In the past couple of weeks, you may have seen a sudden wash of orange colour across social networking sites, orange flags on cars and homes. I’ve been asked by many people what it represents. So, here goes the orange movement under the spotlight.
As I discussed in my earlier post, most Sikhs the world over were outraged last month at the Indian High Court’s ruling to hang Balwant Singh Rajoana. He is a former police officer who has already spent 17 years behind bars for conspiring in the assassination of the former Punjab Chief Minister in 1995 – a crime he has never denied.
Opinions over what he did vary. Some people believe he saved the Sikh faith from the ongoing slaughter imposed by the Punjab authorities at the time. Others believe Rajoana was wrong to help plot a suicide bombing that killed 16 others. But the orange movement is not about whether he was right or wrong in what he did – although many are misconstruing it for just that.
The orange movement is a call for justice. It’s a means to raise awareness of Rajoana’s case across the world. When a man has admitted his crime and spent more than the equivalent of the Indian lifetime sentence, why is he being subjected to a second sentence of the death penalty? In which law across the world has a person been subjected to two sentences?
Bear in mind he has admitted what he did. Bear in mind he “conspired” in murder but was not the murderer himself. Bear in mind he was a serving police officer but what he saw being imposed against Sikh civilians turned him from public servant to rebel.
I’m against the death sentence altogether, regardless of the crime, regardless of the country. But surely it’s inhumane to keep a man in prison for 17 years and then tell him he will be hanged till death. Why couldn’t the death sentence be imposed when he admitted to the crime?
Others arrested over the Chief Minister’s assassination have still not faced a trial. Yet they have spent more than the lifetime sentence in prison. How is that a fair legal system?
Sikhs across the globe have started the orange movement by holding peaceful demos and flying orange flags. This is to highlight the issue to the wider world and mainstream media. I’ve only seen the case mentioned on ITV Central News when Sikhs demonstrated outside the Indian Embassy. Sikh channels and Asian radio stations have discussed the issue but where is the mainstream coverage? We pay license fees so why can’t the BBC offer comprehensive coverage of a story that affects 19million Sikhs in Britain? Only BBC Asian Network has touched on the story. That’s very disappointing.
So, if you’re against injustice and feel Rajoana is facing a second sentence that is unfair, join the movement. Fly an orange flag. It’s already getting people talking. Let’s make sure people don’t lose sight of what it’s about.
Raj Bilkhu 