Dal Khalsa to hold convention on Human Rights Day in Amritsar

Dal Khalsa will organise a convention in Amritsar on December 10 to mark World Human Rights Day, dedicating the event to the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Announcing the programme, the working president of Dal Khalsa, Paramjit Singh Mand, said the occasion offers an important moment to reflect on the ninth Sikh Guru’s ethical, spiritual and political legacy.

Mand said the UN recently completed 80 years of its formation and 77 years of the adoption of the Human Rights Charter, yet Punjab continues to face shrinking democratic space. He alleged that demographic engineering, the politicisation of river waters, preventive detentions and extrajudicial policing have undermined Punjab’s internal autonomy. The increasing militarisation of border areas, he added, has created an atmosphere of controlled insecurity.

Releasing a statement during a press briefing, Dal Khalsa leaders termed the persistent hostility between India and Pakistan a failure of the UN to uphold regional stability. They also criticised the global body for its “questionable engagement” with Sikh issues, from the 1984 Delhi massacre to continuing rights concerns.

The convention will be presided over by Justice Ranjit Singh (retd), chief of the Punjab Human Rights Organisation. Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh said the event will highlight the plight of prisoners of conscience from Kashmir, Punjab and Delhi who remain incarcerated despite completing their sentences or facing prolonged detention without trial.