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A Sikh Wiesenthall
Justice for
Surjit Kaur, almost after a decade
Open Letter to Jagdeesh Singh,
brother of Surjit Kaur -
killed by
in-laws
Dear Jagdeesh
Singh
Waheguru Ji Ka
Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!
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Jagdeesh Singh |
Albeit at a
personal level, you have done a Wiesenthall. For nine years, it was
you alone who did not give up hope. You proved every one wrong.
Your dogged pursuit for justice has lent credence to the British
judicial system, awakened the conscience of key witnesses, raised
serious doubts about the policing methods in England and
India, exposed racial bias and laxity in the foreign office of the
British establishment and questioned the snail-paced diplomatic
roller-coaster ride for exchange of data between the two countries.
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I remember that
some years ago, as part of your campaign for Justice for Surjit Kaur
-your sister, who was murdered in Panjab, you, Simranjit Singh Mann
and me had met human rights activist and jurist Lord Avebury at his
house in
London.
The forthright manner in which you presented the case of your
sister, who had disappeared, was exemplary.
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Surjit Kaur-the
victim |
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Your work as an
animal rights activist and a fiery human rights activist alongwith
your faith in the tenets of Sikhism enabled you to wage a relentless
struggle to put the murderers of your sister, Surjit Kaur Athwal to
trial. You spared no
effort. Apart from others in the campaign you were ably
assisted by your suave and determined wife, Paramjeet Kaur.
Your father, unmindful of his age and health worked diligently to
seek justice and not revenge.
Your friends
thought that justice will never be done. I remember that a few
years ago, when a candle-light vigil was held in the heart of London, just a
handful of people turned up. Every one except you lost hope. Your
determination as a true Sikh saw you through.
That 70-year-old
Bachan Kaur Athwal, mother-in-law of Surjit Kaur and her son and
your brother in law, Sachdev Singh have been sentenced to 20 years
and 27 years respectively in prison for the murder of Surjit Kaur,
must bring solace to you and peace to the departed soul of your
sister.
Diligence, logic
and pursuit do not come very easily in the Indian sub-continent,
particularly if you happen to be on the other side of law. I am
privy to the knowledge as to how the lawyers and the police in
Panjab colluded to make your father rush from pillar to post in
search of witnesses and evidence. When I tried to contact the
lawyers, they feigned ignorance about the case. Like in all cases
of police excesses and human rights violations, this case too never
caught the imagination of the police or the media in Panjab. It
still has not.
I am keen to
read and study the full judgement of Justice Giles Forrester, who
while sentencing the mother-son duo remarked,
“The
pair of you decided that the so-called honour of your family members
was worth more than the life of this young woman.” I wonder if
the judge has commented upon the inefficiency and lackadaisical
approach of the police in Panjab. Who strangulated Surjit Kaur, if
Bachan Kaur and Sukhdev Singh?? Whose car was it in which she
travelled for the last time before being thrown into a canal? What
efforts did the Panjab police do to trace the body of Surjit Kaur?
Is any kind of enquiry still on by the Panjab police? Since December
1998, when she was murdered, why has the police and the Indian home
ministry not made a public statement on the matter?
Perhaps Panjab has become immune to all such incidents. Cruelty
doesn’t sadden us. It does not awaken us. Piety is becoming a
rare commodity. The time has come to end this conspiracy of silence.
It is time that some women’s organizations take up this side of the
case too!
I shudder to think about the lives of the two children of your
deceased sister.
Individualism is
given very high priority in modern English and European society, but
I sure and you will correct me if I am wrong that family bonds are
still necessary and the immigrant population more than anyone else
needs to strengthen these relationships.
I
salute the courage of the daughter who testified against her own
mother and spoke the truth.
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Her courage of conviction may haunt the Athwals for a long time to come but may also provide her solace for
having spoken the truth. Jagdeesh Singh, you need to provide her
comfort, counselling and spiritual strengthen with the words of Guru
Nanak, “Truth is High, but higher still is truthful living.”
The fact that
you were given an opportunity by the Court at Old Bailey to submit
an impact statement was novel news for me.
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I am not aware
whether this aspect of the Westminster
model is followed in other commonwealth countries, including India.
I have not heard of any such development in an Indian court.
I could not help
but agree with every word that you submitted to the court. You said,
“Surjit’s life was viciously struck down at the age of 27…....
Surjit was punished by the Athwal’s for standing up to their
suffocating control Surjit’s disappearance in December 1998,
devastated our entire family; leaving us disorientated and stricken
with anxiety. Surjit’s children were left motherless, at the ages of
nine months and six years. We went through an emotional
rollercoaster, searching and struggling against all odds for the
truth. …..We battled with the incompetence and disinterest of the
Indian police, the apathy of the British Foreign Office and slow
initial movement of the Metropolitan Police. It was a lonely and
torturous experience for us.
……Surjit’s
murderers were going about life as if nothing had
happened.......Without witnesses’ forthcoming and decisive action by
authorities in the UK
and India,
we could do nothing about it….. We could only bear our emotional
injury, and draw upon the spiritual strength of our faith and the
imminence of ultimate justice.…….Mother and son, have sought to hide
behind their Sikh appearance and pretend to be committed Sikhs. They
have deceived and lied their way through nine years, supported by
their family and aides all the way. Surjit’s was the perfect murder.
Prepared and planned here in London,
and executed in Panjaab; away from the probing and investigations of
the British police. No body, no evidence, no witnesses, what could
anyone in Britain
do about it; except ask questions.”
How tenacious
you are in your work and life can be gauged from the fact that in
search of justice for your sister, you went back to your roots. You
unearthed the history of your family and put forth before the
British government and media that your grandfather –Maghar Singh,
great grandfather, -Bufsan Singh and great great grandfather –Bassan
Singh, served in the British army of yore. Subedar Bassan Singh
served in the 1st Sikh Infantry for thirty-two and a half
years! Sikh human rights activists can surely take a lesson or two
in persistence from you and your team.
Your grit and
determination will probably make you a popular persona amongst
non-governmental organizations fighting for justice. It should be
so. Like the eminent Simon Wiesenthall who was Nazi-hunting
throughout his life, you spared no effort. It was through your
tireless efforts that the Slough Racial Equality Council and
Southhall Black Sisters took up the case of the disappearance of
Surjit Kaur. The role of member parliament from Hayes constituency,
John McDonnel and MEP Sarah Ludford also need commendation.
A
parliamentary motion tabled by John McDonnell MP in June 2003,
attracted support from 41 MPs. Every single individual
who worked to ensure justice must be publicly honoured, for doing
well what was expected of them and for going beyond the call of
duty.
In your search
for justice you met Foreign Minister Jack Straw and sought his
intervention. His agreement to the lapses and subsequent inaction
is a classic example emulated far too much in India.
I sometimes believe that this too must be brought under the scanner.
I fully endorse your call for a public enquiry into the substantive
issues highlighted during the course of the tumultuous and painful
trial of Surjit Kaur’s murder.
I hope that the
Commission for Racial Equality will now look into the specific
allegations of laxity, bias and double standards attributed to the
police and the British Foreign Office. I may mention here that
similar efforts need to be taken up in Canada as
well. I wonder whether there is a possibility of any such effort
being done by the National Human Rights Commission, the National
Commission for Minority Rights in India or the home ministry of the
government of India.
The cruel murder
of your sister, who lived in London but was
murdered somewhere in Panjab poses a serious challenge to Sikh
society. The tribal instincts in our society have to be erased and
civility strengthened. The Sikh Diaspora needs to reflect on a
variety of fundamental questions: pitfalls of early marriages,
divorce and its implications, slander campaign, property rights, et
al. Nearer home, we have the former chief of the Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee running away from justice in honour-killing
case of her daugher, Harpreet Kaur. You are on the dot when you say
that, “this conviction sends out a powerful challenge to persons
within the Sikh community and other communities who practise
‘honour’ killings with near impunity.”
I
was immensely touched to hear on television when you said that the
name, “Surjit” meant “reawakening”. I join you in your prayers that
she will reawaken the spirit of good sense and justice. No one,
devout, mildly religious, agnostic or humanist, traditional or
modern, should be allowed to hide behind the façade of
traditionalism and religiosity and get away with murder. No one
should be allowed to live a normal life after committing a
premeditated murder.
I am sure that
more work needs to be done for Justice to Surjit Kaur in UK and
Punjab. You will always find me on your side in this quest.
Yours
fraternally
Jagmohan Singh
[Jagmohan Singh
is a social, religious, health and political activist based in
Ludhiana. He may be contacted at
jsbigideas@gmail.com]
26
September, 2007
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