Extrajudicial killings, secret burials and Punjab's laapataa: The true story behind Diljit Dosanjh's Satluj

FOr nearly terzetto years, theatre director Honey Trehan’s biopic on human rights activistic Jaswant Singh Khalra was caught in a gruelling combat with republic of india’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).Originally titled Ghallughara and later Punjab 95, the film was subjected to intense scrutiny when the censor board reportedly demanded over 120 cuts, Gulf News reported.On July 3, the filmmakers seemingly bypassed the theatrical blockade and dropped the complete, uncut film directly onto ZEE5 under the new title Satluj. The victory, though, was incredibly short-lived. Only two days after its OTT premiere, the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer was pulled from the streaming platform for viewers in India.“In light of the current developments, Satluj will be unavailable in India until further notice,” a ZEE5 statement read. “We remain committed to exploring every appropriate avenue through due process to bring the film back to our audiences at the earliest opportunity. Our commitment to creators and to stories told with conviction, artistic integrity and purpose remains unwavering.” ALSO READ | Satluj director Honey Trehan is still hopeful even as Diljit Dosanjh-starrer is removed from Zee5: 'God's will is sweet'What is Satluj about?The heavy-handed pushback against the film is tied to its raw subject matter. Satluj features actor-singer Dosanjh as Jaswant Singh Khalra, who investigated the alleged secret cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies during Punjab's militancy years.Set during the insurgency and counter-insurgency in Punjab between the 1980s and mid-1990s, the film explores allegations of extrajudicial killings, kidnappings by authorities and human rights abuses during the period, as per PunjabDisappeared.Org.What happened in Punjab at the timeThe friction traces back to the 1947 Partition of India, which divided the Punjab province and left the minority Sikh population feeling politically marginalised.By the late 1970s, these demands were formalised in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, a document demanding greater economic self-sufficiency, political freedom, and control over religious affairs within India’s federal structure.The Central Government rejected the resolution and said it was a secessionist and subversive document.By the early 1980s, peaceful protests for these demands gave way to mass arrests. It eventually led to a cycle of militant violence, followed by aggressive repression by the state.ALSO READ | Sukbhir Badal condemns ban of Diljit Dosanjh's Satluj on Zee5 India: ‘Assault on freedom of expression'Assassination of Indira GandhiThis was accelerated by the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The attack was in retaliation for Operation Blue Star, a military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi between June 1 and 10 that year.It removed heavily armed militants, who had fortified themselves inside the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. The operation involved tanks, artillery and infantry, and ended in an assault on the Akal Takht, one of Sikhism's most sacred institutions within the temple complex. Punjab's laapataaDuring the height of the counter-insurgency, security forces, including the Punjab Police, the Indian Army, and paramilitary units, operated with near-total impunity under the pretext of restoring order.Human rights organisations like Ensaaf have documented thousands of atrocities across more than 12,000 villages. Security forces routinely conducted arbitrary arrests that quickly escalated into brutal torture. This included mutilation and severe beatings. To cover up these actions, officials frequently staged “fake encounters,” and claimed suspects were killed in crossfire when they had actually reportedly been executed in custody.Entire families, including children and the elderly, were occasionally targeted, and victims' bodies were often disfigured or secretly cremated to eliminate evidence.Thousands of families were left entirely in the dark after loved ones were abducted by security forces, never to be seen again. Many remain missing to this day. They are known as the Punjab’s laapataa (disappeared).What happened to Jaswant Singh Khalra?Human rights activist Khalra began investigating when young Sikh men began vanishing from villages, only to never return. His search led him to local cremation grounds in Amritsar, where he combed through municipal logbooks, as per Ensaaf.He allegedly found that thousands of unidentified bodies had been illegally cremated during Punjab's insurgency years. He took his findings to the international stage and spoke about the illegal cremations at the Canadian Parliament in 1995.In September that year, he was abducted outside his home in Amritsar, Ensaaf reported. A report in Amnesty International said he had been threatened by the Punjab police before his disappearance.Investigators later concluded that Punjab Police personnel kidnapped, tortured and murdered him. After a decade-long legal battle, six police officials were convicted in 2005 for their roles in the crime.In 2011, the Supreme Court of India upheld the convictions and life sentences.