Sukhman Dhami and Jaskaran Kaur

2006

Sukhman Dhami and Jaskaran Kaur

Ensaaf

http://www.ensaaf.org

San Francisco, California, United States

The Bold Idea:

Before he was killed by police in 1995, human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra estimated that Indian security forces extrajudicially executed and secretly cremated 25,000 Sikhs in Punjab. Khalra himself exposed over 2000 secret cremations in Amritsar, Punjab. International groups estimate that government officials tortured hundreds of thousands more. These gross violations were committed as part of the Indian government's counter-insurgency operations from 1984 to 1995 to crush an armed self-determination movement. Hundreds of perpetrators, including all of the major architects of these crimes, have escaped accountability. Ensaaf works to end impunity and achieve justice for mass state crimes committed in Punjab with a proactive model that employs three interconnected and coordinated strategies: documenting examples of abuse to expose violations; litigating cases to hold perpetrators accountable; and organizing survivors in exile. This innovative model attacks impunity as a continuing violation of survivors' rights to truth, justice, and reparations; addresses the root causes of ongoing abuses; and engages those who have experienced abuses to become advocates for their rights.

Biography:

Sukhman and Jaskaran committed themselves to launching Ensaaf after investigating disappearances in Punjab. Survivors of these atrocities asked them to keep alive the memories of their loved ones who disappeared and were killed and bring to justice those responsible. Sukhman, who earned his JD and MA from American University, and Jaskaran, a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, are the only public interest lawyers working full-time to end impunity for mass state crimes in Punjab, India.

Moment of Obligation: Why did you want to create your new organization?
Sukhman: The need for an organization dedicated to fighting impunity for mass state crimes in Punjab became apparent when I traveled there in February 2003 to investigate extrajudicial executions and disappearances. One case in particular demonstrated the uniquely heinous impact of the crime of disappearance: Papers reported that Mrs. Kaur’s husband had been killed in a gun-fight with security forces. Mrs. Kaur knew this story was a lie because she had just visited her husband in police custody a few days earlier. She went to the police station and begged to see her husband. Remarkably, the police allowed her to visit a man who was reportedly dead. The police assured Mrs. Kaur that they would release him in a few days. When she returned for her husband, the police denied ever having custody of him. It has been over ten years since she has seen her husband alive. During that time, she has been ostracized by her family, who fears retaliation from police for supporting her, and has raised a son who has not known his father. She told me: “I simply want to know the truth, because right now, I am living in two worlds, that of the living and that of the dead. The government has played a cruel trick on me. I am ready to press my case if you stand with me.”
Jaskaran: I devoted myself to fighting impunity in India for mass state crimes after the summer of 2001. During that summer, I traveled to Punjab, India on a Harvard human rights fellowship to study how the Indian judiciary handled cases filed on behalf of the "disappeared" in Punjab. As I met survivors of the "disappeared", I was compelled by their experiences and pleas to continue the fight for justice and record the memory of their missing loved ones. I was also overwhelmed by the continuing physical, psychological, and economic impact of torture and murder. Ram Singh, for example, had a stroke a week before our interview. He was half paralyzed and broke down in tears when he spoke of the stress of raising his kids, his brothers’ kids, and the regular harassment he experienced from the same police officer who killed his brother. But his father, over 80 years old, told me not to worry—that he would fight for justice until he died.
Sukhman and Jaskaran: These experiences, as well as an analysis of the current state of human rights work in Punjab, convinced us to create an organization dedicated to fighting impunity in India as current violations of the survivors’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations. Over the years, the survivors showed us that they have immense courage, and will come forward if there are others to support them.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to take on deeply entrenched social problems?
Survivors have inspired us to fight impunity for mass state crimes in Punjab. Interacting with them regularly has given us an appreciation of their lives and an enhanced sense of justice. Further, as Sikhs who share the same faith, culture, and language as the survivors, we gain their trust and involve them with our advocacy. Our legal training and fieldwork in Punjab has given us the required technical skills and experiences necessary to understand the on-the-ground realities and comprehensively analyze impunity. These skills and experiences, combined with our extensive relationships with international and domestic activists, allow us to implement innovative projects and devise strong international partnerships to combat impunity. Moreover, the sacrifices of social justice activists, such as Jaswant Singh Khalra, have given us faith in the ability of individuals to make a significant impact and overcome hostile environments and challenges.

New and Untested: Describe what’s innovative about your new work.
Our work is innovative because we attack impunity in Punjab as a continuing violation of survivors’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations. Impunity allows perpetrators to remain in power and commit further abuses, conceals the truth about the government’s crimes, and oppresses entire communities through fear. We must therefore first defeat impunity in order to enforce human rights in India and reduce the possibility of future abuses. Our approach is also comprehensive. We pursue three coordinated strategies and involve survivors in each strategy: we document and expose violations; litigate cases to remove perpetrators from power; and organize survivors in exile to advocate for their rights. We further connect survivors to international rights groups to create a cohesive, proactive, and global movement to attack impunity.

Seeing Possibilities: What do you believe are the most important qualities to do social change work?
A social entrepreneur must be committed to the population she serves, and possess the passion and commitment to see herself through the challenges. She must also engage in regular self-examination to ensure that her work is results-driven. We’ve found that it’s necessary to build a team that can combine long-term strategic development with meticulous implementation. In order to do social change work, you must be humble, courageous, and have an attitude of love. You must be humble so that you can learn from your constituents, ask for help on their behalf, and be capable of continual improvement to be a more effective advocate. You must be courageous in order to give yourself permission to lead the fight for change, rather than merely reacting to adversity. And you must be guided by love for your constituents, because it is the only force that will lead you through moments of despair and set-backs.

Which musical artists/albums get you going?
Sukhman: QBert, Tigerstyle, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Radiohead, OutKast, Navdeep, Nas, Dead Prez, Bikram Singh.
Jaskaran: Bhai Avtar Singh (Sikh kirtan), Dead Prez.

What books do you recommend (pleasure, work, and anything in between)?
Sukhman: Spirit Born People by Puran Singh, Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab by R.N. Kumar, et. al, Nicobobinus by Terry Jones, A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Powers, and A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn.
Jaskaran: A Right to Be Hostile: The Boondocks Treasury by Aaron McGruder, The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat, various writings by Peter Drucker.

Which websites do you visit often (work and/or personal)?
Sukhman:

• ensaaf.org
• democracynow.org
• craigslist.org

Jaskaran:

• news.bbc.co.uk
• theonion.com
• csmonitor.com
• ensaaf.org

Any last words, thoughts or advice to other social change leaders?
Sukhman: Pay attention to people who tell you that what you propose to do is impossible, because that is how you know you are on the right track to doing what is necessary.
Jaskaran: Don’t be shy: consult with everyone and anyone who’s worked in your field.