Abstract
This chapter introduces the reader to how protagonists Bains, Kaur, and Jaijee developed and strengthened different creative strategies—individual and collective—to respond to conflict violence. They worked cautiously with non-Punjabi allies; supported local leadership even when respectfully disagreeing with immediate tactics; and promoted the necessity to resist injustice as a cultural value.
The chapter begins in 1995 (popularly held to mark the end of the armed conflict), and the enforced disappearance of Jaswant Singh Khalra, the champion of Punjab’s “disappeared.” It traces the legal battle pursued by his wife and human rights defender, Paramjit Kaur Khalra. While highlighting the anatomy of impunity, this case also, Paramjit explains, exemplifies old-school Punjabi yaari, friendship, which Jaswant’s allies and supporters have faithfully upheld for the many decades they have marched by her side.
As promised in Chap. 1, this chapter also journeys back to where the protagonists often begin recounting the saga of modern Punjab: the period of Sikh self-rule under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. From the close of Ranjit Singh’s life in 1839, through the game of thrones that followed his death, British annexation of Punjab (making it the last in the Indian subcontinent to fall to colonials), World War I, to rising Sikh disaffection against the colonials, this chapter travels till 1917.
In a dream had I chanced on Thee, but from my eager arms
You, pure light, slipped away
Only the tremble in my wrist remains …
:Vir Singh:
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Notes
- 1.
Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Aggarwal, and Jaskaran Kaur, Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab (Kathmandu, Nepal: South Asian Forum for Human Rights, 2003), 47–48.
- 2.
Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 54.
- 3.
Displaying willingness to speak when few would, Jaswant was appointed general secretary of the wing in January 1995.
- 4.
Reproduced in Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 603–05.
- 5.
“The dismissal of Khalra’s petition by the High Court, against the established principles of public interest litigation, indicated the difficulties of applying the rationality of law and respect for facts in the face of political prejudice and the rhetoric of national interest that considered the issues of human rights in Punjab to be irrelevant.” Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 4.
- 6.
Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 5.
- 7.
Inderjit Singh Jaijee, Politics of Genocide: Punjab, 1984–1998 (Delhi, India: Ajanta Publications, 2002), 99.
- 8.
See, for example, Amnesty International, 1991, “India: Human Rights Violations in Punjab: Use and Abuse of the Law,” 28, on Dhatt abduction.
- 9.
See, for example, Harpreet Kaur, “Expedite Kuljit Dhatt Case Appeal, Apex Court Tells HC,” Hindustan Times, July 24, 2015. (After the family appealed for enhancement of the five-year sentences given to junior cops, 25 years after the murder).
- 10.
Jaijee, Politics of Genocide, 98.
- 11.
Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 5.
- 12.
Punjabi Tribune, February 27, 1995. - 13.
A term used for those sponsored by the State to infiltrate and kill militants and others.
- 14.
Punjabi Tribune, February 27, 1995.
- 15.
See Chap. 5 (“Next Kill All the Lawyers”).
- 16.
Jaswant Singh Khalra, speech in Ontario, Canada, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktfuGXpi5qw&feature=youtu.be. Published on May 31, 2008.
- 17.
Joyce Pettigrew, The Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of State and Guerilla Violence (London: Zed Books, 1995), 118–19; Jaijee, Politics of Genocide, 126–28.
- 18.
Pettigrew, The Sikhs of the Punjab, 119.
- 19.
Long after the armed conflict, K.P.S. Gill continued using the same rationale. See, for example, “Virk’s Arrest Will Affect Morale of Cops: Gill,” Express News Service, September 16, 2007.
- 20.
Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 5.
- 21.
Jaijee, Politics of Genocide, 101.
- 22.
“Cops Cremated Bodies without Sanction,” July 28, 1995, from Khalra family archive.
- 23.
Akali Patrika, August 4, 1995. - 24.
See, for example, Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), 84–85.
- 25.
For further reading on persecution of Buddhism by Brahmin kings and godmen see: Lalmani Joshi, Studies in the Buddhist Culture of India (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1967; rev. 1977); Charles Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism: A Historical Sketch, Volume 2 (London: Routledge & Kegan, 1921).
- 26.
Rajmohan Gandhi, Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten (New Delhi: Aleph Book Company, 2013), 131.
- 27.
They fought their way north of river Sutlej, till four misls administered Lahore in 1765. Below the Sutlej, the misls consolidated several holdings, as far south as rivers Ganga and Jamuna and were coming in and out of the Mughal capital of Delhi, at will. See, Gurharpal Singh, Ethnic conflict in India: A case-study of Punjab (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000), 81.
- 28.
See, for example, Sangat Singh, The Sikhs in History, 2nd ed. (New Delhi: Uncommon Books, 1996), 115.
- 29.
Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Vol I; 1469–1839, 2nd ed. (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), 362.
- 30.
Khushwant Singh, History of the Sikhs, Volume I, 362.
- 31.
My grandfather’s brother, Gurmukh Singh Sarkaria, drafted his memoirs, incorporating family archives. On file with author.
- 32.
See, Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Vol II; 1839–2004 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), 3–38.
- 33.
Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs II, 81.
- 34.
See, Patwant Singh, The Sikhs, 1999 (London: John Murray Publishers, 1999), 160–62.
- 35.
Sangat Singh, The Sikhs in History, 133.
- 36.
See, for example, Nadhra Shahbaz Khan, The Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore: A Summation of Sikh Architectural and Decorative Practices (Studies in Asian Art and Culture, 2018).
- 37.
See, Patwant Singh, The Sikhs, 169–70.
- 38.
Ahmed Ali, Twilight in Delhi: A Novel, 7th ed. (New Delhi: Rupa, 2007).
- 39.
Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs II, 114.
- 40.
See generally, Imran Ali, “Canal Colonization and Socio-Economic Change,” in Indu Banga, ed., Five Punjabi centuries: policy, economy, society, and culture, c. 1500–1990: essays for J.S. Grewal (Delhi: Manohar, 1997), 341–57 (also notes the canal colonization project involved caste-based land grants, and political calculus including reward grants for politically elite Sikh families).
- 41.
See, Patwant Singh, The Sikhs, 169–70.
- 42.
See, Ganda Singh (ed.), The Singh Sabha and Other Socio-Religious Movements in the Punjab 1850–1925 (Patiala: Punjabi University, 1973).
- 43.
“The first blow to Hindu-Sikh unity was struck by Arya Samaj. In 1877 Swami Dayanand Saraswati visited Punjab … launched his shudhi (purification) movement to bring breakaway Hindus including Sikhs back into the Hindu fold.” Khushwant Singh, “Genesis of the Hindu-Sikh Divide,” in The Punjab Story: Reissued on the 20th Anniversary of Operation Bluestar (New Delhi: Roli Books, 2004), 6.
- 44.
See, for example, Patwant Singh, The Sikhs, 181–82.
- 45.
On internal rifts and philosophical differences, see, for example, “Sikh Politics and Religion: The Bhasaur Singh Sabha,” in Banga, ed., Five Punjabi Centuries, 140–56.
- 46.
Sir Malcolm Darling, The Punjab Peasant in Prosperity and Debt, 4th ed. Reprint (New Delhi: Manohar Book Service, 1977), 207.
- 47.
Manini Chatterjee, Do and Die: The Chittagong Uprising, 1930–34 (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1999), 273.
- 48.
See, Harjot Oberoi, 2009. “Ghadar Movement and Its Anarchist Genealogy.” Economic and Political Weekly 44 (50): 40–46.
- 49.
Khoji Kafir, Manukhi Hakkan da Masiha: Justice Ajit Singh Bains (Amritsar: Singh Brothers, 2010), 63.
- 50.
Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs II, 178–79.
- 51.
Though many civilians were tried in the subsequent Lahore Conspiracy Cases, very few capital sentences were delivered. Most death sentences were awarded and executed in military courts. See also, Chap. 3, note 7.
- 52.
Popular song attributed to Sarabha.
- 53.
Khoji Kafir, Manukhi Hakkan da Masiha, photos.
- 54.
Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 15.
- 55.
See Glossary.
- 56.
Kumar et al., 24.
- 57.
Mrs. Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab & Ors., 1996 SCC (7) 20, November 15, 1995.
- 58.
Mrs. Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab & Ors., 1996 SCC (7) 20, November 15, 1995.
- 59.
See, Harbans Singh v. State of Punjab and Ors., Crl. W. P. 1127/1995.
- 60.
See, for example, Ramesh Vinayak, “Conviction of supercop K.P.S. Gill turns spotlight on sexual-harassment offences,” India Today, August 31, 1996.
- 61.
Kumar et al., 9.
- 62.
Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab & Ors., Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 497/95, Supreme Court of India, December 12, 1996.
- 63.
“India: A vital opportunity to end impunity in Punjab,” Amnesty International, ASA 20/024/1999, January 8, 1999; Kumar et al., 124–25.
- 64.
See, note 9; Jaijee, Politics of Genocide, 99.
- 65.
Ramesh Vinayak, “Top officer’s suicide indicates crisis in Punjab Police force,” India Today, June 9, 1997.
- 66.
Gurtej Singh, Chakravyuh: Web of Indian Secularism (Chandigarh: Institute of Sikh Studies, 2000), 130–31.
- 67.
Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 3.
- 68.
Closure report filed by Investigating Officer K.S. Joshi, 22.9.99, In the Court of Special Magistrate, Patiala, in Khalra case file, on file with author.
- 69.
In April 1997, at a large public gathering in Jalandhar, a call had resounded for a Punjab People’s Truth Commission. See, Jaijee, Politics of Genocide, 315. Baljit Kaur archived a video recording of the proceedings.
- 70.
See Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, 113–14.
- 71.
On opposition to the Commission by senior lawyers and Punjab & Haryana High Court, See, for example, Anupam Gupta, “HC shows the door to people’s panel,” The Tribune, December 27, 1999.
- 72.
Kumar et al., Reduced to Ashes, XIII.
- 73.
Judgment, Sessions Court, State (CBI) v. Ajit Singh Sandhu & Others, Case No. 49-T of 9.5.1998/30.11.2001, November 18, 2005.
- 74.
Affidavit of Kikar Singh, In the Supreme Court of India, Mrs. Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab, Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 497 of 1995, August 29, 1996.
- 75.
Order in matter of Crl. W. P. 1127/1995, High Court of Punjab and Haryana, March 6, 1998.
- 76.
Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab & Ors., Petition under article 226/227 of Constitution of India, High Court of Punjab and Haryana, September 6, 2006.
- 77.
Amarjit Singh v. CBI, Judgment in matter of Criminal Appeal No. 863-DB of 2005, High Court of Punjab and Haryana, October 16, 2007.
- 78.
Prithipal Singh etc. v. State of Punjab and Anr., (2012)1SCC10, November 4, 2011.
- 79.
See, National Human Rights Commission, NHRC recommends Rs. 27,94,00,000/− to the families of victims of Punjab Mass Cremation Case, New Delhi, April 3, 2012, available at: http://nhrc.nic.in/press-release/nhrc-recommends-rs-279400000-families-victims-punjab-mass-cremation-case (accessed on February 10, 2019).
- 80.
A handful of exceptions are the struggling cases discussed in Chap. 4.
- 81.
“How can there be a guarantee of non-reoccurrence when there is no knowledge of what occurred?” Ram Narayan Kumar, “The Matter of Mass Cremations in Punjab: A Window into the State of Impunity in India,” in Landscapes of Fear, eds. Patrick Hoenig and Navsharan Singh (New Delhi: Zubaan, 2014), 227.
- 82.
Amnesty, de jure or de facto, is a rather common obstacle in post-conflict and transitional justice contexts (though Punjab has never been recognized as transitioning, rather hastily declared “normal”). See, for example, Naomi Roht-Arriaza, The Pinochet Effect: Transnational Justice in the Age of Human Rights (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005), 72. “The aim of investigation became simply finding out the fate of the disappeared person, not putting anyone in jail. What a cruel irony for the families!” In describing post-dictatorship Chile, Roht-Arriaza then notes ways in which exceptional Chilean judges did manage to shift the onus back on the State that was claiming complete amnesty for its officers. One of this seminal book’s central conclusions is that international attention (like the sensational arrest of Chilean dictator Pinochet) and some transnational trials are beneficial precisely when they prompt shifts in attitude in the home countries—such as emboldening judges who are “norm entrepreneurs”—which matters the most for affected populations.
- 83.
Who continued self-congratulatory writing, disconnected from reality, but perhaps fitting for one who entirely escaped the law. See, for example, “The comprehensive defeat of this terrorist movement is unique in history, leaving behind no ideological lees, no residual rage, no reservoir of sullen hostility.” “Foreword,” in The Punjab Story (New Delhi: Roli Books, 2004), ix.
Punjabi Tribune, February 27, 1995.
Akali Patrika, August 4, 1995.Author information
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Kaur, M. (2019). Earth, Water, Pyre. In: Faith, Gender, and Activism in the Punjab Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24674-7_2
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