The Congress (I) government’s record on human rights in India was dismal. Thousands of Sikh youths were killed in fake encounters; Thousands were tortured, disabled and detained out trial for up to 10 years. Extortion of money for the release of persons illegally detained at unofficial police posts was frequent. The Punjab Human Rights Organization enquired into and reported some of these abuses of law. It was impossible to investigate all the complaints received by it. A few other non-party human rights groups and individuals including journalists also went into some of the instances. No known international human rights organization was permitted to enter Punjab to find out the human rights situation for about five years.

It was expected in the wake of defeat of the Rajiv Gandhi that VP Singh would bring about an improvement in the situation and that the Punjab problem would be resolved in a satisfactory manner. The PHRO in a letter to the Prime Minister on December 14, 1989 requested him to order the restoration of rule of law in Punjab, extend democracy by holding elections to the State Legislature and other organs wherever due and remove discriminatory practices against Sikhs and Punjab. Unfortunately VP Singh did not satisfactorily respond and the situation is again getting tense.

Three recent incidents:

1, Narinder Kaur, 45, wife of Sukhdey Singh, Sarpanch of Bariar village in Hargobindpur police station in Gurdaspur district, stated that on December 25 two scooter borne youths with muffled faces came to their farmhouse and asked them to prepare tea.

After half an hour a posse of policemen, she said descended on the farmhouse and enquired in rough language the whereabouts of terrorists who had committed a murder in nearby Ghuman village in the morning. As no male was present in the house at that time, the women feigned ignorance about the identity of the two persons who had come to them. A mother of four children Narinder Kaur alleged that the police party not only abused the womenfolk accusing them of harboring terrorists but also manhandled her and her sister in law, Gurmit Kaur (25). She alleged that they beat them up with rifle buts after taking them to a barn. The policemen, they said threatened to set their farmhouse on fire and take them to a police station if they did not produce the terrorists who had taken shelter at their house. Next day, they came and roughed up the women before taking away their 13 year old servant, Rajinder Singh, who was still in police custody. Scared the two women took shelter in the Damdami Taksal headquarters at Chowk Mehta and told their tale of woe to the Taksal chief, Baba Thakur Singh, who got them medically examined at the SGTB hospital in Amritsar, The medical report copies of which were released to newsmen indicated blunt injuries on their limbs, heads and abdomen of the two victims.

Tarn Taran Dec 30 according to the newspapers, CRPF constables went berserk fired indiscriminately on the passerby in Guard Bazar area killing two persons, Amar Singh and his sister in law, Daljit Kaur. Two days earlier, four CRPF men had died in an encounter with a group of armed men, The Times of India reported that the army CRPF ‘men sought revenge against Sikhs.

The state government did not do much. None of the security forces responsible for the torture of women and the killings was punished.

3, Bhai Anup Singh, an activist of AISSF, was reportedly abducted by the Kapurthala district police about three months ago. The police neither produced him before any judicial authority, nor acknowledged his detention, An Akali Dal (Badal) group leader, Sukhjinder Singh, organized a gherao of the District Police Chief and the Central Investigation Agency staff at Kapurthala on December 18, 1989. The authorities registered a criminal case for breach of peace and public tranquility against Sukhjinder Singh. The latter in protest started hunger strike.

Sukhjinder Singh demanded Anup Singh be produced before a judicial authority, or his whereabouts be made public and the police officers responsible for the disappearance be proceeded against.

Here is what India’s External Affairs Minister, IK Gujral had to say about Sukhjinder Singh’s demands:

Talking to UNI this morning, the Foreign Minister categorically stated: “Mr. Sukhjinder Singh gave up his fast without any pre-condition; there was no understanding either private or public (with Sukhjinder Singh). I did not make any promises (on his demand) or any undertaking either private or public, he added.

(Indian Express: December 27, 1989)

Gujral was not willing to give any assurance, public or private, that the state was responsible for furnishing any information about the disappearance. He is not willing even to seek information from the district authorities much less hold an enquiry into the public complaint.

Gujral known to be close to old guard Stalinist leaders of India and the Soviet Union was supported in the recent election by Akali Dal (Badal).

The security forces conduct and superior authority’s behavior springs from the so called new policy framework adopted by the Janata Dal administration after an all party meeting held at Delhi on December 17, 1989.

The meeting also underlines the critical importance of toning up the administration in Punjab specially the working of law enforcement agencies, and bringing an end to police excesses.

Action must be taken against those who have resorted to extortion of money and harassed the people, in the name of fighting terrorism. However, those who have remained loyal to their duty, and combatted terrorism even at the risk of their lives, deserve full support and nothing should be done to demoralize them.

While talking of ending police excesses, the policy statement clearly leaves out fake encounters or any other action taken by security forces in pursuit of fighting terrorism. No need is felt to put up for security forces to certify that the person killed by them was a “terrorist.” Any insistence on observing the rule of law is viewed as demoralizing to the security forces. In short, the policy statement does not promise that the Indian State in Punjab was duty bound to observe the mule of law.

Evidently the policy approach to Punjab has been guided by Communists the CPI and CP (M) on the one hand and BJP on the other, Leaders of the Communist parties and the BJP were in agreement with Congress (I)’s approach which, in fact was nothing but the one adopted by the government. The only difference in the two approaches is that while the Janata Dal talks of a fresh political input, the Congress (I) had abandoned any such input after signing the Rajiv Longowal accord.

The PHRO feels that the so called terrorism was nothing but a militant form of resistance against the colonial discriminatory policies pursued for four decades by the Congress (I) in respect of Punjab. The Sikh masses do not share the perception of Communists the BJP or the Congress I men of terrorists of terrorism.

It is precisely due to the differences of perception as between the Sikh masses on the one hand and a combination of old guard, Stalinist leaders of Communist parties and chauvinist communal leaders of the BJP and the Congress (1) on the other, that Sikh leaders veering round to the so called national consensus become irrelevant in Punjab sooner or later.

The PHRO feels that a widely acceptable solution of the Punjab problem will continue to elude the present set of negotiator unless the influence of the old guard Stalinist and chauvinist leaders on Delhi is significantly reduced and the Indian state restores and respects a rule of law in Punjab.

Article extracted from this publication >> March 2, 1990