The controversy surrounding the film, Satluj, inspired by the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, has reopened one of Punjab’s deepest wounds—that of Sikh genocide. While the film focuses on allegations of illegal cremations and disappearances during the counter-terrorism years, families of Hindus killed by Khalistani terrorists say that an equally painful chapter of Punjab’s history has once again been pushed to the background.
Over the past few days, The Sunday Guardian spoke to families who lost parents, siblings and children in terrorist attacks in the 1980s and early 1990s. Their message is consistent—the conversation around Punjab’s Khalistani terrorism often remembers one set of victims, while overlooking thousands of others who were killed in bomb blasts, bus massacres, market shootings and targeted assassinations.
The debate has gained momentum on social media, where old newspaper reports, government documents and photographs of memorials dedicated to victims of terrorism have resurfaced. Hindu families say that the renewed attention has given them the opportunity to remind the country that their losses remain largely absent from public discourse.
Among the attacks etched into Punjab’s collective memory is the 6 July 1987 Lalru bus massacre, when Khalistani terrorists hijacked a Haryana Roadways bus near Lalru and killed 38 Hindu passengers after asking them their religion. Shamsher Singh Pathania, who uses the X handle @Pathaniaworkout, shared a list claiming that at least 25 massacres over different years involved Hindus being killed by Khalistani terrorists.
The following day, 7 July 1987, another attack near Fatehabad claimed the lives of 34 Hindu bus passengers. Earlier, on 25 July 1986, 15 Hindu bus passengers were killed in Muktsar. On 30 November 1986, another 24 Hindu passengers lost their lives in the Hoshiarpur bus massacre.
On 25 June 1989, Khalistani terrorists attacked an RSS gathering at Nehru Park in Moga, killing around 26 volunteers after identifying them by their religion.
The violence continued into the next decade. On 7 March 1990, Khalistani terrorists opened fire at Abohar’s Sadar Bazaar, killing 32 Hindu civilians. A memorial later came up in the town carrying the names of the victims.
On 15 November 1990, Khalistani terrorists stopped a bus travelling from Ferozepur to Dharamkot near Kotwara village and opened fire after forcing passengers to disembark, killing seven people belonging to the Hindu religion.
On 15 June 1991, coordinated attacks on passenger trains near Ludhiana left more than a hundred non-Sikh passengers dead, making it one of the deadliest incidents of the insurgency.
Mathura Das Hiteshi’s book titled Itihas ke Jharokho Se Abohar, shared with The Sunday Guardian, states that several Hindu organisations agitated in 2003 seeking relief for the families affected by Khalistani terrorism. It claims that the then Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, approved a proposal for a compensation package of Rs 781 crore for the families of an estimated 33,000 to 35,000 Hindus killed, but the proposal remained unimplemented. It further states that the issue remained unresolved even during his 2017-2022 tenure.
The same document says affected families have repeatedly argued that while compensation and rehabilitation packages were announced for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the Nanavati Commission process, terror-affected families in Punjab believe they did not receive comparable relief.
According to the document, families promised Rs 3 lakh in compensation often received only an initial instalment or nothing at all, while many also complained that pension benefits and rental assistance for displaced families were discontinued.
According to the All India Terror Victims Association, around 33,000 to 35,000 victims’ families were affected by terrorism in Punjab. The association has continued to demand implementation of the compensation package and greater recognition of victims’ suffering.
The Khalistani terrorism years also claimed the lives of more than 1,700 Punjab Police personnel and numerous moderate Sikh leaders, including Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Balwant Singh and the then Chief Minister Beant Singh. Security experts note that the violence affected people across communities and professions, leaving lasting scars on Punjab’s social fabric.
Ranju Aery, veteran journalist and author of the book Red Card, spoke to The Sunday Guardian and said, “History is not only about those who wielded power, carried weapons, or whose stories emerged after they were apprehended. It is also about those whose lives were shattered in silence. Their suffering and sacrifice deserve remembrance. Whenever narratives such as Satluj are propagated without acknowledging the pain of all victims, the wounds of the Hindu victims of terrorism in Punjab have been reopened. The unfortunate reality is that any discussion about the Hindu victims of terrorism in Punjab is immediately linked to the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in 1984. The two tragedies were separate. Both deserve recognition and justice on their own terms.”
She further explained, “Punjab endured a violent separatist movement for more than a decade. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives, and many families were displaced, threatened, or forced to live in fear. Yet political considerations and vote bank politics often silenced meaningful discussion about their suffering. It appears that, even after decades, the human rights of the victims of terrorism have not received the same attention as the rights of those accused or convicted of violence. A just and balanced society must acknowledge the pain of every victim without selectivity or political convenience.”
For the families interviewed by The Sunday Guardian, the debate over Satluj is not about denying anyone else’s suffering. They say every victim of the insurgency deserves recognition. Their demand is that any retelling of Punjab’s darkest years should also acknowledge the Hindu lives lost in terrorist violence and the families who continue to wait for the relief and recognition they believe was promised to them.
Whether cinema can fully capture the complexity of Punjab’s insurgency remains open to debate. What is beyond dispute is that thousands of families across the state continue to carry memories of a conflict that changed their lives forever. They want their stories told.
