‘Akal Takht’ Conducts Prayers for the Disappeared at Harike

July

2026

On 14 Jul, Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Eternal Throne, AT) conducted prayers for those who disappeared in Panjab during the militancy years in the 1980–90s, at Harike Pattan, Tarn Taran district, at the confluence of rivers Satluj and Beas. Announcing the prayers, AT Jathedar (leader), Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, said he will offer Ardas (prayers) in the memory of victims whose cases were brought to light by human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra, and for affected families to receive justice. Giani Gargajj said that no collective Ardas had been held all these years in the memory of the victims. He added, 'Many grieving mothers and sisters still did not know what happened to their sons and brothers.' He extended an 'open invitation to all victim families, mothers, sisters, brothers, activists, lawyers, and individuals who have worked to defend human rights to participate in the event'. Khalra's widow, Bibi Paramjit Kaur Khalra, invited everyone to the prayers and placed three demands: 1) a People's Commission should establish the true number of those who disappeared or were killed in alleged fake encounters in Panjab during the 1980s and 1990s; 2) AT must recognize unidentified victims exposed through Jaswant Singh Khalra's work in the Central Sikh Museum and provide financial assistance from the apex Sikh body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for affected families; and 3) those responsible for, or complicit in, alleged human rights violations should be stripped of official honors, and subjected to public accountability, asserting that the memory of Panjab's 'unidentified bodies' and Khalra 'should not become a tool for political mobilization but a reminder of the unfinished pursuit of truth and justice'. Over a 100 police officers have been convicted so far in cases of abductions, disappearances, and extra judicial killings. However, two officers convicted in the Khalra case are yet to be stripped of their gallantry awards. Faridkot Giani Gargajj has accepted Bibi Khalra’s first two demands. Member of Parliament Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa has announced USD 104K for a memorial to Khalra and all disappeared at Harike Pattan. It is ironic that society looks at political and religious leaders for direction but in this case the movie ‘Satluj’ has inspired this step (earlier coverage).