Who is Bapu Surat Singh Ji?
In hopes of releasing all Sikh political prisoners in India, 82 year old, Bapu Surat Singh, has been on a hunger strike since January 16, 2015.
The government of India has the power to release their own people, but why aren’t Sikh prisoners treated the same as the Hindus? In February 2015, Bapu Ji’s son Ravinder Jeet Singh (a U.S. citizen) was arrested for simply taking care of his father while on hunger strike. While in jail, Ravinder went through physical and mental torture by the authorities. He was given no court hearing and was suddenly released in April 2015 with all charges dropped.
Bapu Ji himself has been arrested numerous times while doing his peaceful protest. He has been taken to multiple hospitals and jails and has being force-fed. The Indian government refused to have any coverage of Bapu Ji and other growing police brutalities in Punjab. Videos were still being leaked and the word got around to other countries.
Jagmeet Singh Tries to Expose India
Despite the word getting around, big news channels did not cover these issues. Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh guest on BBC Live, interrupted Siena Williams attempting to get the word out about violence against Sikhs in Punjab. Williams threatened to have Singh thrown out after he stated, “I have to say Sikhs are being killed in Punjab and nobody is reporting it. Please report it.” Williams became frustrated and diverted the audience’s attention to an unrelated clip. When returning from the clip, Singh was no longer seated on the panel. Below is the clip where Jagmeet tries to expose India on BBC news.
It is disturbing to see not only did India declare a media blackout, but when Sikhs try to get the word out on big news channels such as BBC, they get shut down. An 82 year old man goes on a hunger strike and is in critical condition, but still goes unnoticed. Where do they even go for justice at this point? It is important for the world to know how this religion is misconceived and suppressed when it comes to equality.
