News
Ensaaf in the News: Selected Coverage
Op-Eds
Injustice Cost Votes in Punjab Polls
The Asian Age – February 27, 2007: Jasmine Marwaha, Program Associate at Ensaaf, and Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, discuss the cost of ignoring human rights violations and the public interest lawsuit on “disappearances” and mass secret cremations in Punjab.
The Legacy of India’s Counter-Terrorism
Boston Globe – July 15, 2005: Jaskaran Kaur, Co-Director of Ensaaf, writes on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the US, drawing attention to India’s legacy of systematic human rights abuse in Punjab.
International News
Victims of Punjab counter-insurgency still search for justice
Rediff, October 19, 2007: The article highlights the testimony of Tarlochan Singh and Mohinder Singh, two survivors whose cases are discussed in extensive detail in the Ensaaf and Human Rights Watch joint report, "Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India." It also discusses the petition filed by Paramjit Kaur Khalra against former Punjab police chief KPS Gill for his role in her husband's abduction and murder.
NGOs: Probe Punjab Vanishings
Asian Age, October 19, 2007: The article discusses the recommendations and cases in the Ensaaf and Human Rights Watch report, "Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India," including quotations from Ensaaf, HRW, and a survivor interviewed for the report.
Protecting the Killers
International Herald Tribune, October 18, 2007: The article discusses the report released by Ensaaf and Human Rights Watch, "Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India."
Bhalla Commission of Inquiry
Hindustan Times (Punjab) – January 3, 2007: The Hindustan Times reports on the second hearing of the Bhalla Commission of Inquiry, highlighting Ensaaf's attendance at the hearing and arguments made by petitioner Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab.
Anniversary of Disappearance of Sukhwinder Singh Bhatti
Times of India (Chandigarh) – May 18, 2006: The Times of India reports on the 12-year anniversary of the disappearance of human rights attorney Sukhwinder Singh Bhatti, and Ensaaf's communication to the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders.
International Call for Prosecution of Gill
Times of India (Chandigarh) – May 4, 2006: The Times of India reports on the joint letter by Ensaaf, Human Rights Watch, REDRESS, and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, calling for the prosecution of former Director General of Punjab Police KPS Gill for the murder of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Withhold Extradition of Kulvir Singh Barapind
Indian Express – January 6, 2006: Among coverage by the Hindustan Times and diaspora press, the Indian Express covers the call made by the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice to withhold the extradition of Kulvir Singh Barapind from the US to India. Ensaaf prepared Barapind's application for relief from extradition under the Convention Against Torture.
Report Finds 'Pattern of Abuse' by Security Forces
The Hindu – November 6, 2005: The Hindu reports on the findings of the joint report prepared by Physicians for Human Rights and the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture on torture and trauma suffered by families of the disappeared and extrajudicially executed in Punjab. The study was organized by Ensaaf; the final report was submitted to the National Human Rights Commission in the Punjab mass cremations case.
Premier of The Widow Colony
Widow Colony – November 2005: In November 2005, Sach Productions screened The Widow Colony in New Delhi. This film, an in-depth look into the lives of the widows of the Sikh men killed in the Massacres of November 1984, includes an interview with Ensaaf.
Struggle for Justice for Survivors of 1984
Frontline – August 27, 2005: Frontline reports on the continuing struggle for survival and justice by Sikhs who survived the 1984 pogroms in India. The article discusses Ensaaf's report Twenty Years of Impunity and its reaction to the government's Action Taken Report.
The Failures of the Nanavati Report
Indian Express, August 11, 2005: In an article covering the Nanavati report on the 1984 pogroms of Sikhs, the Indian daily Indian Express quotes Ensaaf’s reaction.
India: Prosecute Killers of Sikhs
Human Rights Watch – October 30, 2004: In its October 30, 2004 press release calling for the prosecution of the killers of Sikhs in the November 1984 pogroms in India, Human Rights Watch commends Ensaaf's report Twenty Years of Impunity.
International Journals
Twenty Years Later
Harvard Human Rights Journal – Spring 2005: In its Spring 2005 edition, The Harvard Human Rights Journal published a recent development article, “Twenty Years Later: Recent Reports Highlight the Continuing Struggle for Sikh Human Rights,“ discussing Ensaaf's report, Twenty Years of Impunity.
Dead End in Punjab
Asian Age – December 17, 2004: In ÒDead End in Punjab,Ó Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch highlights the need to remember victims who continue to struggle against impunity for perpetrators of abuses against Sikhs in Punjab.
Waiting for Justice
World Policy Journal – August 2004: In August 2004, the World Policy Journal released its summer issue, featuring an article by Barbara Crossette that mentions Ensaaf's work in fighting impunity in India.
US News: National and Local
Protecting the Killers
Washington Post, October 18, 2007: The article discusses the report released by Ensaaf and Human Rights Watch, "Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India."
Non-Profit Spotlight
The Desi Connect – July 11, 2006: In its July 11, 2006 issue, The Desi Connect features Ensaaf in its Non-Profit Spotlight.
Harvard Law School Record
The Record – January 19, 2006: In its January 2006 issue, The Record, an independent newspaper at Harvard Law School, profiles alumna Jaskaran Kaur, Ensaaf’s Co-Founder and Co-Director.
Remembering June 1984
Appeal-Democrat – June 27, 2005: On June 27, 2005, Yuba City's Appeal-Democrat publishes Daniel Thigpen's article on an event held at the Tierra Buena gurdwara commemorating the June 1984 Indian Army attack on the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex, including presentations by Ensaaf.
Opening Old Wounds
East Bay Express – June 16, 2005: Robert Gammon discusses the Real ID Act of 2005, a law that makes it tougher for torture victims to gain political asylum in the US, in the context of asylum seekers migrating from Punjab to the US after 1984. Gammon cites Ensaaf’s report Twenty Years of Impunity.
Sikhs Remember Carnage
Appeal-Democrat – November 22, 2004: Ching Lee covers the November 20th Remember 1984 event organized by the Punjabi American Heritage Society in Yuba City, CA, which included a presentation by Ensaaf.
20th Anniversary
India West – November 5, 2004: In an article covering the Indian diaspora’s reaction to the 20th anniversary of the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs, Sarmishta Ramesh discusses Ensaaf's report Twenty Years of Impunity and the Punjab mass cremations case.
Kulvir Singh Barapind
METRO – October 13, 2004: Najeeb Hasan discusses the extradition case of Kulvir Singh Barapind, describing Ensaaf’s work in the case.
Operation Bluestar
India Abroad – July 30, 2004: Aseem Chhabra reflects on Sikh reactions to Operation Bluestar, the Indian Army attack on the Harmandir Sahib complex and 41 other gurudwaras in June 1984. Chhabra discusses Ensaaf’s research on judicial impunity in India and report Twenty Years of Impunity.
Radio Interviews
Radio Intifada: Focus on South Asia
Radio Intifada – July 13, 2006: Neel Garlapati interviews Ensaaf’s Co-Director Sukhman Dhami and HRW/Asia’s Executive Director Brad Adams for KPFK 90.7, Los Angeles' Pacifica radio station. The interview focuses on the case of Kulvir Singh Barapind.
Radio Intifada: Survivors’ Struggles
Radio Intifada – December 15, 2005: Neel Garlapati interviews Ensaaf Co-Director Sukhman Dhami for KPFK 90.7, Los Angeles’ Pacifica radio station. The interview focuses on the systematic human rights abuses that occurred in Punjab during the counter-insurgency movement of 1984 to 1995.
Radio Intifada
Radio Intifada – August 26, 2004: Neel Garlapati interviews Ensaaf Directors Jaskaran Kaur and Sukhman Dhami for KPFK 90.7, Los Angeles' Pacifica radio station. The interview was aired as part of Radio Intifada's program on South Asian Americans Organizing for Change.
