The story of Jaswant Singh Khalra is once again in the headlines with Diljit Dosanjh's 'Satluj'. Amid that, let's take a look at his personal life.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleJaswant Singh Khalra is back in the headlines after Diljit Dosanjh's Satluj. The film follows the story of how he fought for the rights of 25,000 people who had allegedly disappeared and even lost his life in the struggle for justice. As the film brings back his chilling story, let's take a look at who he really was and his family members.
Jaswant Singh Khalra was a Punjab-based human rights activist who passed away in 1995 and has recently returned to the limelight, thanks to Satluj, starring Diljit Dosanjh as the lead character of 'Jaswant Singh Khalra'. However, who was Khalra before he found himself in the middle of the political chaos? For the uninitiated, Khalra was an ordinary man who worked as a bank manager and led a relatively mundane life. That was until he began to doubt the disappearance of over 25,000 people and couldn't get the police records to align with the purchase history of wood used for cremation.
Soon, he turned from a normal man to a human rights activist who had the entire system fearing his voice. However, in 1995, he suddenly disappeared and was never found again, not alive at least. The Punjab Police first regarded Khalra's death as a suicide, but in 2005, six Punjab police officers were found guilty and given seven years in prison for kidnapping and killing Khalra.
After Jaswant Singh Khalra's sudden disappearance and then death, the entire uproar for justice fell out. However, it was his wife, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, who decided to reignite the flame and carry forward his legacy. She, too, like her late husband, is a human rights defender associated with the Khalra Mission Organisation. This NGO raises issues of the common masses associated with pre- and post-1984 riot cases. She hails from Moga and has a Bachelor of Library Science from GNDU, Amritsar.
After completing her Bachelor's she got an MA in Punjabi from Punjabi University, Patiala. In 1999, almost four years after Jaswant Singh Khalra's death, she stood for election to the Lok Sabha from Tarn Taran and lost. Ten years later, in 2019, she tried her hand at politics once again. This time she stood from the Khadoor Sahib constituency. However, she lost again.
According to reports, Jaswant Singh Khalra tied the knot with Paramjit Kaur Khalra in 1980 and soon welcomed two children, a son named Janmeet Singh and a daughter, named Navkiran Kaul. However, in 1985, the family moved from Khalra to Amritsar, and that is when Khalra realised the horrors of the anti-Sikh riots and became a human rights activist. However, little did he know that his battle for the truth would cost him his life.
Jaswant Singh Khalra made it his life's mission to compile a list of the unlawful deaths and disappearances that took place following Operation Bluestar. According to his findings, Punjab Police killed over 2,000 police personnel who disobeyed their orders, in addition to participating in 25,000 illegal killings and cremations. Khalra's role was crucial in unearthing proof that the police had kidnapped, killed and cremated thousands of unidentified people during the 1984 Sikh riots in Punjab.
While his devotion to his mission is unforgettable, his family was the one who had to suffer the loss after his death. However, despite the hardships, the family made it through. While Paramjit made a name working in Punjab, their children moved abroad. Khalra's daughter, Navkiran, moved to Milpitas, California, and works as a Senior Manager at Western Digital, while his son, Janmeet Singh Khalra, lives in Calgary, Canada, and is a human rights defender there representing concerns of the Sikh diaspora and other communities.
What are your thoughts on Jaswant Singh Khalra's life and family?
Next Read: Aamir Khan's Age Gap With His Three Wives, He Is Over A Decade Older To Kiran Rao And Gauri Spratt