In a first, Akal Takht officiating Jathedar delivers ‘message’ to commemorate Jaswant Singh Khalra

Tribune News Service

GS Paul

Amritsar, September 6

In a first, the officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht Harpreet Singh has remembered prominent human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra on his 25th 'martyrdom day'.

The family members of Khalra and human rights activists initiated ‘sehaj path’ at a gurdwara near his house in Amritsar.

Recognising Khalra’s contribution to the Sikh community, Harpreet Singh read out the ‘message’ from Takht Damdama Sahib. He said it was Khalra only who never cared for his life while launching a crusade against the ‘hukumat’ (government) for the Sikhs who were killed under a “deep-rooted conspiracy”.

“The ‘anti-Sikh’ policies of the governments still existed, but with a changed format. The only variance is that earlier the Sikhs were being physically tortured to eliminate whereas now they were being intellectually targeted by creating division among them,” he said.

The local municipal councils of Canadian cities -- Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey and Brampton -- and Manteca, Bakersfield, Santa Clara in USA too declared to observe September 6 as ‘Jaswant Singh Khalra Day’.

On the other hand, neither the SGPC nor the SAD cared to acknowledge the man who fought against the disappearance and extra-judicial killings of thousands of Sikh youths who were subjected to fake encounters during the turbulent times of Punjab before he himself was disappeared on September 6, 1995 when Punjab police picked him up from his residence in Amritsar.

Later his body was found near Harike. His wife and human rights defender, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, pursued his legal case and the Punjab mass cremations case, which exposed the black days of Punjab during militancy. After a decade-long battle, Patiala court pronounced life imprisonment to five police personnel.

Khalra, the then general secretary of SAD (human rights wing) had estimated 25,000 bodies had been disposed of in crematoria across Punjab.

He was also the first human rights activist whose portrait adorned the Central Sikh Museum of the Golden Temple in November 2003.

Talking to The Tribune, Paramjit Kaur said she had no regrets about couldn’t careless attitude of SAD or the SGPC, but showed her gratitude towards Giani Harpreet Singh.

“Earlier, it was the former SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra who showed guts to install Khalra saheb’s portrait at Golden Temple and now for the first time in the history that a Jathedar like Giani Harpreet Singh had acknowledged my husband. No other Jathedar ever spared a thought to remember Khalra’s contribution for Sikhs,” she said.

However, she added “Badals came to power while playing ‘Khalra card’ only in 1997 by promising justice for him”. “Later, they forget their promises and we also parted ways. So, no expectation from them. We are on the mission of protecting human rights, as dreamt by Khalra saheb,” she said.

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