Navkiran Kaur Khalra is an Indian human rights lawyer who primarily highlights the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Punjab. She is the daughter of famous Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Navkiran Kaur Khalra was born in 1985 (age 38 years; as of 2023) in Amritsar, Punjab. His native village is Khalra. In 1995, when she was ten years old, her father was kidnapped and murdered by the Punjab Police. Since then, his family has been actively working with the Khalra Mission Committee to keep their father’s legacy alive by advocating human rights. The Khalra Mission Committee was set up by his father in 1995 to investigate extrajudicial killings by the Punjab Police during the 1984 anti-Sikh movement. Growing up in such an environment, activism was also inherent in Navkiran. His schooling was in Amritsar, Punjab. Later, Navkiran went to America for higher education. In 2009, he moved to Fresno, California, where he received a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Fresno (Fresno State). Navkiran actively represents Sikh interests in the Sikh diaspora and other communities and to human rights defenders. She actively speaks about her father at various religious and cultural events.
Navkiran Kaur Khalra speaking at a Sikh freedom rally speech in San Francisco in 2018
Eventually, she settled in California, USA.
Family
parents and siblings
Navkiran Kaur’s father, Jaswant Singh Khalra, was a renowned Sikh human rights activist who investigated and exposed 25,000 unclaimed (Sikh) bodies cremated by the security forces of Punjab during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. In 1995, he was abducted and murdered by the KPS Gill led Punjab Police for revealing evidence against the Punjab Police in international forums.
-Jaswant Singh Khalra
Navkiran’s mother, Paramjit Kaur, worked as a librarian in the library of Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar. After Khalra’s death, she became a human rights defender and worked with the Khalra Mission organization to bring justice to 25,000 unclaimed bodies and convict her husband’s murderers. In 2019, she contested the Khadur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency on a Punjab Unity Party ticket, but lost the seat.
Jaswant Singh Khalra’s wife, Paramjeet Kaur
His brother Janmeet Singh is married to Itinderjit Kaur and has a daughter.
Janmeet Singh Khalra, son of Jaswant Singh Khalra
husband and children
In 2018, Navkiran Kaur married Dalbir Singh. Together, they have a son.
Navkiran Kaur Khalra’s wedding day photo
From left to right, Navkiran Kaur, Paramjeet Kaur (holding Navkiran Kaur’s son), and Dalbir Singh
Religion
She follows Sikh religion.
Facts/General Knowledge
- She is an active supporter of Khalistan. In 2021, he posted a tweet celebrating the assassination of CM Beant Singh and credited Dilawar Singh Babbar with ending the genocide of Sikhs.
Navkiran Kaur Khalra’s tweet, celebrating the assassination of CM Beant Singh and praising the contribution of Dilawar Singh Babbar in ending the genocide of Sikhs in Punjab.
- In 2022, it was announced that Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh would play the character of Jaswant Singh Khalra in his biopic. Following that, many people objected to Diljit Dosanjh’s characterization on the film sets of Khalra’s biopic, calling him a “foreigner” and protesting saying that he was Westernized.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn