Author Hardeep Singh

During last some weeks, many issues concerning Sikhs have emerged, that once again make them feel alienated under Indian regime. Going by the recent developments, it seems that there is no hope for justice to the community members of which are given inhuman treatment here. Their human rights are being violated in many respects. Their freedom of speech and expression are being suppressed. Laws are different for them. Even after more than 7 decades of de-colonization of Indian sub-continent, they are being treated as second-class citizens.

The Sikhs cannot even narrate the atrocities they faced in “independent India”. The latest example is censoring for Diljit Singh Dosanjh-starrer Punjab ’95, a biopic on human rights activist Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra who brought out truth of the genocide of Sikhs in Punjab on global forums. 

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 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’. 

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.

The film revolves around Khalra’s role in investigating the disappearance and killing of Sikh youths during the Punjab insurgency between 1984 and 1994.

“Removing his name will be disrespectful not just to him and his family, but to the entire community,” the source said. The makers also pointed out that the film also won’t remain a biopic if the protagonists’ name is changed.

In an earlier meeting, the revising committee asked them to alter a line in the film, where the protagonist remarks that over 25,000 people have been killed in Punjab. The committee stated that the number be reduced. But Honey and Ronnie had opposed it, noting that all the facts shown in the film were based on real-life testimonies and the CBI court’s judgment from the ’90s. 

“This means Diljit Dosanjh’s Punjab ’95 may have been killed in a staged encounter. If at all it released in this sanitised version, it’ll have proved its point anyway”, said Aarish Chhabra, an independent journalist and former senior sub editor of Hindustan Time, while commenting on the action of Indian Censor Board.

Threat to CM from jailed Sikh leader? 

On direction of Indian government, Punjab government has made ridiculous excuse to keep pro-freedom Sikh leader Amritpal Singh who has recently been elected as Member of Parliament from Khadoor Sahib by a margin of around 2 lakh votes. He along with his nine aides is lodged to Central Jail of distant place Dibrugarh in Assam under draconian National Security Act (NSA). 

In response to petition filed by Amritpal Singh in Punjab and Haryana High Court to challenge the fresh detention orders under which his detention was extended by one more year under the NSA, Punjab police has claimed that Amritpal Singh and his associates pose a “serious threat” to the life of chief minister Bhagwant Mann, in addition to being a “threat to law and order in the state”.

The police have made these claims in an affidavit submitted before the Punjab and Haryana high court, where they have cited few video clips recorded outside the Ajnala police station, reported The Times of India.

In these purported clips, the Khadoor Sahib MP can be heard saying that the chief minister is functioning in a manner that would ensure he meets the same fate as former chief minister Beant. 

It is worth mentioning here that Beant massacred thousands of innocent Sikh youths in Punjab during Sikh movement extra-judicially on pretext of rooting out insurgency. And Mann has also been following his foot prints ever since he took charge as head of the state government. So, Amritpal Singh issued him warning and asked him to stop his anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab actions. The Police projected it as “serious threat” to the CM and law and order. It means that CM is adamant to continue his actions to suppress voice of the Sikh community in the state and he will suppress any voice emerged against him and the Indian State. 

“Talking about taking revenge for the sins of rulers and resorting to picking arms to stop excesses of the successive rulers is common talk among the Sikhs. It is part of tradition of Sikhs. It cannot be projected as big threat in present context. Amritpal Singh was acting peacefully before being detained. The reason cited by the government for extending his detention makes no sense. Actually, it appears that government does not want to release Amritpal Singh for now, despite he being elected as peoples’ representative democratically”, said veteran journalist Hamir Singh in a discussion on a web channel.  

These affidavits are a part of the police’s reply to petitions filed by the preachers’ associates, Sarabjeet Singh Kalsi and Gurmeet Singh Bukanwala, who challenged their fresh detention orders passed by the Punjab government under National Security Act (NSA) in March 2024.

New development in case of Bhai Rajoana

More than 16 months after refusing to commute the death penalty of Bhai Balwant Singh Rojana to life imprisonment, the Supreme Court has agreed to re-examine the issue afresh.

The Sikh community hails Rajoana as its ‘living martyr’ who was part of the mission of stopping tyrannical rule of Beant, which killed thousands of Sikh youths extra-judicially. Petition filed by the Sikh body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in 2012 for commutation of Rajoana’s sentence is still hanging fire. 

A Bench led by Justice BR Gavai has asked the Centre and the Punjab Government to respond to Rajoana’s fresh petition for commutation of his death penalty on the ground the Centre has failed to take a decision on his petition till date.

In his fresh petition, content of which is reported by The Tribune, Rajoana submitted that “About 01 year and 04 months have now elapsed since disposal of the petitioner’s first writ petition, and a decision on his fate still hangs under a cloud of  uncertainty, causing deep mental trauma and anxiety to the petitioner every single living day, which by itself is a sufficient ground for  exercise of this court’s Article 32 powers to allow the reliefs sought.”

Contending that Rajoana has been in jail for more than 28 years and on death row for 17 years, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi contended on behalf of the Sikh political prisoner that he can’t be made to wait indefinitely on the ground of national security.

Earlier, he argued that keeping the petitioner on death row while sitting over his commutation plea for such a long time violated his fundamental rights. 

On the other hands, On behalf of the Indian government, Additional Solicitor General KM Natraj had contended that Rajaona’s petition can’t be considered as it was filed by SGPC and not by Rajoana himself and that it can’t be decided until the appeals of other convicts were decided by the top court. 

While campaigning for Beant’s grandson Ravneet Bittu during the parliamentary polls at Ludhiana in May this year, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah again said clear cut ‘no’ to the release of the Sikh political prisoner. “Those who killed your (Bittu’s) grandfather will not be pardoned”, he uttered. He made similar statement in parliament as well, taking U-turn from government’s official announcement of release of the Sikh prisoners including Rajoana in 2019. 

Bhai Hawara not being transferred to Punjab jail

Indian Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and others on a petition by Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara, an aide of Rajoana in the task of assassinating Beant, seeking his transfer from Delhi’s Tihar Jail to any prison in Punjab.

A bench of justices B Gavai and KV Viswanathan issued notices to the Centre and the Delhi and Punjab governments seeking their responses on Hawara’s plea.

The plea, filed through advocate Satya Mitra, has sought Hawara’s transfer from Tihar Jail in Delhi to any other prison in Punjab saying there was no case pending against him which is registered in the national capital.

Like other Sikh political prisoners, Hawara is also languishing in jails of India for decades. He is being kept away from Punjab.