The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), a federal body, has granted an $85,000 grant to the Institute of Conflict Management headed by KPS Gill, the controversial former Punjab Director General of Police who organized systematic human rights abuses in Punjab. The Institute of Conflict Management is a New Delhi-based think tank founded by KPS Gill, […]
As survivors of the 1984 Sikh massacres continued to protest against the Nanavati Commission report and the government’s Action Taken Report, the police attacked protestors in ways reminiscent of police attacks on civil rights activists in the US in the 1950s and 1960s. Associated Press Photographer Saurabh Das captured several pictures of Sikhs struggling under […]
During a July 25 hearing on the Khalra muder case, Additional District Sessions Judge Bhupinder Singh summoned Faridkot Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Singh to make a statement. Jaswant Singh Khalra was a human rights activist who was abducted from his home by the police in 1995. (For a full background, see the March 2005 Dispatch.) […]
After the opposition threatened to disrupt legislative proceedings in reaction to the Nanavati report and the Government’s Action Taken Report (ATR), both houses of Parliament shut down for the day. 300 families of victims of the 1984 massacres protested outside of Parliament. Their chants highlighted their 21-year agonizing quest for justice, in the face of […]
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has held two hearings on the Punjab illegal cremations matter since its December 2004 hearing. The two hearings were held on May 5 and July 5. (Read the full article in the June Dispatch.)
During the May hearing, Justice Anand, Chairperson of the Commission, indicated that the July 5 hearing […]
One day before the deadline expired, the Indian government tabled the 339-page final report of the Nanavati Commission established to investigate the 1984 pogroms of Sikhs. The government also tabled its Action Taken Report, in which it culled and responded to ten recommendations from the Commission’s report.
21 years after the brutal massacres of Sikhs, organized […]
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a three-day visit to the United States from July 17 to July 20, during which he held talks with President Bush and addressed a joint session of Congress. This visit is part of an effort to build a stronger partnership between the two countries, especially in the areas of […]
There have been several recent arrests by police and allegations of torture and illegal detainment.
On June 5, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann was arrested at the Gurdwara Mao Sahib on charges of sedition while delivering pro-Khalistan speeches at a rally. On June 14, he was put in the Ludhiana jail. On […]
In June, Amnesty International began its campaign to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 (AFSPA). The AFSPA was introduced along with other “special” security legislation in response to increased militancy, and has resulted in violence and numerous human rights abuses against Indian civilians.
The AFSPA’s provisions enable security forces to arrest people and enter […]