‘Punjab 95’ last year for our final go-ahead. 

We were pleased to see the film upheld the legacy of Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra with respect and sensitivity. And most importantly, that it depicted an important time in the history of Punjab. Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra’s struggle and his fight for human rights was shown with honesty and without any political motivations> he was and remains an inspiration to people of all backgrounds, cultures, faiths. The film was well researched and stayed true to the facts and details mentioned in official documents. 

However, recently we have become aware that the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) has issued 120 cuts and changes to the film, including even changing name of Jaswant Singh Khalra, removing Gurbani, removing all reference to extrajudicial killing numbers and changing the real dates and names of places (like Tarn Taran) where real recorded events took place. This is deeply disconcerting news to us because we feel that asking for these changes is not only a dishonor to the legacy of Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra, but also to all the people of Punjab and the Punjabi and the Sikh community worldwide. 

The events depicted in the filrm are publicly available in the news archives and in the court documents. We fail to understand why the government or the CBFC wants to change the real facts and events which are mentioned in the judgements of the High Court and the Supreme Court of India , and in the reports of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India. 

We are also following the High Court case one year ago between the producers of the film, RSVP and CBFC. We hopeful that the film would get justice in court. But over one year has passed and still nothing has happened. We heard that the producers had been told to comply with the CBFC and the makers even tried to do that, but the list of cuts and changes only grew, with no end in sight. The film was also officially selected at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF 2023) but was then withdrawn. 

We appeal to the CBFC to not use rampant censorship to attempt to change proven facts depicted in the film. We request the producers (RSVP) to stay true to the integrity of the film and the story of Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra. We, the Khalra family, also remain steadfast in our earlier reserved legal right to review the final film before giving the go ahead for release in theatres or any OTT platform. 

As the facts and events depicted in ‘Punjab 95’ have to do with a sensitive time in the history of Punjab, we would like to request if possible the honourable members of the SGPC and Sri Akal Takht Sahib to watch the film and provide their valuable input and opinion. We respect and stand by the director’s vision and the portrayal of Jaswant Singh Khalra by Diljit Dosanjh. We hope this issue is resolved as soon as possible and urge that the film be released in its original form”. 

Notably, Paramjit Kaur Khalra has been carrying forward the legacy of her husband after his martyrdom and acting as a human rights activist in Punjab. She was the lady who fought a long legal battle to get perpetrators of Khalra’s murder punished.