Khalra family criticizes politicians’ recent remembrance
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Amarjit Singh Khalra, brother of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, publicly criticized political parties in Punjab, India, for only recently acknowledging his brother’s work 31 years after his death.
Jaswant Singh Khalra was abducted by the Punjab Police in 1995 after exposing alleged fake encounters and illegal cremations of youths during a period of militancy.
Amarjit Singh Khalra stated that these parties had neglected his brother for decades and are now invoking his name to gain votes ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly elections. Jaswant Singh Khalra’s ideology centered on speaking out against injustice, a principle instilled by his religious teachers, and he advocated for human rights regardless of religious affiliation. He began as a member of the Naxalite movement and later formed groups in villages, earning various labels throughout his life.
Khalra also protested against killings of innocents by militants, and formed Punjab’s first human rights Sabha. Amarjit Singh Khalra expressed disappointment that no political party sought justice for his brother during the past 31 years, accusing them of prioritizing suppressing potential “people’s heroes.” He specifically criticized the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for failing to address his brother’s murder despite being in power for 15 years and even rewarding officers implicated in the alleged fake encounters.
The Khalra family has maintained a distance from all political parties for the last 31 years, except for a past relationship with SAD stalwart Gurcharan Singh Tohra.
