Hunger for Humanity: Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa ~ A Documentary

In January 2016, a small Film production company from London, was in Punjab. On a particularly cold afternoon, we ventured over to the DMC, the Dayanand Medical Centre, in the city of Ludhiana. We were there to meet someone. That someone, had been in the news. Not on the BBC, not on the UK radio, but on Sikh news channels and websites, for just over a year. He was on the news because he had not eaten or drank water for over a year. That someone, was Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa. Now most reading this will no doubt be familiar with his story. But just in case you are not, Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa is an 83 year old human rights activist, who has spent his life standing up against human rights abuse and fighting for justice for those who have been mistreated by the state. He is on hunger strike for Sikh political prisoners and others who are kept in jail, long past their time has been served in India. People who are silenced by the authorities for speaking out. People who don't have a voice. His hunger strike has now exceeded 500 days. That is near enough a year and a half, 18 months. No food. No water. Unshakable conviction and commitment to the cause of human rights.

We had decided some months earlier, to make a Documentary about this great man, and what he stands for. Not to pass judgment on anyone, not to try to defame or deride anyone. But to tell the true story of Bapu Surat Singh: what he did, what he fights for now and who he is. Having been met by his son and one of his closest friends, we got ready. If we wanted to get an interview, a real interview - a deep conversation - we were going to have to be organised. We took apart our cameras, our sound kit, our grip gear - and became smugglers (of a sort!). To keep the media out, the Punjab police have over 30 police officers guarding Bapu Surat Singh around the clock. Fear mixed with adrenaline, the kind of thing you get when on a roller-coaster which is climbing to the big peak, moments before you get dropped. Fear. But also courage. If Bapu Surat Singh can do all that he has done, and still plead for all of humanity to be given their human rights, then we can surely manage this. If you want to tell an incredible story, sometimes you have to go through something to tell it.

The man is more than you can imagine. He can't hear me very well now, in fact every question I ask has to be repeated to him by one of his closest friends, always by his side through all of it. But his answers are articulate, heartfelt and compelling. Every word comes across with love, but also with a stern and unflinching resolve. He fights for humanity. For human rights. For equality. In his very own words:

"The question is not about the release of a few Sikh prisoners, the question is about the inalienable right of a person to live life without fetters. The question is about the regaining of liberty after you have completed the full term of one's sentence in prison. The question is about justice, equality and fair play. The question is about parity between the rich and famous and the poor and the underdogs."

With this film we are telling a story. Using the intimate and detailed interview we captured, some old and new archive footage, some images from past and present and some in depth research into the cases of the prisoners who have been released and yet to be released. Sikhs in the mainstream media are few and far between and we seem to have a lack of trust in the mainstream media, mainly for their ability and often their will to paint people as extremists and fanatics. We are not the mainstream media. We are not the Sikh media. We are an independent production company, which is made up of several concerned Sikhs and non-Sikhs. We want to tell real stories, with integrity. And we want to "keep it real" when we make our films.

Concerned Sikhs and non-Sikhs, people concerned about human rights, people who want to see injustices and mistreatments highlighted and investigated will take our project with interest. And of course, people who like authentic, story telling and thought provoking Documentaries, the ones that stay with you long after seeing them. 

We need to go back to India to complete the film, but we have gone as far as we can with our own limited funds. We have started a crowd-funding campaign on IndieGoGo need to raise £30,000, will be spent on the above, and of course production costs including operational, equipment and logistical. Then when it is complete, we would look to release the film at some film festivals, looking for a distributor. Once all of the production costs are paid, if the film makes any sort of profit, be it from a distributor or anywhere else, we pledge 100% of the profits to the bereaved families of the 1984 Sikh Holocaust, and 2 charities nominated by Bapu Surat Singh and his family.

If it makes any sort of difference, we have some tasteful and meaningful perks for donations, which get you the donator closer to the production itself.