Are human rights activists in Punjab targeted for reprisal by security forces?
During the main period of conflict in Punjab, human rights defenders were targeted for their work exposing the human rights violations of security forces. In January 1995, Jaswant Singh Khalra released official municipal cremation grounds records establishing that security forces in Punjab had “disappeared” and then secretly cremated thousands of Sikhs as unidentified/unclaimed bodies as part of their counter-insurgency operations. In September 1995, Punjab police officers abducted Khalra and illegally detained and tortured him for nearly two months before killing him in late October 1995. In October 2007, five police officers were sentenced to life in prison for the crime. Violent conflict ended in 1995, and human rights activists have not been targeted in the past decade. However, the lasting effects of the counterinsurgency have not gone away. Indian security forces commit human rights abuses throughout the country with the knowledge that there is little chance of being held account
Related Questions
- If there is so much data available, why can’t you make claims about the number of people killed by security forces during the Punjab counterinsurgency campaign?
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