MP Dharamvira Gandhi Condemns Removal of 'Satluj' from ZEE5
Two days after the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer film 'Satluj' was pulled from the streaming platform ZEE5, Congress MP from Patiala, Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi, termed the move as “unfortunate”. He emphasized that the issue goes beyond day-to-day politics and is fundamentally about human rights.
Punjab's Dark Period: A History of Human Rights Violations
Gandhi stated that Punjab experienced one of its darkest phases from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. He said, “The state’s mandate was to protect human rights, but it did the opposite. Thousands of youngsters were picked up from their homes and other places. They were tortured, killed in fake encounters, and later cremated as unidentified persons.”
Jaswant Singh Khalra's Mission to Document the Truth
Gandhi highlighted that Khalra sought to document such deaths by visiting cremation grounds, particularly in the Majha region, where militancy was at its peak. “Khalra maintained records and exposed the Punjab Police’s brutality and widespread human rights violations in thousands of cases involving unidentified bodies,” Gandhi claimed.
Fake Encounters and Unlawful Killings
He asserted that the state had no right to kill its own citizens. “Staging fake police encounters and then secretly cremating the victims as unidentified persons was a gross violation of human rights,” he said. Referring to Khalra's own death, Gandhi added: “What happened to Khalra, who was himself abducted and killed in a similar manner, remains another dark chapter in Punjab’s history and a blot on the record of the then state government and the Punjab Police.”
Call for Open Acknowledgment of Past Atrocities
Gandhi urged: “Let us not cover the wound. Let it remain open so everyone can see the roles played by the state, terrorists, the police, and various agencies. Let people understand who pushed the state into such a situation, why it happened, and how much Punjab suffered. Khalra had a story to tell, but unfortunately that story is not being allowed to reach people.”
