Over 100,000 Gather in Baba Bakala Supporting Imprisoned MP Amritpal Singh Khalsa

Feb 28
2 min read

“Phool Jo Lahoo Mein Khile” Published by Sikh Leaders

Sikh leaders holding “Phool Jo Lahoo Mein Khile" the newly released Hindi translation of Captivating the Simple-hearted:A Struggle for Human Dignity in the Indian Subcontinent at a rally for imprisoned MP Amritpal Singh Khalsa in Baba Bakala, Punjab, India.

Baba Bakala, Punjab, India - August 19, 2024

On Monday, August 19th, over 100,000 people gathered in the town of Baba Bakala to rally in support of their newly elected Member of Parliament, Bhai Amritpal Singh Khalsa. Amritpal was arrested and imprisoned by Indian officials in April 2023, after condemning the Indian Government for multiple human rights violations against the Sikh community, including torture and murder. The Indian Government painted a false public picture of him as a terrorist and used the draconian National Security Act (NSA) to justify his arrest. Refusing to let imprisonment silence his voice, in May 2024, he entered the Lok Sabha elections, representing the Khadoor Sahib constituency of Punjab. Over 400,000 people voted for him, and yet despite his landslide victory, Indian officials have continued to block his release from prison.

Amritpal sent a message to be read by proxy at the gathering. He reassured everyone that he and his fellow imprisoned Singhs were doing well, despite being unjustly detained thousands of miles away from their Punjabi homeland. He said that the Indian government must have thought that by oppressing them, they would be forced to submit to the tyrannical will of the Bharatia Janata Party (BJP.) However, this oppressive tactic backfired and has strengthened their resolve to continue speaking out against the unprovoked torture of countless Sikh youth by Government officials.

The gathering also marked the public debut of the Hindi translation of the book Captivating the Simple-hearted: A Struggle for Human Dignity in the Indian Subcontinent, by Bhajan Singh Bhinder and Pieter Friedrich. Amritpal’s Singh’s Father, Tarsem Singh, Member of Parliament Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, and Jeevan Singh of the Tamil Sikh Initiative presented the book to multiple Sikh religious leaders, as well as to the multiple socio-political leaders who were present. The book, which in Hindi is called Phool Jo Lahoo Mein Khile (Flowers Which Blossomed in Red), outlines the history of oppression in India, and paints a picture of an Indian society free from caste discrimination where every human lives together in peace and honors and respects the God-given dignity of all.

The authors, Bhajan Singh Bhinder and Pieter Friedrich , both live in the United States and have experienced Transnational Repression for their critiques of the Indian Government. They have been slandered and threatened online, in print media, and in public spaces because of their activism, which reinforces the truth behind the message of their book. According to Bhajan, “This book has been like a rock we threw into a large pond. When you do that, others can tell how big the rock was based on the size of the waves it created. This book, currently translated in English , Tamil, Kannada, and now Hindi, has created some very large waves, and they are just getting bigger. In fact, I am pleased to announce that a Punjabi translation will be released very soon!”