Jaswant Singh Khalra! Do You Know Who This Man Is?

[anhad]

Do you know who this man is?

A Martyr for Human Rights

Do you know what he did?

Between 1984 and 1995, Indian security forces abducted, tortured, and killed more than 25 thousand Sikhs in "faked encounters". The police did not return the bodies to the families, but instead illegally cremated them or threw them into canals. Jaswant Singh Khalra investigated and exposed these "disappearances". He gathered government records documenting how Punjab police abducted and killed Sikhs, and then cremated the victims as "unidentified".

... and what happened to him?

The evidence gathered by Khalra exposed the human rights abuses of the Punjab Police and Indian government. Punjab Police, under instructions from police chief KPS Gill, abducted Khalra on September 6, 1995. The police brutally tortured him for a number of days but he did not bend under their pressure. Ultimately, in late October, the police shot and killed Khalra and threw his body into a river. Ten years later, no one has been held responsible for his murder despite the evidence implicating police officers in his torture and killing.

Do you believe that he sacrificed his life for a valid cause? If so, what is our responsibility? Are we living up to that responsibility?

If you believe his sacrifice for truth was valid, then you have two options:

1) Do Nothing

2) Get up and raise your voice for justice

Let's educate our community on the events of the past 21 years, rather than allow government propaganda to construct our history. We have to join the struggle for justice.

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

in the west we raise our voice everyday.

it is the people in india trying to shut us up. even when we talk about justice, they say you NRIs need to shut up, nobody in Punjab wants justice.

Jaswant Singh Khalra is never forgotten in the west. it's the people of punjab who CHOOSE to forget him.

[S1ngh]

Maan veerjee its not the ppl of punjab who forgot sikh pillar like khalra.. its the damn system which made them forget and accept the life the system wants them to live...

[anhad]

Mann veer ji i disagree i am a Canadian born Sikh living in India and from my knowledge Sikhs living in India r pretty much khalistani but are afried to raise their voice!! They probably have witnessed too much or are just afraid of history repeating its self!!!

***Mod Edited: Not appropriate. Please do not post things like that. Thank You!

BaBa.G

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

singh ji there is no system here in the west which makes us yell at the top of our lungs for justice for great sikhs like shaheed jaswant singh khalra.

it is a human rights issue. it is our conscience which makes us support victims of state sponsored terrorism. in the west, the system doesn't provoke us to support rights in punjab, nor does pakistan or its agencies.

but people in india choose to have no feelings for victims of indian tyranny. systems can trap an individual physically, but systems cannot kill one's conscience.

"physical death i don't fear, death of conscience is a sure death"

you know who said this :wub:

i'm not trying to insult sikhs in punjab. i just hope that statements like these will awaken thier inner spirit.

remember this:

Once two Sikhs, Bhai Bota Singh and Bhai Garja Singh were proceeding from Taran Taran to Amritsar to visit sacred Harimandir Sahib. They travelled by night and kept themselves hidden in bushes during the day. One day, two Muslim travellers noticed these two hidden behind bushes besides Lahore-Delhi G.T. Road near Sarai Nuruddin and started talking about them. One of them said, “It seems I have seen two Sikhs hidden behind those bushes.” The other Muslim fellow said, “No, It can’t be, because the Sikhs are a brave people. They do not hide. They rather die fighting than hiding like cowards.” The first one said, “why not go and see for ourselves, whether those are Sikhs or not, behind bushes.” The second one said “Aren’t you aware of the announcement made by the Governor Zakaria Khan throughtout Punjab that he had decimated the Sikhs completely.” Thus talking, the two Muslim travellers proceeded on towards their destination, not taking the risk of verifying the identity of persons hidden behind bushes.

However the talk about the false claim of Governor Zakaria Khan about his being successful in completly finishing the Sikhs gave a big jolt to Bhai Bota Singh and Garja Singh who happened to overhear every word uttered by the two Muslim travellers. They decided to falsify Zakaria Khan’s propaganda and came out of the bushes after planning their strategy.

With strong wooden sticks in their hands, they occupied the small abode known as Sarai Nuruddin on the road side and started levying and collecting tax money from traveller at the rate of one anna per cart load and one paisa per donkey load, as road tax. They pronounced the place as part of area ruled by Sikhs. This went on for a number of days, without opposition from Government agencies. Travellers kept paying road tax to the two Sikhs, without any questions. They also spread the word that Zakaria’s propaganda about decimation of the Sikhs was false.

Getting no response from the government of their revolting act, the two Sikhs decided to hasten the pace of events to prompt reaction from the government.

Bhai Bota Singh wrote a letter addressed to Zakaria Khan and gave it to a traveller proceeding to Lahore for handing it over to Zakaria Khan, Governor of Lahore.

He thus wrote on the letter :

“Chithi Likhtam Singh Bota

Hath hai sota, wich rah khalota

Anna gadda, paisa khota

Jaa Akhee Bhabo Khano Noo

Aaon Akhe Singh Bota”

The content of the letter was that : This letter is written by Bhai Bota Singh. He is armed with a strong wooden stick and standing on the road side collects road tax at the rate of one anna per cart-load and one paisa per donkey load; Go and tell my Sister-in-law (Governor Zakaria Khan). Thus says Bota Singh.

Zakaria Khan got the letter sent by Bhai Bota Singh and was shaken to the hilt on reading it. He sought more information from the traveller (who delivered the letter to him and had himself paid the road tax to the two Sikhs) asking him about the number of Sikhs involved in tax collection and the nature of arms in their possession. The messenger told Zakaria Khan that the tax-collecting Sikhs at Sarai Nuruddin were only two in numbers and that the only arms in their possession were thick strong wooden sticks.

Zakaria Khan immediately summoned the Army General Jalaluddin and siad “Take two hundred armed horse riding soldiers, capture the two tax collecting defiant Sikhs and produce them alive before me so that I could impart exemplary punishment to them.” The reason for dispatching two hundred armed soldiers to capture only two un-armed Sikhs was his knowledge that these brave Sikhs were capable of springing surprises on much stronger adversaries.

Taking urgent orders from Zakaria Khan, General Jalaluddin hurriedly proceeded towards Sarai Nuruddin, accompanied by two hundred armed horse riding soldiers to achieve his objective of capturing the two Sikhs alive.

The sound f horse hoofs and the rising dust fast approaching there alarmed Bhai Bota Singh and Garja Singh of coming events. They sensed the approaching danger and got ready to face it since they had themselves invited it.

While the band of two hundred soldiers under the command of Jalaluddin were preparing to encircle Sarai Nuruddin, Bhai Bota Singh Shouted loudly on soldiers.

“If you are really brave come forward for one to one combat for testing acts of bravery to-day.” Jalaluddin ordered two of its soldiers to take on the two Sikhs. No sooner had the two soldiers stepped forward Bhai Bota Singh and Garja Singh attacked them with electrifying speed and beat them to death with their sticks. Jalaluddin sent forward another two soldiers who too were dispatched to hell by the brave Sikhs. In a similar fashion General Jalaluddin lost eight of his soldiers. Just then, the Sikhs shouted “Now send four soldiers at a time to fight two to one with us.” Three batches of four soldiers each were done to death by the smart and brave well trained Sikhs.

Seeing bodies of twenty of his dead soldiers scattered on ground before him, Jalaluddin lost patience and ordered his remaining 180 soldiers to mount a lightening attack to over-power the two Sikhs. The two Sikhs stood back to back and faced the soldiers. The soldiers moved swiftly forward and managed to encircle the two Sikhs. The Sikhs on the other hand shouted their battle cry. “Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akal” and with the aid of only wooden sticks dispatched another ten soldiers to death before finally laying down their lives as martyrs. They failed the attempt of the Muslim forces to capture them alive.

Against heavy odds, Bhai Bota Singh and Garja Singh kept up the honour of Khalsa Panth high. They set an example of courage fearlessness and defiance in the face of certain death and against heavy odds-Thus they enriched the Sikh heritage by enacting a rare feat

http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/sikh-history/...a-singh-ji.html

in the same manner, maybe when sikhs in punjab hear fellow sikhs saying that the sikh conscience in punjab is dead, will awaken them and turn them into the likes of bhai bota singh and bhai garja singh ji.

peace.

[dalsingh101]

His last speech given in Canada. Well worth watching.

http://www.ensaaf.org/docs/khalravideo.php

[Guest Akirtghan]

Maan veerjee its not the ppl of punjab who forgot sikh pillar like khalra.. its the damn system which made them forget and accept the life the system wants them to live...

thats very accurate. utter the word khalistan in punjab and there's a big fat chance u'll disappear, ie. killed by the corrupt system.

[dalsingh101]

We need to also acknowledge that many of the people aiding the oppression come from "Sikh" backgrounds themselves.

Take KPS Gill for example and that Giani Zail Singh. Most of the police force doing dastardly stuff were from backgrounds not a million miles away from our own. I don't know such corruption of the soul set into them.

Many of the <admin-profanity filter activated> involved in the murder of Mr Khalra have apparently committed suicide since.

Watch the video link I posted, Khalra was not just anyone, he was highly educated and globally politically aware as well as an excellent orator.

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

i agree with you anhad. but what you say is a big flaw in our thinking. supporting the likes of jaswant singh khalra does not take a belief in khalistan or a sikh homeland. any person with a beating heart should support the memory of innocent men like jaswant singh ji who never took to a gun or any weapon. he was a human rights worker.

i think the issue is that when we talk about justice, people automatically assume khalistan. i know khalistan is a very dangerous concept in India for sikhs. we gotta start small.

the least people in punjab can do is support justice for innocent victims of police tyranny. jaswant singh's disappearance is not a khalistani tragedy but a human tragedy.

unfortunately insaaniat is dead in india, even though people like ram rahim is giving people the last name "Insaan" we don't see it in actions of the indian state.

nobody is asking sikhs in punjab to die for khalistan.

just remember people like jaswant singh khalra, pursue justice for people like him.

peace.

[anhad]

i agree with you anhad. but what you say is a big flaw in our thinking. supporting the likes of jaswant singh khalra does not take a belief in khalistan or a sikh homeland. any person with a beating heart should support the memory of innocent men like jaswant singh ji who never took to a gun or any weapon. he was a human rights worker.

Veer-ji I misunderstood your statement, u were talking about “justice” and I described the Anti- khalistani Sikhs in India. (When some body says justice for the Punjab genocide, the khalistani situation comes to my mind) yeh u don’t need to be a khalistani to seek justice for honorable people like Jaswant Singh Khalra!! But, the problem is that such cases are not broadcasted to public i mean i just found about this saint day before while watching a video on saint soldiers.net! if these cases were shown on t.v, newspapers people would naturally raise their voice against the Indian Government!!!