UK 17 July 2015: Tigerstyle – “Baagi” (Kavishri – lyrics by Ranbir Singh Jagatpuri)
Contemporary music production outfit Tigerstyle, based in Scotland UK support Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa and the struggle to free Sikh Political Prisoners.
Tigerstyle would like to bring to your attention an issue affecting the Sikh Community and of Human Rights relating to the Hunger Strike of Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa in the Punjab, India who is highlighting the plight of political prisoners in Indian jails of all ethnicities and religions who are languishing in these Jails in India for numerous years over and above any sentence terms that may have been handed down. In many cases the convictions have serious miscarriages of justice overtones (i.e the case of Professor Davinderpal Bhullar).
In the cases for Sikh political prisoners, the underlying issues which in many ways is similar to Scotland’s historic struggles and the strive for an independent Scotland, primarily stem back from the 1984 Indian Army attack on the Sikh holy shrine Sri Harmandir Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple) (e.g akin to the Italian government attacking the Vatican with Tanks), followed by the 1984 Sikh Genocide in Delhi India and subsequent years of extra judicial Murders by ‘fake encounters’ by the Punjab Police force under direction of the then Congress led Indian Government after a similar call for an ‘Independent Punjab’, free from the oppression and human rights abuses afflicted on its people. One of the Pillars of the Sikh Religion itself is for Sikhs and the ‘Khalsa’ to stand up against oppression and human Rights abuses (for all ethnicities and all religions) where ever it is encountered.
Historically this was prevalent in India where the Sikhs fought against the often Barbaric Mogul Rule, which was then replaced by an often equally oppressive British Rule and then carried on by the Indian Government in many ways. Punjab was the last state to be annexed by the British in 1849. The aforementioned is just to give a very brief perspective for you to maybe do your own further research to better understand the historical and present day context of the issues which as mentioned earlier draws many parallels with Scotland’s struggle for independence.
Bringing it back to the current issue, many of the political prisoners were imprisoned for their roles in this fight against oppression and are now held way beyond their passed down sentences.
We urge all who watch this video to stand firm with the Sikh community.