Dal Khalsa co-founder Gajinder Singh Hijacker finally makes
his Pakistan presence public
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
Pakistan has been denying his presence all these years. His
name was part of the list of 20 terrorists India had submitted to Pakistan in
January 2002. Pakistan had denied their presence. His existence was never
acknowledged till now.
Gajinder Singh is one
of the five co-founders of the radical Dal Khalsa in 1978 who was part of the
group that staged the first hijacking on September 29, 1981 associated with the
Sikh militant struggle to demand release of Damdami Taksal chief Sant Jarnail
Singh Bhindranwale arrested on September 20 earlier in the case of killing of
Hind Samachar group editor Lala Jagat Narain.
All the five hijackers were tried and sentenced in Pakistan
and released after they served their full jail term.
Gajinder Singh, in a sudden move, today made public his
presence in Pakistan on his Facebook page by posing his picture in front of the
historic Gurdwara Panja Sahib, one of the three most prominent gurdwaras
associated with Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh Faith, the other two being
Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib.
It is pertinent to mention that he did not attend cremation
of his wife who died in Germany in 2019. He was not seen at the marriage of his
daughter either.
He is stateless, without papers.
He was honoured with the title of ‘Warrior in Exile’
(Jalawatan Yodha) from Akal Takht in absentia sometime back but the function is
still to be held.
The list of 20 terrorists whose extradition was sought by
India from Pakistan in January 2002 includes several Sikh names. They were
Wadhawa Singh, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, Lakhbir Singh Rode, Gajinder Singh and
Ranjit Singh Neeta.
The Dal Khalsa whose agenda continues to be the achievement of
Khalistan but now democratically and peacefully, objected to the name of its
leader being part of the list of the most wanted terrorists and wrote to the government
at the centre.
Amritsar based Dal
Khalsa leader Kanwarpal Singh wrote “it was preposterous to brand Gajinder
Singh as a militant since since he had not taken part in any violence, nor had
he propagated seditious thoughts or ideology….the letter said Gajinder had
undergone punishment of more than 14 years in Pakistan for the alleged rime and
there was no militant case pending against him anymore.” (Times of India,
February 23, 2002).
It is pertinent to mention that two of these five hijackers
from that group returned to India after their release from jail in Pakistan. They
are now free citizens after facing judicial process on return.
The designated terrorists under UAPA associated with Punjab
militancy as per the list released by the government in April 2022 include
Wadhawa Singh, Lakhbir Singh, Ranjeet Singh Neeta, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, Bhupinder
Singh Bhinda, Gurmeet Singh Bagga, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, Hardeep Singh Nijjar
and Paramjit Singh Pamma.
Gajinder is now not on the list of the wanted terrorists but
his presence has never been recognised by the Pakistan government, although it
has been an open secret all these years.
Having broken his anonymity, it is to be seen as to what
would be his next move and how the Pakistan government now treats his case.
Chandigarh based Gajinder Singh was part of the group of young
Sikh activists who had raised slogans at the rally of prime minister Indira
Gandhi at Dera Bassi on Chandigarh-Ambala road in 1971. He was a member of the
All India Sikh Students Federation then. He subsequently turned Sikh homeland
activist and was part of the 5-member founding presidium of Dal Khalsa
organised in 1978.
The only major action
of which he was the part was the hijacking that globalised the Khalistan
narrative in 1981.
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