Congress MP from Patiala, Dharamvira Gandhi, has described the removal of the film 'Satluj' from streaming platform ZEE5 as "unfortunate", asserting that the issue transcends day-to-day politics and concerns human rights. The film, starring Diljit Dosanjh, is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Gandhi's Statement on Punjab's Dark Period
Speaking two days after the film was taken down, Gandhi said Punjab witnessed one of its darkest periods from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. He claimed that the state's mandate was to protect human rights, but instead it did the opposite. Thousands of youngsters were picked up from their homes and other places, tortured, killed in fake encounters, and later cremated as unidentified persons.
Khalra's Role in Exposing Human Rights Violations
Gandhi added 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. He said the state had no right to kill its own citizens, and staging fake police encounters followed by secret cremations was a gross violation of human rights.
Khalra's Death: Another Dark Chapter
Referring to Khalra's demise, Gandhi remarked: "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." He urged that the wound should not be covered but left open so that 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," Gandhi said.
