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Dal Khalsa co-founder Gajinder Singh Hijacker for the first time makes his Pakistan presence public




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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