The Disappearance of Jaswant S. Khalra: A Fight for Justice

Balneet Kaur

Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation

College: College of Business and Public Management

Major: Marketing

Faculty Research Mentor: Sarah Coykendall

Abstract:

On September 6, 1995, Jaswant Singh Khalra, a human rights activist andgeneral secretary of the Akali Dal political party, “disappeared” while washinghis car outside his home in Amritsar, Punjab, India. Multiple witnesses saw himbeing abducted by Punjab police, but when questioned, officials denied theallegations. This abduction was in response to Khalra’s ongoing research on thedisappearances and murders of 25,000 unarmed, innocent people, conducted bythe Punjab police. After the Anti-Sikh genocide of 1984, police officials weregiven the order to question suspects they deemed as terrorists. They utilized thisas an opportunity to completely abuse their power and detain innocent Sikhs.The police was accused of killing unarmed suspects in fraudulent shootouts andburning thousands of bodies to conceal the murders. The silencing of truth was aclear human rights violation and displayed the corruption of India’s governmentThis research will analyze the disappearance of Jaswant Singh Khalra throughthe lens of human rights violations, dive into the history, and human rightsimplications. It will also discuss how Jaswant Singh Khalra's case is an exampleof a human rights violation led by the state. Through the analysis of hisdisappearance, it highlights the larger problems of impunity, state oppression,and the fight for justice in India.