Paramjit Kaur Khalra is an Indian politician and human rights defender associated with the Khalra Mission Organization, known for highlighting the massacre of Sikhs in Punjab during and after the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. She is the widow of a Sikh human rights activist who famous, Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Wiki/Biography
Paramjit Kaur Khalra was born in 1954 (age 69; in 2023), and she hails from the village of Panj Grain Khurd in Moga, Punjab. He went on to study for a Bachelor’s Degree in Library Science at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. He obtained his MA in Punjabi from Punjabi University, Patiala in 1981. He was a member of the socialist student union in his college.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 3″
Hair Color: Salt & Pepper
Eye Color: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His mother’s name is Gurbachan Kaur.
Paramjit Kaur Khalra with her mother, Gurbachan Kaur
He has two younger sisters. He also had a younger brother, Gurbhajan Singh, who died after falling from his tractor while working on the family farm on 5 July 1981. Gurbhajan was a student union leader at his college, where he met the famous firebrand Jaswant. Singh Khalra. Gurbhajan is often referred to as “Lamboo” because of his great height. Friends and family call him Bhej. Although Gurbhajan is eight years younger than Khalra, they click instantly and become friends. Gurbhajan would talk warmly about Jaswant and his activities at home. One day, she suggested that Paramjit and Jaswant become a beautiful couple. Paramjit who was still studying at that time refused to get married because he wanted to continue his studies to a higher level. However, after Gurbhajan’s death, the family decided to fulfill his last wish to see Paramjit marry Jaswant.
Husband & Son
In 1981, Paramjit Kaur married Jaswant Singh Khalra. Together, Paramjit and Jaswant have two children, a son, Janmeet Singh, and a daughter, Navkiran Kaur.
Jaswant Singh Khalra
Jaswant Singh Khalra with his children Janmeet Singh and Navkiran Kaur during a family vacation in 1992
Paramjit Kaur Khalra with her children Janmeet Singh and Navkiran Kaur during a family vacation in 1992
In 1985, the couple moved from Khalra to Amritsar, where Jaswant Singh assumed the position of director of a bank. After Operation Blue Star (1984) and the assassination of Indira Gandhi, a series of pogroms organized against Sikhs led Jaswant to become a human rights activist. His investigations led to the discovery of 25,000 illegal killings and arson by the Punjab Police in the 1980s and 90s. In 1995, he was kidnapped and killed for exposing illegal killings and cremations by the Punjab Police in an international forum. Navkiran Kaur works as a Senior Manager at Western Digital in Milpitas, California, USA. Since Khalra’s death, the family has been actively working with the Khalra Mission Committee to preserve his father’s legacy by fighting for human rights.
From left to right, Navkiran Kaur, Paramjit Kaur (holding Navkiran Kaur’s son), and Dalbir Singh (Navkiran Kaur’s husband)
Jaswant Singh Khalra’s son, Janmeet Singh Khalra
Protracted Legal Battle to Get Justice for Jaswant Singh Khalra’s Murder
On September 6, 1995, the Punjab Police abducted Jaswant Singh Khalra from his residence in Amritsar while he was washing his car. However, police officials denied that Khalra had been arrested or detained. On 12 September 1995, Paramjit Kaur filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court of India, meanwhile, the police continued to deny Khalra’s arrest. In November 1995, the SC ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate Khalra’s disappearance. It was found that Punjab Police officers killed Khalra during illegal detention and dumped his body near the Harike Bridge on the Sutlej River. It took ten years to bring Khalra’s murder to justice. In 2005, six Punjab police officers DSP Jaspal Singh, ASI Amarjit Singh, SHO Satnam Singh, SHO Surinderpal Singh, SHO Jasbir Singh, and Head Constable Prithipal Singh, were convicted in Khalra’s abduction and murder. While Jaspal Singh and Amarjit Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment, the other four were sentenced to seven years in prison. Besides the six sentenced by the court, the challan includes Tarn Taran SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu, DSP Ashok Kumar and Head Constable Rashpal Singh. Sandhu was found dead on a railway track near Bakarpur village in 1997. Reportedly, Sandhu was murdered, but it was staged as suicide, while Ashok Kumar died of illness. Rashpal Singh was later acquitted from the case. In 2007, the Punjab & Haryana High Court increased the sentences of Satnam Singh, Surinderpal Singh, Jasbir Singh and Prithipal Singh to life imprisonment. In November 2011, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal filed against the life imprisonment of all four accused and upheld the conviction and sentence. Furthermore, DGP KPS Gill’s name appeared in the case in 2005 following the testimony of Kuldeep Singh. On 6 September 2006, Paramjit filed a petition asking the High Court to investigate and prosecute KPS Gill for his role in Khalra’s torture and murder. However, KPS Gill died in 2017 without facing trial.
religion
He followed the Sikh religion.
Address
He lives in House No. 8, Kabir Park, Opposite Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
Signature/Autograph
Signature of Paramjit Kaur Khalra
Career
After her marriage, Paramjit lived with her husband in Khalra from 1981 to 1985, where she worked as a teacher in a nearby village called Puhla, Tarn Taran. In 1985, Paramjit and Jaswant moved to Amritsar, where he got a job as a librarian at Guru Nanak Dev University’s Bhai Gurdas Library. After Khalra’s death, she became a human rights defender and began working with the Khalra Mission Organization to seek justice for the 25,000 unclaimed bodies and to convict her husband’s killers. In 1999, he resigned as a librarian at GNDU to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Tarn Taran on the ticket of Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD), a splinter group of Shiromani Akali Dal led by Gurcharan Singh Tohra; he lost his seat. In 2019, he contested from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency on Ekta’s Punjab Party ticket, but he lost the seat. The winning Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa got 4,59,710 votes, while Khalra got 2,14,489 votes.
Paramjit Kaur Khalra during a political campaign in 2019
Assets & Real Estate
Movable Assets
- Bank Deposit: Rs 2,40,000
- Motor Vehicle: Rs 60,000
Note: The estimated movable assets given are according to the financial year 2018-2019. It does not include movable assets owned by the husband and his dependents.
Immovable Assets
Paramjit Kaur’s affidavit for Lok Sabha election 2019 mentions immovable assets worth Rs 1,10,00,000 in the name of Jaswant Singh Khalra. This includes 3 acres of agricultural land in Khalra worth Rs 45,00,000, 1/2 share of 2700 sq ft non-agricultural land in Chheharta worth Rs 15,00,000, and 1/2 share of 2500 sq ft residential building in Amritsar worth Rs 50, 00,000.
Net worth
His net worth in 2019 is Rs 1,13,10,000. It includes her husband’s net worth.
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, Paramjit Kaur said that she believed that Ajit Singh Sandhu, an accused in the Khalra abduction and murder case, did not commit suicide. Instead, he was killed by KPS Gill and his gang. While talking about the same he said,
Killing Ajit Singh Sandhu has two advantages for KPS Gill and the Indian government. Ajit Singh Sandhu was depressed because he had many cases against him and he started threatening KPS Gill, that “If I am not released from the case then I will tell the court who gave me the order to kill innocent Sikhs and also whose orders I have killed Jaswant Singh Khalra.”
Furthermore, he said,
However some people also told me, that Ajit Singh Sandhu is still alive and fooling the government and after killing someone, he has thrown the body under the train. A man told me, that he had seen Ajit Singh Sandhu in Germany. I don’t believe in that, but the police can’t be trusted, they can do anything.”
- Interestingly, SAD (Taksali) announced the withdrawal of its candidate former Army Chief General JJ Singh from Khadoor Sahib to support the candidature of Paramjit Kaur during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The move was taken to ensure the defeat of the Akali Dal and the Congress by ensuring that votes were not split between Paramjit and JJ Singh.
- In 2022, it was revealed that popular Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh has been chosen to play the role of Jaswant Singh Khalra in a biopic. While shooting in Amristar, Diljit faced significant backlash and opposition from protesters who claimed that he lacked the purity required for the role. They labeled him a “Videshi” (foreigner) and argued that he was too “westernized” to portray the character. In March 2022, Paramjit Kaur took to her social media to announce that the Khalra Family had officially given permission to director Honey Trehan to make the biopic. A screenshot of the post was later shared by Diljit Dosanjh on his Instagram handle.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
