Jaswant Singh Khalra (1952–1995) was a prominent Sikh human rights activist. He garnered global attention for his research concerning 25,000 illegal killings and cremations involving the Punjab police, and that the police had even killed about 2,000 police officers who refused to cooperate.The Politics of Religion in South and Southeast Asia, p. 74, Taylor & Francis, by Ishtiaq Ahmed. Khalra was last seen in September 1995, washing his car in front of his house in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

. Six Punjab police officials were later convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for Khalra's abduction and murder.

Activism

Jaswant Singh Khalra was the director of a bank in the city of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

during the militancy period in Punjab. Following

Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of ...

, the assassination of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

, and the

1984 Anti-Sikh Riots The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs ...

, the police were empowered to detain suspects for any reason, ostensibly as suspected

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. The police were accused of killing unarmed suspects in staged shootouts and burning thousands of dead bodies to cover up the murders. Khalra was investigating four major cases at one time and continued to collect evidence and witnesses. These cases included the custodial killing of Behla, the human-shield case concerning the death of seven civilians, the cremation of 25,000 unidentified bodies in Punjab, and that police had killed about 2,000 police officers not collaborating in counter-terror operations. The

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...

, a Union Government agency, concluded that police had unlawfully cremated 2,097 people in Tarn Taran district alone. As per CBI investigation records quoted by Supreme Court (speaking through Sathasivam J - as his Lordship was then - and Chauhan J in Prithpal Singh v State of Punjab) he was a human rights activist working on the abduction, elimination, and cremation of unclaimed human bodies during the Militancy Period in Indian Punjab. The court observed that the police had been eliminating young persons under the pretext of being militants and disposing of their bodies without record. While searching for some colleagues who went missing, Khalra discovered files from the municipal corporation of

which contained the names, ages, and addresses of those who had been killed and later burnt by the police. Further research revealed cases in 3 other districts in Punjab, increasing the list by thousands. The

National Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

released a list of some of the identified bodies that were cremated by the police in the Police Districts of Amritsar, Majitha, and Tarn Taran between June 1984 and December 1994. The Supreme Court of India and the National Human Rights Commission of India have certified the validity of this data. Jaswant Singh Khalra asserted there could have been over 25,000 Sikhs illegally killed and cremated by the state. To date, families of those who "disappeared" during the insurgency are awaiting confirmation of the fate of their missing loved ones. A list of names has been published by Tribune India.

Family

Khalra's grandfather, Harnam Singh, was an activist in the Ghadar movement for the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. Harnam Singh was also one of 376 passengers of the ship,

Komagata Maru was a Cargo ship, cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1890, was in German ownership until 1913, and then had a succession of Japanese owners until she was wrecked in 1926. She was launched as ''Stubbenhuk'', renamed ''Sicilia'' in 18 ...

which famously sailed from British-Hong Kong, via

Shanghai, China Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, and

Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, to

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from

Punjab, British India Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British co ...

. Of them, 24 were admitted to Canada, but the other 352 passengers were not allowed to disembark in Canada, and the ship was forced to return to India. Harnam Singh, among others, was arrested upon their arrival and was tried in the Lahore conspiracy case against the British empire and was later imprisoned in Lahore jail. Jaswant Singh's wife, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, has continued her husband's activism and is a noted human rights activist herself. Jaswant Singh's two children Navkiran Kaur and Janmeet Singh are his living children. His living family members include his father Kartar Singh, mother Mukhtar Kaur, three brothers Rajinder Singh Sandhu, Amarjeet Singh Sandhu (both live in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) and Gurdev Singh Sandhu (lives in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) and five sisters: Paritam Kaur, Mohinder Kaur, Harjinder Kaur (retired BEO) Balbir Kaur (retired headteacher) and Beant Kaur.

Death

On 6 September 1995, while washing his car in front of his house, Khalra was abducted by personnel of Punjab Police and taken to

Jhabal Chabhal Kalan (also known as Jhabal Kalan) is a town in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab, India and is located away from Amritsar city. Description The neighboring villages are Chabhal Khurd, Thathi, Sohal, Sarai Amanat Khan Nurdin, Lalu G ...

Police Station. Although witnesses gave statements implicating the police, and named Director General of the Punjab Police,

Kanwar Pal Singh Gill Kanwar Pal Singh Gill (29 December 1934 – 26 May 2017) was an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. He served twice as DGP for the state of Punjab, India, where he is credited with having brought the Punjab insurgency under control. While man ...

as a conspirator, police have denied ever arresting or detaining Khalra. Further, the police have claimed to have had no knowledge of his whereabouts. In 1996, the

found evidence that he was held at a police station in Tarn Taran and recommended the prosecution of nine Punjab police officials for murder and kidnapping. Those accused of his murder were not charged for ten years, though one of the suspects, Senior Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Sandhu was murdered in 1997. However, his murder was staged as a suicide. On 18 November 2005, six Punjab police officials were convicted. Two defendants, Deputy Superintendent Jaspal Singh and Amarjit Singh, were sentenced to life imprisonment and the others to seven years imprisonment for Khalra's abduction and murder. On 16 October 2007, a division bench of

Punjab and Haryana High Court Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Per ...

, chaired by Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and A N Jindal, extended the sentence to life imprisonment for the other four accused: Satnam Singh, Surinder Pal Singh, Jasbir Singh (all former sub inspectors) and Prithipal Singh (former head constable). On 11 April 2011, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

dismissed the appeal filed against the sentence to life imprisonment for the four accused, scathingly criticizing the atrocities committed by Punjab Police during the disturbance period.

Legacy

Memorial

The City Council of

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

approved the proposal to rename Victoria Park after Jaswant Singh Khalra on 26 August 2017. After bringing the motion before the City Council, the council member Oliver Baines said, "Jaswant Singh Khalra for Punjabi/Sikh Community is like

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

for my community."

Films

An upcoming Punjabi movie is about to be made on the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra named Punjab 95 featuring Diljit Dosanjh.

References

External links

Detailed biography of Jaswant Singh Khalra
(PDF) from ''Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab, Final Report: Volume One'' by Ram Narayan Kumar et al. {{DEFAULTSORT:Khalra, Jaswant Singh 1952 births 1990s missing person cases 1995 murders in India 1995 deaths Activists from Punjab, India Deaths in police custody in India Indian human rights activists Indian murder victims Indian Sikhs Insurgency in Punjab Missing person cases in India Murder convictions without a body People from Amritsar People murdered in India Punjabi people Sikh martyrs Enforced disappearances in India