Sutluj Ending Explained And Movie Recap: True Story Of Jaswant Singh Khalra

Ever since gaining independence, India’s internal wars – rooted in archaic hierarchies, discrimination of nth varieties, have surfaced with all their grotesqueness – but amnesiac mass consciousness has often buried them to protect vested interests. And not so surprisingly, every single one of these conflicts is rooted in the wrongdoings of the powers that be. No matter how horrifying the truth about these conflicts is, generations should be made aware of them to honor the memories of the sufferers, to not repeat the mistakes past generations made, and to make empathy a basic human trait once again. Irrespective of political controversies surrounding it, at its core, Honey Trehan’s “Sutluj”, which sheds light on one of the darkest chapters of this country, is all about this. Originally named “Punjab 95,” the movie was released after prolonged uncertainty due to overall political controversies surrounding the narrative, which requires a better understanding of the turbulent politics of India in the 80s.

Spoilers Ahead

The Historical Background of Police Brutality

The Indian state of Punjab has always been a seat of significant political and social turmoil involving the Sikh community since the partition, which was aggravated further during Operation Blue Star in 1984, approved by the then PM, Indira Gandhi. The operation targeted extremist militant leader, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was also a Sikh religious guru, and having him, his associates hunted down inside the Golden Temple – the holiest Sikh site in the world, rubbed off many the wrong way. Eventually, this resulted in the assassination of the PM, following which a government-orchestrated pogrom against Sikhs took place throughout the nation, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians. This fuelled the campaign of extremist militants operating in Punjab. Throughout the next decade, conflicts between authorities and militants reached unprecedented heights. 

Delhi High Command gives Punjab Police DGP Bitta, inspired by real-life DGP K.P.S Gill, a free hand to quell the insurgency in any way he pleases. Even though Bitta’s brutal crackdown diminishes militants’ presence and influence in the state, his questionable moral compass and delivery of unrestrained power to the police force derive disastrous consequences. Bitta’s reign of terror sees not only militants, but also their family members, civilians who don’t have anything to do with the conflict, get butchered by the force by being branded as terrorists. Bitta’s attack dog, S. P. Sugga, inspired by a real-life character SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu, and his underlings of Tarn Taran police station, orchestrate huge numbers of extrajudicial killings, turning themselves into judge, jury, and executioner. The perennial question, who watches the watchmen, is reiterated as the police start to use these killings, fake encounters, in order to get easy promotion, given that the state awards any step taken to curb the insurgency to the ground. Needless to say, the police, who aren’t answerable to anyone, manage to cover up their dirty deeds quite easily – cremating hundreds of bodies as unclaimed corpses, or by simply dumping them in the rivers. The title of the movie itself, “Satluj”, acts as a signifier of the river, which was once believed holy by the Sikh community, and was turned into a submarine graveyard by the diabolical actions of the Punjab Police. At the same time, the river is also a symbol of truth, a force of nature that represents Jaswant Singh’s determined and courageous self.

Jaswant’s Investigation: Why Was He Abducted?

Set in the early 90s, the narrative focuses on Jaswant Singh Khalra, a banker by profession, who finds out the ongoing heinous conspiracy while searching for Gurpez Kaur, the mother of his late friend, Kirpal. It should be mentioned that Kirpal used to be an extremist who was killed by the cops nearly six months ago, and ever since his passing, poor Gurpez has gradually lost her sanity. Reporting to the authorities obviously doesn’t yield results, which prompts Jaswant to make visits to the morgue and crematorium. Jaswant realizes how horrible the situation really is upon learning how hundreds of victims of state violence are being disposed of regularly as unclaimed bodies, denying any sense of identity they once had, while their families wait for their return in bated breath. A family man himself, father of two children, and a loving husband, Jaswant decides to take a stand against this gross violation of human rights and hold the authorities accountable. Jaswant’s supportive wife, Paramjeet, fears for his safety and that of their family, given that any attempt to go against the state machinery can result in severe repercussions. However, Jaswant’s unwavering moral compass makes it impossible for him to look away, especially because, as a family man, he knows what’s at stake. 

Every morning, Jaswant’s children recited spiritual psalms of Sikhism, which is a common practice in every Sikh household. Jaswant daily reminded his children to emphasize the meaning of the psalms, in order to have them fully integrate the moral lessons instead of simply memorizing them as a chore. Universal brotherhood, and the concept of Satnam, aka realizing one’s true identity/ true wisdom, is the core essence of Sikhism – and as a noble, honourable man of faith, Jaswant simply couldn’t give up his efforts to seek justice for thousands of people of his community who have suffered in the hands of authorities who were entrusted with their protection. Despite knowing all the risks, Jaswant dedicated himself to thoroughly investigating the conspiracy, and Satnam, one of his friends who is also a part of Sugga’s task force, helps him by providing crucial files. Like a number of members in the force, Satnam couldn’t stomach the diabolical actions of his colleagues, but at the same time, he knew protesting against them or quitting the force was not an option. The force has turned corrupt to such a disgusting extent that any whistleblower and their families will perish and  be framed as traitors. 

Compiling records from hospitals, crematoriums, and visiting all the families of the victims who don’t even know what has happened to their missing loved one, Jaswant builds a case strong enough to be presented in court to seek justice for the victims of police violence. To protect the families of the victims, Jaswant asks them to direct the authorities towards him if they get interrogated, he is willing to take the brunt of the force if it amounts to truth, and finally get to the surface. Realizing that state media has its hands tied, Jaswant reaches out to global Sikh organizations in the United States and Canada, to let the world see what kind of horrific acts are being normalized by the state and how the death merchants posing as cops are profiteering off of the hapless victims. As the national media becomes active, the Chief Minister of Punjab tries diverting the attention by making silly excuses, while pressuring Bitta to find a solution to their latest problem. Bitta, whose devious ploys resulted in such a murder racket flourishing in the first place, tries to undermine Jaswant’s words time and again, but he, too, knows that at this rate, with pressure mounting, the truth about the force’s shameless power abuse is going to get exposed. He orders Sugga to take necessary actions, while protests against Punjab Police’s tyranny rage on. 

Jaswant is invited to Canada by the International Sikh Federation, where he highlights the miserable plight of the people of Punjab, who have suffered for a decade or so under the rule of a tyrannical police force. Given that he is actively rattling the cages of powerful people like Bitta and inept politicians, Jaswant is advised to shift abroad to keep himself and his family safe. Jaswant denies, given that he has earned the trust of the sufferers by being among them, and fleeing from the country will be seen as an act of abandonment. For the same reason, Jaswant denies offers of regular surveillance at his home, despite the fact that Sugga’s men have kept his house premises under their watch. Despite facing threats from political powers, Jaswant remains undeterred in his pursuit of truth and justice. 

However, not being able to measure up to Jaswant’s courage, the police reply in the only way they know, violence – and Sugga takes his cavalry to pay a visit to Satnam’s place, knowing full well that he leaked the crucial police files to his old friend. Satnam and his entire family are butchered in cold blood by Sugga’s forces, and they are framed as allies of the militants. Satnam’s brother,  aide to the Punjab CM, joins the militants to exact revenge on the authorities and, acting as a suicide-bomber, kills the CM. This incident puts more pressure on Bitta, and not long after, Jaswant is abducted from his home by Sugga’s men under the DGP’s direct orders. 

Did the Truth About Jaswant’s Abduction Finally Get Revealed?

Jaswant’s abduction adds fuel to the fire of the ongoing protest, and Paramjeet takes charge by holding the police accountable for the disappearance of her husband. The new CM makes it clear to Bitta that he aims to reform Punjab Police, and, cancelling his extension of two years, mentions he has two months to find Jaswant before he is forced to retire. Obviously, these politicians turned a blind eye to the plight of sufferers until media attention brought the heat, and are realizing way too late that handing over power to a scoundrel like Bitta was a grave mistake. Seeking justice from criminals is a fool’s errand, and obviously, the Punjab Police remain ineffective. This prompts CBI Officer Samudra Singh to get involved in the investigation, and without wasting much time, he manages to identify the possible suspects – Sugga and his loyal cops, by interrogating Jaswant’s neighbours. However, finding solid evidence of a premeditated, foolproof crime appears to be more difficult than one can imagine, and the fact that Sugga’s cops cover up for each other makes it all the more difficult to find a headway into the investigation. While being interrogated by Samudra, Sugga even tries to get under his skin by questioning whether he was involved in the Sikh massacre during 1984. However, a hardened investigator like Samudra remains unfazed; nevertheless, he knows how uniform-clad criminals like Sugga twist the narrative to their favour to dodge accountability. 

CBI finds a crucial witness who’s in prison,  whose testimony reveals Jaswant was held captive in a cell next to his own after being brought there by a cavalry of cops. However, the witness is killed due to a lack of security measures taken by CBI after the force became aware of his existence. Sugga pays a visit to Paramjeet to intimidate her and give her the offer to retract her statement in exchange for having her husband returned to their family. However, unlike the morally corrupt, spineless cops, Paramjeet proves the strength of her character by spitting on Sugga’s offer, despite knowing they have held Jaswant captive somewhere, and refusal to this deal might put a death knell on him. Drunk with power, Sugga and his lackeys believe themselves to be invincible controllers of the system.  

Bitta retires, and the new DGP S.P. Verma makes it quite clear that the days of the Punjab Police’s unchecked tyranny are over. He meets Sugga privately to let him know an investigation will be launched against him soon enough; he has just a week to bring Jaswant back, although it won’t affect the outcome of the investigation in any way. Bitta withdraws any support from Sugga as he has to save his own skin, making him the scapegoat in the process. A troubled, cornered Sugga takes his own life, leaving a suicide note that reads It’s better to choose death than to live in fear. Pretty ironic when you consider how Bitta and Sugga turned Punjab into a fear state under their dark reign. 

During Sugga’s funeral, Samudra identifies his assistant, Kuljit, a small-time constable, as the person who was mentioned in the prisoner witness’s statement. Under pressure, Kuljit confesses to knowing the truth about what happened to Jaswant, but in the courtroom, he alters his statement out of fear of his police colleagues. However, Kuljit’s conscience awakens when, in his guilt-ridden state, he sees a vision of Jaswant’s restless spirit, who reflects on the injustice done to thousands of men, women, and children in the name of maintaining peace. Kuljit approaches Samudra once again, with the intention to reveal the truth this time, and Samudra is able to convince his superiors to grant special permission to use Kuljit as a witness. Kuljit’s confession in the court reveals how Jaswant was held captive, immensely tortured by the cops for a prolonged period, before being shot to death and drowned in the river. Moved by his dire predicament, Kuljit tried to convince Jaswant to give up and accept the cops’ offer of freedom in exchange for maintaining silence. However, even with a broken body and spirit, Jaswant held on to hope that, by doing the right thing according to our own capacity, we can turn the system for the better. 

“Sutluj” ends with Kuljit’s confession, and Jaswant’s family, his supporters, finally have some closure, even though the truth is heartbreaking to say the least. For the sake of his people, Jaswant sacrificed his life and never gave up, making him a martyr in the true sense of the term. Jaswant’s body was never recovered, but his investigations helped the investigators to identify a huge number of victims of police violence and provide closure to their families. All of Sugga’s lackeys were tried in the court and are serving life sentences, and nearly a hundred other cops have been convicted for being involved in the state-wide murder racket for two decades since Jaswant’s demise. The key question is whether Jaswant and his supporters’ actions brought any real change in the established system? Sure, under media pressure, Punjab Police reformed, on the surface, that is, but till date, across the entire country, fake encounters by cops, extrajudicial killings keep happening – even in an age where nothing remains secret thanks to omnipresence of social media. Police continue to act as stooges of the politicians, and both parties continue to dodge accountability while people suffer. Movie directors present cops as infallible super beings, making their extrajudicial actions and propensity to violence something heroic. True change continues to remain a far-fetched dream until the mass consciousness and perspective about the system completely change, and more people like Jaswant begin to ask questions that really matter. 

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