खालरा साहब कौन थे?

‘इंटरनेशनल पीपुल्स ट्रीब्यूनल आन हयुमन राइट्स एण्ड जस्टिस इन इंडिया एडमिनिस्टर्ड काश्मीर‘ [IPTK], की रिपोर्ट इसी महीने प्रकाशित हुई है। इस रिपोर्ट की खास बात यह है कि कश्मीर में पिछले 22 सालों में हुए मानवाधिकार उल्लंघन के लिए भारतीय सेना और जम्मू कश्मीर पुलिस केे जवानों को उनके नाम और उनकेे पदनाम के साथ चिन्हित किया गया है। रिपोर्ट के अनुसार 235 सेना के जवान, 123 अर्धसैनिक बलों के जवान, 111 जम्मू-कश्मीर पुलिस केे जवान और 31 सरकार समर्थित मिलिटेन्ट और उनके सहयोगियों के बारे में पुख्ता सबूत है कि उन्होंने मानवाधिकार का घोर उल्लंघन किया है। इसमें मेजर जनरल, ब्रिगेडियर, कर्नल, लेफ्टिनेन्ट कर्नल, मेजर और कैप्टन तक के अधिकारी शमिल है।
कश्मीर में मानवाधिकार के उल्लंघन पर यदि आकड़ो में नज+र डाले तो पिछले 22 वर्षो में 8000 लोग गायब कर दिये गये है, 700000 लोग मारे जा चुके है। अभी पिछले दिनों ही 6000 अपरिचित, अनजानी कब्रगाहें पायी गयी है। इसके अलावा रेप के अनगिनत मामले है। पूरी रिपोर्ट में इन सब का विस्तृत ब्योरा है।
लेकिन इसी समय हमे पंजाब को भी याद कर लेना चाहिए। पंजाब मिलिटैन्सी के दौरान लगभग ऐसे ही मानवाधिकार उल्लंघन के मामले सामने आये थे। इन मामलो को उजागर करने में वहां के एक मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ता जसवंत सिंह खालरा का बड़ा योगदान था। उन्हे इसकी कीमत भी चुकानी पड़ी। उन्हे उनके घर से दिनदहाड़े उठा लिया गया। और कुछ दिनो बाद उनकी लाश एक नहर के किनारे पड़ी पायी गयी। जसवंत सिंह खालरा ने रात दिन एक करके उन 2000 लोगो की लिस्ट जारी की जिन्हे 2 साल के अन्दर गायब करके मार दिया गया था और एक ही जगह पर उनकी बारी बारी से अन्तेष्टि कर दी गयी थी। अनेको बार दो दो तीन तीन लोगो को एक साथ जला दिया जाता था।
जसवंत सिंह खालरा ने मरने से पहले इसी विषय पर कनाडा में एक भाषण दिया था। यह भाषण बहुत ही मर्मस्पर्शी है। मूल भाषण पंजाबी में है। लेकिन इसका अंग्रेजी टेक्स्ट यहां दिया जा रहा है। मूल भाषण आप यहां सुन सकते है। कश्मीर की इस रिपोर्ट के सन्दर्भ में यह भाषण और भी प्रासंगिक हो उठता है।
The following are excerpts from the English version of the last international speech given by Jaswant Singh Khalra:
I have come to Canada to talk about a report. That report describes the story of oppression of the past ten years. When we started that report, we had before us hundreds of reports, but there was one question to which none of those reports provided the answer. That question was: Thousands of mothers await their sons even though some may know that the oppressor has not spared their son’s lives on this earth. But a mother’s heart is such that even if she sees her son’s dead body, she does not accept that her son has left her. And those mothers who have not even seen their children’s dead bodies, they were asking us: at least find out, is my son alive or not?
But when we started talking about this issue, then countless mothers, countless sisters weren’t ready to say that their loved one has disappeared. They said, “Son, if you take this issue further and our son is still alive, they will kill him – don’t talk about this, we are not going to tell even you.”
So we produced a rough estimate for the public that in Amritsar district alone, 2,000 children are missing and the government must tell us where they are. The government was quiet. Then, we filed a petition before the High Court on behalf of some families, asking the Court to tell us where those children are. The government then gave an affidavit denying any knowledge about these children.
When the issue progressed, then the person in-charge of the oppression, KPS Gill said in a press conference in Amritsar, “These Human Rights Wing folks are not doing anything on human rights. They have one motive, to prop up their agenda, so that there is no peace in Punjab . They are ISI [Pakistan ’s Inter-Service Intelligence] agents and are hatching a conspiracy to discourage the police machinery to re-incite militancy.” KPS Gill went onto the extent of saying, “I’ll tell you where those kids are.” He said, “These kids are in Europe, in Canada , and in America , where they are earning their daily wages. And these human rights organizations are telling us that thousands of kids have disappeared.” This was a challenge to us. This was a challenge to that truth which we sought to bring forward. Then, brothers, in order to bring this truth to the public, accompanied by evidence, we put ourselves on an arduous task where we had to confront various dangers. But we went there where our brothers had gone. We went to the cremation grounds. We went and asked the employees there just tell us this much that during this time, how many dead bodies did the police give you? Some said we burned 8-10 every day. Some said there was no way to keep an account; sometimes a truck full of bodies came, and sometimes 2-4 dead bodies. When we said we need an account, they told us we could get the account from one place: “The police gave us the dead bodies, and the municipal committee gave us the firewood.”
So brothers! when we received this truth, we went to that country’s High Court. We knocked on the doors of Punjab and Haryana High Court, and asked, Oh Oppressors!, at least give us the detail that which dead body belongs to whom so that we can tell each mother, sister, so we can tell each father. So they can say their prayers to Almighty which they have been keeping in their heart, “Almighty, please let my son rest at your feet”… But that country, that calls itself the largest democracy and lover of justice, its High Court told us,”This is not public interest litigation. This creates a huge issue. Instead, do this – Send to us each of that family to whom the dead bodies belong and we will give them the information.” A mockery has been made of the law. A mockery has been made of the Sikh nation. And a mockery has been made of those people, who are not asking for anything other than a death certificate.
But the biggest court of all is the people’s court and we want to go to the people’s court on a worldwide level and say to the world, “You have called us terrorist. You have called us communalists. But those whom you have called the prophets of democracy, recognize their reality and then tell us who is ultimately the terrorist and who is righteous?” We can say often that we have suffered much oppression. But we have not had the practice or training of keeping a complete record of that oppression. About 50,000, about 1 million – we say all of that. The educated people of the world do not trust that, they need exact figures. And for that, I also say, that you all should unite on this issue. This issue is not just the issue for those families. This is the [Sikh] nation’s issue, humanity’s issue. You all should present this issue, in whatever way you can. Condemn that government, that machinery, that justice system, and tell the truth to people. Please Brothers help us in this work.
So my brothers, pray to the Guru that we maintain our self-respect. We must safeguard the work for which we were created and earn the pleasure of the Guru. We ask the Guru for everything, but we’re afraid to ask the Guru for that one gift. The Guru has many gifts, but what is the greatest gift the Guru has? The greatest gift is not milk, is not a son. And now the Guru does not even pass on the guruship to anyone. The Guru cannot make any saint a guru now. When the Guru gave the guruship to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Guru kept one special gift, which any Sikh could invite. And after the time of the (Ten) Gurus, Sikhs paid so much respect to that special gift.
And that special gift, which the Guru possesses, is the gift of martyrdom. Those who receive this gift – they don’t get to be Guru but after the Guru, they are the most respected people of our (Sikh) nation.
I hope – I am not a political leader, which could give you some political line or pull a political antic – from a human rights platform I will definitely say this to you: the Khalsa was inaugurated to protect human rights, the human rights of the world. And if you cannot protect your own human rights, you will not be able to give any definition of the Khalsa in the world.