Surat Singh Khalsa (82) was born on March 7, 1933 in the village of Hassanpur, Ludhiana district, State of Punjab, India.
Khalsa began a hunger-strike on January 16, 2015 at his ancestral village of Hassanpur. Punjab Police arrested him and forcibly admitted him to Ludhiana Civil Hospital on February 8. For 56 days — February 26 to April 23 — he was forcefed. Released without charges on April 23, he has had no sustenance since. On Thursday, 13 April 2017, he entered the 819th days of his hunger-strike. His demand is for the release of political prisoners in India who have completed their sentences, are due for release, but remain imprisoned.
Most of the prisoners were arrested during the 1980s and 1990s for protesting events like the Indian State’s invasion of the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, the 1984 Sikh Genocide sponsored by the ruling Congress Party, and the ensuing decade of death squads that systematically “disappeared” tens of thousands of Sikhs. Khalsa, who is on the verge of starving to death, stated after his April 23 release from police custody: “The struggle will continue until the political Sikh prisoners are released.”
Khalsa picked up the baton of political hunger strike for release of political prisoners from Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, who twice went on hunger strike for that cause. In 2013, he refused food for 44 days, and in late 2014 he began a 64-day hunger strike that ended on January 15, 2015. The next day, Surat Singh Khalsa began his protest.
LUDHIANA, Punjab—Octogenarian hunger strike activist Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa was brutally thrashed and abused by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dakha) Jaswinder Singh on April 11. It is learnt that the DSP Jaswinder Singh thrashed Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa as […]
ਬਾਪੂ ਸੂਰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦੇ ਜਨਮ ਦਿਨ ਅਤੇ ਰਿਹਾਈ ਲਈ ਟਵੀਟ ਕਰੋ , ਹੈਸ਼ਟੈਗ #BringBapuJiHome ਅਤੇ #HappyBirthdayBapuJi, ਯੂਕੇ 8pm Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa’s Hunger Strike Reaches 3 Years The lifelong human rights activist has been on hunger strike to draw […]
Kind Message of support from Bapu Surat Singh Ji for the #FreeJaggiNow campaign. 84 year old Bapu Surat Singh Ji has been on a hunger strike for over 3 years as he fights for the freedom of Sikh political prisoners […]
#3YearsOfHunger “Please do your part in helping us raise awareness. Do not let the world forget about this 84-year-old human rights defender. It’s important to continually raise awareness and keep Bapu Surat Singh’s story prominently in the news and on […]
LUDHIANA, Punjab—85 years old Sikh activist Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa has stopped drinking water. Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa announced this decision on November 27 after being disallowed by the Ludhiana Administration to attend a religious function held in Bathinda to […]
According to you @capt_amarinder more than 100 #Sikh political prisoners are languishing in jails, release them & Bapu ji #1000DaysOfHunger Help raise awareness & #Tweet #1000DaysOfHunger & tag @ capt_amarinder! #humanrights #freesikhpoliticalprisoners Please tweet #1000DaysOfHunger Sunday 24 September, 2017 , […]
Watch Exclusive Interview: Surat Singh Khalsa, Octogenarian Sikh Human Rights Activist Talks About His Life And Struggle. During the struggle for decentralization of powers for member Indian states, Punjab witnessed largest mobilization of masses in peaceful court-arrest and sit-ins (dharna’s) […]
NEW YORK—Since January 16, 2015, an elderly Sikh gentleman has been on a hunger strike to raise awareness about Sikh political prisoners. 84-year-old Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa began his peaceful protest at home in Hassanpur, Punjab and has since been […]
“The Struggle of the World’s Oldest Hunger Striker” tells the story of Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa (born March 7, 1933) through the voices of his family and activists who helped introduced his struggle to the English-speaking world. On February 2015, […]
“While previous politicians in Punjab have gone to great lengths to avoid the political prisoner issue, Captain Amarinder Singh has explicitly stated his staunch support for their freedom. He even mentions specific numbers, stating there are more than 100 political […]
LUDHIANA, Punjab—On January 16, 2017, Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa completed two years of a hunger protest for the release of Sikh political prisoners. Since he initiated the struggle in 2015, almost a dozen Sikhs have been released from prison. Bapu […]
Update 30 June, 2016: Jathedar Bapu Surat Singh Ji Khalsa is still being kept in the ICU and his health condition remains critical, we will continue to provide information as we receive it Update :- 27 June at 23:10 Jathedar Bapu […]
Nine days after being released from his most recent 19 weeks of illegal detention, Jathedar Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa, 83 year old human rights activist on 512th day of his hunger strike, was forcibly picked by SSP (rural) Ludhiana, CMO […]