Jaswant Singh Khalra: The human rights activist who documented Punjab's disappeared
During the turbulent period of militancy in Punjab in the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of individuals were killed or disappeared. Amidst the chaos, one man—Jaswant Singh Khalra—took it upon himself to meticulously document the missing. A former bank employee from a border village in Punjab, Khalra compiled lists of those who had vanished, often at the hands of security forces, and sought to bring their cases to light.
Khalra's activism began in the early 1990s when he started collecting information about extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. He filed petitions in courts and wrote to authorities, demanding accountability. His work earned him both praise and threats. On September 6, 1995, Khalra was abducted from his home in Amritsar. He was never seen again. Despite multiple investigations and a Supreme Court-mandated inquiry, his fate remains unknown—a disappearance emblematic of the very issue he fought against.
Khalra's legacy endures through the countless families who continue to seek closure. His documentation remains a crucial record of a dark chapter in Punjab's history.
