Exclusive by Babushahi.com : Recently when I, along with one of my friend, happen to meet a close friend of mine in the DMC at Ludhiana, got a chance to have few moments with Babu Surat Singh Khalsa – a civil rights and political activist of Punjab, involved in various political struggles related to Sikhs in Punjab who is current in the limelight for a hunger strike as a form of peaceful protest against illegal and prolonged detention of political prisoners.
The moment we entered the room, we were stopped for a while by the person sitting beside him and when he came out, the first words uttered by Bapu for me while welcoming with folded hands was – “You look like Rabinder Nath Tagore” – perhaps having a look with grey hair and beard.
Despite security in the hospital without any proper check and identity as Bapu has been detained illegally perhaps shown as admitted by the family members, there are number of visitors to him to support his cause. Recently, when information under RTI has been sought from the hospital, a bill around Rs.18 lakhs have been handed over to deposit and take him away from hospital.
Bapu - who is all in his senses and active in thoughts and memorize every moment of his life - lying on the bed narrated his whole story of proceeding on hunger strike since January 16, 2015, which is still ongoing and he has refused food and water to see the release of Sikh political prisoners who have completed their court sentences. Where he is seeking release of Sikh political prisoners, he has also called for unconditional release of prisoners of all religions who have completed their terms.
Showing a gesture of hospitality, he called the attendant, handed over three notes of Rs.10 denomination, to bring three cups of tea.
While sipping the tea, last words Bapu shared were, “Let the Badal take the credit of releasing the detained Sikh political prisoners and I will go back to home withdrawing the hunger strike –fast unto death”.
In the meantime, we also happen to meet his only son –Joginder Singh – who is in India now a days but not allowed to fly back to US because of non-issue of NOC by the government. He too advocated that let the government release the Sikh political prisoners, Bapu will withdraw his agitation.
Bapu had also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 11, 2015 explaining the motive of his hunger strike. In his letter, Surat Singh Khalsa summed up his demands in two points
Treat all Sikh prisoners –under trials and those sentenced in cases relating to the Sikh struggle- as political prisoners and
Release all prisoners who have completed their full jail terms and are legitimately due for release, exactly in the same manner, as other prisoners are so released in various other parts of the country.
A number of Sikh Political Prisoners are languishing in jails despite having completed their sentences. Many of these prisoners are released on parole on yearly basis. These prisoners can be granted permanent parole or be released on bail as there are no pending charges against them. In addition, Surat Singh Khalsa is seeking release of senior citizens based on humanitarian grounds.
Bapu told that the government is only retaining them under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act – TADA for their involvement in certain case.
Brief history available on Wikipedia –
Surat Singh Khalsa – born on March 7, 1933 - has been involved with human rights activism since early 1970s. Ever since being initiated as a Khalsa in 1972 in Bombay, India, Surat Singh Khalsa has advocated human rights, and spoke out against injustices to Sikhs and other minorities living in India. During the Dharam Yudh Morcha (a political movement launched by the Sikhs for equal rights] of 1980’s, he served as an adviser.
He resigned his post as government teacher on June 5, 1984 in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar in June 1984. Continuing with his advocacy for human rights, he served as the secretary of the United Akali Dal under the leadership of Baba Joginder Singh Rode – father of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindrawala. He remained active in the UAD until late 1987. During a protest rally at Punjab Legislative Assembly in February 1986, an unprovoked police firing resulted in Surat Singh Khalsa being hit by a bullet on his legs. He continued to remain politically active and has been detained in various jails, including Chandigarh, Nabha, Patiala and Amritsar in Punjab, as well as Kurukshetra, Rohtak and Ambala in Haryana during 1980s.
He immigrated to the USA and became a Green Card holder in 1988. All children (five daughters and a son) are US nationals. He continued to remain active towards Sikh political issues and continued travelling to Punjab from the USA frequently.
After Amb Sahib Morcha of November 2013 and Lakhnaur campaign campaign in November 2014, Surat Singh Khalsa decided to stand up for those detained unconstitutionally. During the first campaign for the release of Sikh political prisoners, Surat Singh Khalsa had announced that if anything was to happen to Bhai Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, he would personally under indefinite fast-onto-death until Sikh political prisoners were released. When Bhai Gurbaksh Singh had commenced his 2nd hunger strike, Surat Singh Khalsa traveled to Punjab from USA to express his support. However, after the conclusion of the second hunger strike as well by Bhai Gurbaksh Singh, Surat Singh Khalsa announced to undergo hunger strike in place of Bhai Gurbaksh Singh.