'Get on with it and hang me' says minister's murderer

The state of Punjab, in India’s north-east, was hit by strikes and demonstrations today as tens of thousands of Sikhs protested against the upcoming execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, which has been scheduled for this Saturday. Rajoana was convicted of murder for his role in the assassination of the state’s former chief minister, Beant Singh, in 1995.

In Amritsar – the spiritual centre of Sikhism – special prayers were offered at the renowned Golden Temple and an edict from religious leaders required every member of the Sikh community to wear saffron turbans and affix saffron flags to businesses and homes as a means to express “deep anguish” over the sentence.  Many districts in the state observed a total “bandh” or general strike – while tense scenes were reported in some areas as shopkeepers called on the police to provide them with security in order to open up their businesses.

His impending execution has provoked protests outside India was well with demonstrations planned in Birmingham today and in London tomorrow.

Rajoana and four other men were sentenced in 2007 for the murder of  Beant Singh. Singh and 15 other people were killed in a suicide bomb attack – the bomber detonating his device as Singh stepped into his armoured car at government buildings in the state capital, Chandigarh. Rajoana was accused of being the designated “back-up” bomber, should the first attacker have failed in his mission.

The killing of 71-year-old Beant Singh came as a shock to many Indians. He was credited as a key figure in the suppression of militant Sikh separatist groups in the early 1990s. In an interview some months before his death, he claimed that the authorities had eliminated these groups as an effective force. Yet his role in this crackdown made him unpopular with many Sikhs – and western human rights groups as well, who accused the Indians of perpetrating human rights abuses.

Few people in India are sent to the gallows – in fact the last execution took place in 2004 and some in Punjab have described this Saturday’s scheduled hanging as an example of India targeting its minority Sikh community. But unhelpfully, Balwant Singh Rajoana doesn’t seem to want the help of the politicians and activists and members of the general public now trying to save his life.

Rajoana has not appealed against the death sentence – and in a letter sent from his jail cell, he demanded that his executioners actually get on with it and hang him. He went on to accuse public officials involved in his case of trying to win political advantage.

Nevertheless, the state government which prosecuted Rajoana is now trying its best to save him from the court’s judgement. The current chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal will meet India’s president and prime minister over the next few days, in an attempt to win clemency.

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UPDATE: The Indian government has announced a stay of execution while it considers a petition by Punjab’s chief minister.