Chandigarh: Surat Singh Khalsa (92), a resident of Hasanpur village near Ludhiana, died in San Francisco, USA. Surat Singh Khalsa went on a hunger strike in 2015 for the release of Sikhs imprisoned in jail. He was also admitted to DMCH hospital for 7 years.
On 16 January 2015, Surat Singh Khalsa started a hunger strike which lasted for about 8 years. He refused to eat food and drink water demanding the release of Sikh prisoners who had completed their court sentence.
While he was demanding the release of Sikh prisoners, he also demanded the unconditional release of prisoners of all religions who have completed their sentence.
Wrote letter to Prime Minister Modi on 11 February 2015
On 11 February 2015, Surat Singh Khalsa wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he explained the purpose of his hunger strike. In his letter, Surat Singh Khalsa stated his demands in two points.
He wrote that all Sikh prisoners – undertrials and those convicted in cases related to the Sikh struggle – should be treated as political prisoners and all prisoners who have completed their full sentence and whose release is valid should be released, just as other prisoners are released in various parts of the country.
Who is Surat Singh Khalsa?
Surat Singh Khalsa was born on 7 March 1933. He is a civil rights activist popularly known as Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa. He hails from Hasanpur village in Ludhiana. His five sons and one daughter are all US citizens.
They used to visit him regularly. Khalsa himself is also a US citizen. He went to the US in 1988 to live with his children and used to visit Punjab regularly. He was a government teacher but left his job in June 1984 in protest against Operation Bluestar.