Reduced to Ashes (book)
ISBN 99933-53-57-4 | |
Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab is the report of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), authored by Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur. The report focuses on human rights violations committed by the
Content
The book is organized into 7 chapters, each containing further subsections and finishing in 634 pages with the authors giving their conclusion and suggestions. The book starts by giving a chronology of events and a detailed information into
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- NHRC Chronology
- Chapter 1: Jaswant Singh Khalra: A Martyr for Human Rights
- Chapter 2: Impunity by All Means
- Chapter 3: Rights and the Dead Ends of Law
- Chapter 4: Methodology
- Chapter 5: Analysis of Case Summaries
- Chapter 6: Summaries of Cases of Illegal Cremations included in CBI Lists
- Chapter 7: Endnote: Reflections and Recommendations
- Appendices
Reviews
Khushwant Singh, a well-known English columnist in leading National Newspapers in India, is said to have gone volte-face on his views after reading this research work,[2][3] in his own words out of his review of the book he remarks "It is spine-chilling.... Well, Mr Gill, it is not rubbish; you and the Punjab police have quite a few awkward questions to answer."[2] The Punjab Police chief K. P. S. Gill, one of the accused in the book, had earlier dismissed the book by calling it "rubbish" in his comment to Khushwant Singh's query.[2] However, later several police officials were charged with murder, and found guilty of kidnapping [4][5][6]
A. J. Philip, Senior Associate Editor of
Columbia Law School Professor Peter Rosenblum wrote for preface "The careful analysis by the authors allows the reader to "pierce through the thick veils of ideology, intrigue and ‘state security’ that obscure our understanding of the campaign to pacify Punjab."[8]
References
- ^ The Times Of India. Archived from the originalon May 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ^ a b c Singh, Khushwant (2003-06-20). "K. P. S. Gill you have questions to answer". The Hindustan Times.
- ^ Singh, Baldev (February 2004). "Changing Interpretation of Khushwant Singh". Sikh Spectrum Quarterly. No. 15.
- ^ "A mockery of justice: The case concerning the "disappearance" of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra severely undermined". Amnesty International. July 20, 1999. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007.
- ^ Meenakshi Ganguly (27 September 2005). "Other Screams of Terror". Human Rights Watch.
- ^ "Punjab Cops Convicted of 1995 Murder of Activist Khalra". Ensaaf.
- ^ a b Philip, A. J. (2003-06-01). "They did what CBI did not". The Tribune.
- ISBN 99933-53-57-4.