The hanging of Sikh freedom fighter Balwant Singh Rajoana, assassin of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh - scheduled for Saturday, March 31, 2012 - was stayed today by the Indian Government, in response to growing unrest in Punjab and around the country over the issue, as well as mounting international pressure.
The day-long bandh called by various Sikh organizations to protest the scheduled execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the Beant Singh killing case, disrupted normal life in parts of Punjab on Wednesday.
Petitions in support of overturning the death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana have appeared on the web with increasing frequency over the past few weeks. If like me, you have seen them and wonder who he is and what is going on, here are five important facts about the death sentence of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana...
The execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana must be halted and an official moratorium on capital punishment established in India, Amnesty International said today in an open letter to the country’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.
Rejecting Balwant Singh Rajoana’s appeal for reviewing the ‘zinda shaheed’ (living martyr) status, the Akal Takht said the title would stand against the name of the Babbar Khalsa militant.
Jot Singh Khalsa, the master armourer and kirpan maker has been working on a new project: compact, affordable, artisan-made Khalsa Kirpans which are entirely handmade to precise tolerances, using choice materials.
Pakistan's deputy attorney-general is to clean the shoes of thousands of devotees at India's Golden Temple in Amritsar in 'penance' for the beheading of a Sikh in Peshawar two years ago.
The history of Sikhs affords many instances of their value as soldiers, but it may be safely asserted that nothing finer than the grim valour and steady discipline displayed by them on the 4th June...
Following the announcement in India to hang Balwant Singh Rajoana on 31 March 2012 few western politicians have issued statements condemning the death penalty in India.
Gurdial Singh, Punjab Trust, France said that the protests would culminate in a large Europe-wide demonstration outside the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday 29 March. "Members of the European Parliament from across Europe are expected to join the demonstration and show solidarity with the Sikh community by demanding the time has come for the death penalty in India to come to an end" he said .