Govt persuades Khalsa to drink water, son wants ‘feasting’ clip probed

Education Minister Daljeet Cheema met Khalsa at hospital, where the Sikh activist is admitted since December 10 -- after he gave up water in protest following a video clip that showed him "feasting" went viral on social media.

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Education Minister Daljeet Cheema (center) gives water to Surat Singh Khalsa in Ludhiana. (Source: Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)

Sikh activist Surat Singh Khalsa, who is on ‘hunger strike’ since January this year, took a few sips of water after apparently much persuasion by SAD spokesperson and education minister Daljeet Singh Cheema.

Cheema Wednesday evening met Khalsa at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) where the Sikh activist is admitted since December 10 — after he gave up water in protest following a video clip that showed him “feasting” went viral on social media. The meeting between Cheema and Khalsa lasted over six hours.

Supporters of Khalsa claimed that “peaceful talks” have started with the SAD-BJP government and that “an atmosphere of trust” has been created by Cheema following the release of Sikh prisoner Waryam Singh.

Waryam Singh, an accused under the TADA Act, was released from Bareilly jail in Uttar Pradesh Thursday.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Jang Singh, member, Sangharsh Committee, and Ravi Inderjit Singh Gogi, son of Khalsa, said, “We have told Cheema to get the viral video showing Bapuji eating food investigated. It was made at PGI Chandigarh after feeding Khalsa in an unconsious state. Yesterday, Bapu ji agreed to take water but his fast will continue and he will not consume food until all Sikh prisoners are released.”

They added that a fresh list of Sikh prisoners will soon be submitted to Cheema to take up their cases with the government.

“We have agreed for the talks with government as release of Waryam Singh has given us hope,” said Jang Singh.

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Cheema, too, said the meetings will continue. “We do not want Khalsa to compromise on his health when the issues can be solved amicably. We will discuss the cases of prisoners in the the fresh list but in accordance with the law,” he added.

Divya Goyal

Divya Goyal is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Punjab. Her interest lies in exploring both news and feature stories, with an effort to reflect human interest at the heart of each piece. She writes on gender issues, education, politics, Sikh diaspora, heritage, the Partition among other subjects. She has also extensively covered issues of minority communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She also explores the legacy of India's partition and distinct stories from both West and East Punjab. She is a gold medalist from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, the most revered government institute for media studies in India, from where she pursued English Journalism (Print). Her research work on “Role of micro-blogging platform Twitter in content generation in newspapers” had won accolades at IIMC. She had started her career in print journalism with Hindustan Times before switching to The Indian Express in 2012. Her investigative report in 2019 on gender disparity while treating women drug addicts in Punjab won her the Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2020. She won another Laadli for her ground report on the struggle of two girls who ride a boat to reach their school in the border village of Punjab. ... Read More

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