#Art4Justice Human Rights Art Exhibition Inspired by Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa

PRESS RELEASE

#Art4Justice Human Rights Art Exhibition
Inspired by California Resident Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa

Gurdwara Sahib Fremont (Sikh place of worship) hosted an art exhibition on Sunday, May 8 2016, inspired by Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa (Bapu Ji), an 83-year-old Sikh human rights campaigner from Lathrop, California.

Third photo- Painting of Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa by artist Balpreet Singh

Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa has been on a hunger strike in India since January 16, 2015, calling for the release of Sikh political prisoners. He has been forcefully detained at hospitals for more than half that time, subjected to force feeding and harassment by the Indian Government.

The art exhibition showcased work from artists all over the world, including the UK, India, Canada, Russia and locally from California. Balpreet Singh, a young emerging artist who recently moved to California from Australia, said, "It is very rare to come across a person who sacrifices his life, desires, comfort for the betterment of the community. We all live our lives for our own good, however Bapu Ji has suffered a lot for others. Bapu Ji is a great example of a modern day freedom fighter and I have utmost respect for him. I wanted to be a little part of the great initiative that my brothers and sisters are doing with the art exhibition."

Prabhdev Singh, a Sikh activist from the Bay Area and co-curator of the exhibition with Harvinder Singh, said, "By organizing such exhibitions throughout California, we hope to reintroduce the concept of art into our Gurdwaras. If we go to historical Gurdwaras in Punjab, we see marvelous examples of art enshrined there. Over the past decades, art has disappeared from our institutions and daily lives, we hope to reignite that. This art exhibition definitely allowed people to connect with Sikh political prisoners. It helped put a face to Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa's struggle. Many visitors had tears in their eyes as they saw Bapu Surat Singh's fragile body depicted through art. Due to a yearlong protest, Bapu Surat Singh's healthy body has now turned into the skeleton of bones. He has endured a lot of pain and torture in the past one year."

Parminder Singh, Gurdwara Sahib Fremont committee member expressed, "We were happy to see a large turnout at the art exhibition throughout the day. An art exhibition for Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa allowed many local Sikhs to ask questions about him and the Sikh political prisoners languishing in jails despite completing their sentences. People are still very much attached to the struggle even after one year. This reiterates that the issue of political prisoners is very important to the Sikh community."

Presently, Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa continues his hunger strike in Punjab, India. He is being forcefully detained at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana. His struggle will reach 500 days at the end of May 2016.

(Left to Right) Curators of the exhibition Harvinder Singh, Prabhdev Singh and artist Balpreet Singh

Group photo of #Art4Justice Fremont Exhibition organizers and attendees

For more information about Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa's hunger strike:
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8875350

Contact information:

The Sangharsh Jaari Hai team ([email protected])
Website: www.freesikhprisoners.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bapusuratsingh
Twitter: @bapusuratsingh
Instagram: sangharsh_jaari_hai

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