Akal Takht condemns Satluj block, urges Centre to allow screening

Amritsar,UPDATED: Jul 7, 2026 20:32 IST

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj on Tuesday condemned the blocking of the film Satluj, based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, and called it an attempt to suppress freedom of expression. He urged the Central government to allow the film to be screened and said the truth uncovered by Khalra should reach people across the country.

The film, earlier titled Punjab '95, is set in Punjab during the turbulent 1990s and follows Khalra's work in investigating the cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in the state between 1984 and 1994. After being held up by censors for more than three years, its uncut version was released on ZEE5 under the new title Satluj on July 3, but it was removed from the platform on July 5.

Gargajj said that at a time when human rights and freedom of expression are being widely emphasised, "preventing the truth about the atrocities against the Sikh minority in India from reaching people across the country and the world is an unconstitutional and unjust act".

Referring to the 1990s, he claimed that when Sikh youths were subjected to extra-judicial killings and fake police encounters, Khalra painstakingly collected records of those who had been killed and brought the facts before the world.

He said Khalra's story exposes one of the gravest human rights violations and shows that the truth can never be permanently suppressed until "it ultimately comes to light". He added that when films depicting atrocities against various communities, particularly the majority community, can be freely screened in the country, it is inappropriate to suppress a film highlighting the persecution of the Sikh minority.

The Jathedar said the government should display statesmanship by allowing the truth uncovered by Khalra to reach the people and permitting the screening of Satluj. "The more one attempts to run from the truth, the more powerfully it emerges before the world. People should know that those who commit crimes cannot escape accountability forever," he said.

Gargajj also asked the government to take a sincere and serious approach in dealing with cases related to the killings of Sikhs and the fake police encounters of Sikh youths during the decade after June 1984.

He said the government should deliver justice to the Sikh community and help heal its long-standing wounds. Gargajj added that stopping the film, which portrays atrocities committed against Sikhs, has deeply hurt Sikh sentiments.

Directed by Honey Trehan, Satluj centres on Khalra, who disappeared in 1995 after investigating the cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab. In 2005, four Punjab Police personnel were convicted for Khalra's abduction and murder and sentenced to seven years in prison. Two years later, the Punjab and Haryana High Court enhanced their sentence to life imprisonment.

The controversy over Satluj has again brought focus on Khalra's work, the film's delayed release, and the demand by the Akal Takht Jathedar that it be allowed to reach audiences without being blocked.

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