FORTY year old Gurdial ‘Singh, a farmer in Hoshiarpur District, has been Restrained from attending the funeral of his mother, simply because she was also the mother of a prominent leader of the Sikh struggle for the creation of the sovereign state of KHALISTAN.

The funeral of his mother, who died in Gravesend, Kent (England), last month, took place on Monday.

Mr. Gurdial Singh was granted a visa by the British High Commission in New Delhi to enable him to attend the funeral, and he arrived at Palam Airport for travel to London by Thai Airlines’ flight TG 914 on May 7.

After he had checked in and gone into the departure lounge, the police took him in custody for “questioning”. Ignoring all his protests, and the evidence to show that he was to join the funeral of his mother, he was restrained from catching the flight. Consequently, it was only his baggage, not himself, that could reach England.

Mr. Sewa Singh Lalli, the younger brother of Gurdial Singh and the vice President of the London based Khalistan Government in exile, condemned the heartlessness of the Indian authorities in the whole episode.

“His only fault is that he is my brother”, Mr. Lalli said. “Apart from this fact, there is no reason why he should be denied his right to travel”.

He said that the treatment meted out to Mr. Gurdial Singh was in sharp contrast to the civilized behaviour, which demanded that even the enemy be treated with compassion in this hour of grief.

“With such a disgusting attitude, it is only natural that the Indian rulers are sowing the seeds of discontent and disintegration”, he concluded.

 

Article extracted from this publication >> May 27, 1988