Over Seas

London Morcha – Day-night protest, vigil continues outside Downing Street against suspected execution of Prof. Bhullar

May 10, 2013 | By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

London, United Kingdom (May 10, 2013): In front of Downing Street, dozens of Brits line up day in day out since April 12, 2013, when the execution of Professor Bhullar was cleared in India, and every evening prayers and hymns are sung.

First there were thousands now people take turns and come from ten to one hundred in a day. Millions in Britain have protested, signing petitions for Cameron to intervene. Millions of Sikhs and anti-death penalty protestors around the world have protested on this severe miscarriage of justice.

Downing Street is on the road where the Prime Minister, David Cameron, lives and he must have seen those saffron flags raised high outside, day and night protestors, those praying. The London morcha for Professor Bhullar was attended by Sikhs from across Britain so that the streets were full of thousands of protestors and packed. Now the London morcha continues. With some very committed people who come even for a day or an hour and happen to be near London. Some Sikhs have travelled down from the Midlands and the North. A few Sikhs are there day and night and haven’t moved home because they felt so passionately about this huge miscarriage of justice. There have been floods of tears from elderly women , from singers, from protestors.

At night, despite the cold in Britain still being here, young Sikhs, elderly and those with children turn up every evening to sing kirtan- from 8pm if not earlier into the early hours of the next morning, Sikhs sing and pray and remember their dear brother, Prof. Bhullar, and do simran. Very talented musicians, bibia with guitars and angelic voices, bibia with sarangis, tablchis and kirtanis have taken part in this moving morcha. There have been Sikhs who look as if they could walk past, with beautiful blonde hair and jeans and they have sat and taken part in the cold in the morcha and done simran. One cannot even begin to describe the camraderie that Professor Bhullar has created, everyone feels so strongly about this use of the death penalty, and those who are young, old, religious, perhaps not, are truly united about this issue. London’s red buses go past, lights flash at night and simran is done before the PM’s house. It is a magical miracle in itself the beautiful, mesmerising kirtan and the solidarity.

Graham Watson, of the European Parliament, and lead in representing Europe’s interests in India, has gone on record on this potential miscarriage of justice and judiciary murder. (You Tube: Graham Watson in the European Parliament on the Bhullar Case).

On Feb. 28th, 2013, there was a historic U.K back bencher debate asking India to abolish the death penalty and specifically the huge miscarriage of justice in the Professor Bhullar case. Sikhs around the globe, in the US, Canada, Europe and India have asked politicians to exert pressure on this terrible injustice.

On the Green Mile, Delhi, sits a miracle Professor Bhullar. And as in the Stephen King novel, a terrible injustice is about to happen. Once he tried to save 42 students at Guru Nanak Engineering College, who were illegally kidnapped and disappeared by the police during the police state in Punjab in the 1990’s. Now he finds himself facing execution and has been rendered virtually mentally ill. Even ten years earlier Sikhs would try to send him books to read in prison and he told his close companion, Jodh Singh, who visited him so loyally for years and years, come rain or shine, when he asked if Prof. Bhullar would like some books- Prof Bhullar said that his time for books had passed and he could only do paath and concentrate on Sukhmani Sahib. It’s a reminder for how a Sikh really lives life knowing what it is. (Jodh Singh sadly passed away recently, and was a tempo rickshaw driver- whose family are devastated).

As the powers to be decide what they will do and what they are doing, we must remember the immense spirit of Professor Bhullar. Charities to help political prisoners were set up, millions of prayers are being said as we speak in this terrible time from the Indian Supreme Court. Millions of prayers by Sikhs and those against the death penalty around the world, vigils in cities across the world. Professor Bhullar himself has created a miracle in history. Every person knows they will one day go, but this son of the Guru, has invoked so many tears and so many prayers and so many struggles for justice to be done that when one looks at the young and old doing kirtan, in the dark, outside a prime minister’s house and chanting Waheguru, Waheguru, we can only hope that our spirited, spiritual friend whose health is so poor is surrounded in his journey in this world by angels. One thing is for sure this noble person has always believed in his Guru and his Guru’s raj and was surely aware of the games this world of maya and abuse of power is playing.

For the first time in Indian history, India will be executing someone despite a split verdict. The presiding judge in his Indian Supreme court case, Justice Shah, found him not guilty and this should have caused reasonable doubt in the case for life imprisonment. Recently the public prosecutor in his case went on record that saying that the majority judgement confirming the death sentence of Prof. Bhullar as “most inappropriate” and “judicial error”. This verdict has grave consequences on every citizen of India even if at this time they are brainwashed by right wing extremist views.

The Sikh community who suffered massacres will feel this is a personal attack upon them. Just days before a key accused perpetrator of the Delhi massacres where Sikhs were killed, Sajan Kumar, has been acquitted and honoured by politicians despite widows who have testified as eyewitnesses against him. Thousands of anti death penalty protesters from Canada, USA, Britain, Europe continue to protest to stop this grave miscarriage of justice. Diplomatic pressure has also been put upon India to halt this execution.

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Related Topics: Death Penalty, Prof. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, Sikh Diaspora, Sikhs in United Kingdom

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