How many died in Punjab insurgency? As Satluj ignites debate, demand for a ‘truth commission’

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) led by former Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, and ex-IAS officer Jagmohan Raju, now in BJP, meanwhile, have sought a “truth commission”.

Here’s what a “truth commission” is, what role it plays and why it’s being demanded in Punjab more than 30 years after the insurgency period ended.

What is a truth commission?

A truth commission, or truth and reconciliation commission, is typically a temporary body established by a government to investigate human rights violations, war crimes or state-sponsored abuses within that country.

In her classic review of 40 truth commissions, Priscilla B Hayner, an American human rights activist and an expert on truth commissions, defined a truth commission as one that “(1) is focused on the past, rather than in ongoing events; (2) investigates a pattern of events that took place over a period of time; (3) engages directly and broadly with the affected population, gathering information on their experiences; (4) is a temporary body, with the aim of concluding with a final report; and (5) is officially authorized or empowered by the state under review”. (Unspeakable Truths: Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions, 2001)

H S Phoolka, senior Supreme Court advocate, human rights activist and 1984 anti-Sikh riots crusader, told The Indian Express: “A truth commission is simply to bring out the truth, to have a clear picture and set the record straight of what exactly happened and to count the total number of people who died due to violence in that particular period. It is always a government-sanctioned initiative.”

India has never had any truth commission, either at the national or state level. There have, however, been demands for such commissions to look into events such as the Partition, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the Kashmiri pandit exodus, and the 2002 Gujarat riots, among others.

In 2023, Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kaul, in his opinion in the ruling upholding the abrogation of Article 370, recommended setting up a truth and reconciliation commission to look into alleged violations of human rights by both state and non-state actors in Jammu & Kashmir.

Such commissions are non-judicial bodies that typically don’t have legal power to initiate action against someone. Their larger aim is to record statements to build an official record for future reference.

An archive image of Jaswant Singh Khalra.

Khalra’s widow, meanwhile, has sought a “people’s commission” rather than a truth and reconciliation commission, to ” to officially document police excesses during militancy including “disappearances, extra judicial killings and illegal cremations of unidentified bodies” allegedly done by Punjab Police.

Supporting her demand, Bittu however has said that “the commission must comprehensively cover all casualties and every life lost—including Punjab Police personnel, innocent civilians, bus passengers, security forces, targeted Hindus and other victims who were killed by militants.”

“A people’s commission has no legal sanctity whereas a truth commission is a government-sanctioned body,” said Phoolka.

Which countries have established such commissions? 

At least 70 countries around the world have established truth commissions or similar bodies. Among the most prominent ones were those set up by South Africa and Canada.

In South Africa, the first post-apartheid government of President Nelson Mandela established a truth and reconciliation commission in 1995 to uncover human rights violations during the decades of apartheid.

Its aim, rather than mass retributive punishment and political revenge, was to heal the country and bring about a national reconciliation with its history.

Canada constituted a truth and reconciliation commission in 2008 to investigate the multi-generational trauma caused by a residential school system for indigenous children. For over a century, the state forcibly removed more than 150,000 indigenous children from their families to systematically assimilate them, resulting in widespread physical, emotional and cultural abuse.

So, why is a truth commission being demanded for Punjab? 

A private, non-official “People’s Commission for Human Rights Violation in Punjab”, a brainchild of the late Supreme Court judge Justice Kuldip Singh, was constituted in 1998 after his retirement. It was formed to document testimonies from families of victims of extrajudicial killings.

Behind the renewed demand now is the debate sparked by Satluj over the number of people killed in alleged fake encounters by the police and a counter-debate on number of civilians, cops, security personnel and Hindus who were killed by the militants. Numbers are floating from both sides but without any verification.

Jaswant Khalra, and later his wife Paramjit Khalra, have always alleged that at least 25,000 people had either “disappeared” or their bodies were “cremated as unidentified” by Punjab Police during the militancy period. Their specific details of 2,097 such bodies in Amritsar district alone was investigated by the CBI and found to be true.

Bittu, whose grandfather was assassinated by militants, has challenged this figure and lashed out at the film for not showing the killings of Hindus and other civilians by militants.

Senior advocate Phoolka said Punjab’s insurgency period violence was multi-cornered, and all deaths must be recorded. A truth commission would help set the record straight about the people killed, either by militants or police, he said. “The motive should be to heal those wounds, not reopen them.”

“Militants massacred innocent civilians, policemen, politicians, bus/train passengers etc. Punjab Police killed militants but there is no denying the fact that they also killed many innocent youths/people in extra-judicial killings. There were informal police informants who were given a free hand by Punjab Police to conduct fake encounters. So, the Truth Commission will help today’s generation to know the truth of those black days,” says Phoolka.