Freedom Fighter Jaswant Singh Khalra
“Hazaaraan maawaan… saade te sawaal kar riya si, ke enna te pata kar deyo, ke Saada putt hai wi ke nahin” (Thousands of mothers asked us… at least find out if our sons are alive or not).
Jaswant Singh Khalra set out to answer this question. He found that the Punjab police had killed thousands of innocent men and declared them “unclaimed bodies” to secure promotions. The murdered include thousands of police personnel who refused to co-operate. The CBI investigated and charged guilty police officials. The Punjab & Haryana High Court, and the Supreme Court of India held Khalra had been murdered by Punjab police personnel and sentenced them to life imprisonment. It also confirmed that there had been widespread human rights abuse and mass murder.
Director Honey Trehan has made a film called Panjab 95. The CBFC, more popularly known as the censor board has recommended over 120 cuts. The team has publicly claimed that it was pressured to withdraw the film from festivals, and a case challenging the film’s censorship from the High Court. My friend Aditya Menon has speculated on the reasons behind censorship here:
भारत माँ (Bharat Ma)
Babasaheb told Bapu, that he “has no homeland”. Bapu insisted that he does. His response:
“You say I have got a homeland, but still I repeat that I am without it. How can I call this land my own homeland and this religion my own, wherein we are treated worse than cats and dogs, wherein we cannot get water to drink? No self-respecting Untouchable worth the name will be proud of this land. The injustice and sufferings inflicted upon us by this land are so enormous that if knowingly or unknowingly we fall a prey to disloyalty to this country, the responsibility for that act would be solely hers. I do not feel sorry for being branded as a traitor; for the responsibilities of our action lie with the land that dubs me a traitor.”
Someone is saying that they have been harmed by those who claim kinship. How does one respond to this sentiment today? Violently abusing someone, then preventing them from speaking their truth or expressing anguish, while simultaneously saying LOVE ME AND BE LOYAL TO ME, is a feature of toxic, abusive marriages and slave ownership. It is not the feature of healthy kinship and fraternity.
The other way, whether for families, or for nations, is to allow the expression of grief. To allow hum-watans to be able to say to each other, we have suffered so much. I have loved you and harmed you, you have loved me and harmed me. I share your pain. Our parents have loved us and harmed us. Gham ka khazaana tera bhi hai, mera bhi. Let’s mourn collectively.
What is the message being sent when Punjab 95’s release is being prevented in judicial and extra-judicial ways? That the mass murder suffered by Sikhs, their pain, anguish, cannot be expressed. It cannot be expressed even when it is certified by the Supreme Court of India. It cannot be expressed even though it happened during the tenure of those the current ruling party considers its enemies. You are not allowed to share your pain, you are not allowed to speak your truth, we insist that we are your home, be loyal to us or we will accuse you of treachery.
The irony is that this is coming from a political dispensation, which alleges that there was a concerted attempt to hide the truth of the suffering not just Kashmiri Pandits suffered, but also the pain allegedly perpetrated by Mughals hundreds of years back. I am not going into a discussion about those claims or the films based on them. The message being sent is- “We” are allowed to speak our truth, and our lies. Our pain matters. You are not allowed to speak your truth. Leave alone redressal, your pain is not even worth expression. One rule for us, another for you.
All this is not to say that this is a “Sikh cause” or a cause exclusive to those who suffered. The pain experienced by anyone in my family is my pain also. I have promised mother India that I will always speak up whenever her children are in pain and are hurting. It’s the least I can and should do for those who I demand love and loyalty from, and express love and loyalty towards.
To those who seem to genuinely think this may encourage separatism, I ask are separatists encouraged with a film allowed to be released, when the film shows that while one part of the State (Punjab Police) engaged in abuse, others (Supreme Court and CBI) acted to do justice? Or are they encouraged when they are able to say- see, they are not your family, they don’t consider you their own, you’re not even allowed to tell the story of your pain.
Journalist Anubha Bhonsle wrote an outstanding book on Manipur called “Mother where is my country”. When Honey Trehan, when those affected by the mass murder exposed by Jaswant Singh Khalra ask mother India- mother where is my country, I hope they hear the answer- this is your country, we are your country, of course we belong to each other, of course you can speak of your pain, let us hold each other.
I had the privilege of watching the film at a private screening, and I’m sharing a “spoiler”, because like Director Honey Trehan, I too believe and hope that one day this film will be released. Spoiler begins:
Khalra was murdered, his body stabbed (so it doesn’t float up) and thrown in the river. Towards the end of the movie, Khalra’s ghost tells a prosecution witness, and I’m paraphrasing from memory- “ghaavon mein paani bhar gaya hai, jaadon mein bohot dard hota hai yaar.” (Water has entered open wounds, it pains a lot during winter.) Silence keeps wounds open. Sharing helps them heal.
An edited version of this piece was first published here