BATHINDA: Dr, Rajinder Kaur, 56 the President of Istri Akali Dal and a former member of Parliament was killed by gunmen as she walked out of a school in Bathinda on February 5.
She and a colleague, S. Baldev Singh were killed as they were getting into their car, outside the Khalsa school in Bathinda, where she had addressed the students. The school was celebrating its Golden Jubilee.
Both were killed on the spot. Bathinda police chief R.S. Gill said attackers fled on foot.
Bibi Rajinder Kaur was the daughter of the famous Akali leader Master Tara Singh who had lead the Sikhs in the decades preceding and following India’s independence in 1947.
The shocking news of her untimely death sent waves of concern in Akali and Sikh circles. Sikh freedom fighters blamed the government for this tragic death whereas government media tried to lay the blame on Sikh freedom fighters so as to embarrass them. The government’s claims were refuted when Bhai Daljit Singh the Conveyor of All India Sikh Student’s Federation, in a press statement expressed his sorrow over the killings and condemned them.
In his press statement Bhai Daljit Singh offered his condolences to the family and expressed his appreciation for Dr. Rajinder Kaurs sewa to the Sikh panth. No organization of freedom fighters had committed this dastardly act, he retreated.
He expressed his apprehension that Dr. Rajinder Kaur was killed by the police to put the freedom fighters in an embarrassing position or she was the victim of the internal power struggle within the Akali Dal.
Dr. Rajinder Kaur had been involved in Sikh politics from her childhood and was the publisher, editor of a monthly Punjabi language magazine, “Sant Sipahi” where she expressed her opinions fearlessly. She is survived by her husband and children.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 10, 1989
