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We stand with every victim and survivor, dedicated to seeking and speaking the truth. There can be no bystanders in state abuse.

Over 15 years ago, Ensaaf embarked on a journey to identify and capture every testimony of disappearance and unlawful killing in Punjab from the Decade of Disappearances. The initiative aimed to counter state denials, expose the widespread and systematic extent of the abuses, erode the moral authority of perpetrators, and bring to light the application of repressive laws in India.

That work feeds our data visualization site Mapping Crimes Against Humanity in Punjab. We still have much more information to prepare and share, from information on officials who perpetrated the killings, to detailed summaries of each case. Our forthcoming oral history video archive, Testimonies of Truth, is the latest development in this unprecedented undertaking.

Throughout the past decade, our work has been steady and unwavering as the world around us suffered other wars, polarizing presidents, and a global pandemic, among other crises.

We could not have done this without you. We ask you to continue to support us, so that we can ensure each story is honored and shared.

Testimonies of Truth: A Video Archive will serve as a permanent, powerful, interactive tool to educate the global community, complementing Ensaaf’s data site on Crimes Against Humanity.

Help bring their voices to the entire world!

Hardeep Kaur’s daughter says, “I didn’t get my father’s love.”

We have an incredible opportunity to raise $30,000 by August 30, the International Day of the Disappeared. Every dollar you give will be matched, 100%.

Watch Hardeep Kaur share the impact of the Decade of Disappearances on her children. Indian security forces disappeared her husband Charat Singh. His daughter was born two months after they disappeared him: She says to her siblings, “Father picked you up, gave you love. I didn’t get my father’s love.”

Testimonies of Truth: A Video Archive will house hundreds of complete testimonies, as well as thematic clips. Clips will center on the following themes: About the victim, Disappearance, Extrajudicial execution, Justice & accountability, Persecution of family, Reflections, and Torture & prior persecution.

This human rights video archive will be the first and largest repository of video testimonials from surviving families of the “Decade of Disappearances.” Please support us today.

Testimonies of Truth: A Video Archive will serve as a permanent, powerful, interactive tool to educate the global community, complementing Ensaaf’s data site on Crimes Against Humanity.

Help bring their voices to the entire world!

Thank you for your support in helping us build Testimonies of Truth: A Video Archive of over 200 survivor interviews, thematic clips, and oral histories, exploring key human rights themes and survivor perspectives.

Over the next 12 days, we have an incredible opportunity to raise $30,000 by August 30, the International Day of the Disappeared.

Today, as an example of the survivor interviews that will fill the video archive, we release the testimony of Gurbachan Singh, 70 years old at the time of interview. Gurbachan Singh shares the torture, illegal detentions, and unlawful killing of his brother Khunda Singh, as well as the torture and persecution suffered by himself and his family.

They did not give him back to us. We have no keepsakes. We faced a lot of troubles, even on our bodies in countless ways.

My son and daughter-in-law also died because of this. My wife also died because of police beatings. 

-Gurbachan Singh

Help us amplify the voice of Gurbachan Singh and bring his testimony to the entire world!

Testimonies of Truth: A Video Archive will serve as a permanent, powerful, interactive tool to educate the global community, complementing Ensaaf’s data site on Crimes Against Humanity.

Help bring their voices to the entire world!

Today, Ensaaf needs your help to build Testimonies of Truth: A Video Archive of over 200 survivor interviews, thematic clips, and oral histories, exploring key human rights themes and survivor perspectives.

This human rights video archive will be the first and largest repository of video testimonials from surviving families of the “Decade of Disappearances.”

Over the next 15 days, we have an incredible opportunity to raise $30,000 by August 30, the International Day of the Disappeared. Generous donors will match the first $15,000 raised, dollar for dollar.

Who was Balwinder Singh?

I never forget him. I always think of him. On the day I began construction on this home, I thought, “I wish he was standing next to me today and I had his support.”

On any day, sad or happy, I always think of him, wishing he could celebrate with us. Our family was very poor. So much so that even for our education, my mother borrowed money from her family to pay our fees. Because he was born into poverty, he was determined to stand on his own two feet…So, he worked in electronics, delivered mail, and worked at the dairy in the morning. This is how he made ends meet for his family.

What were Manohar Singh’s last moments like?

He told me, “They cut my legs apart. [They] cut open my legs with a cutter, and put hot peppers in [the wounds]. They humiliated [me] a lot.” He was tortured a lot. He was beaten very badly. He was unable to sit up or even stand.

…I was put in one room and he was put in another room. For about 15 to 20 days, they kept us separated like this. His room was next to me and we could hear each other’s voices. We spoke with one another a little.

When I would ask him, he would say, “I have been beaten very badly and they are going to kill me….I am begging them to kill me, but not to kill you as you are a child.”

Memories of a Father

In 1993, the police took [my father] from our home and killed him. After that, we had no one to help us. Our life has been very difficult. No one has listened to us. I was around 13 to 14 years old when the police abducted my father from our house.

By killing my father, he [policeman] didn’t finish any of my family members. But, he did ruin the families of the poor individuals in the village. The village could always rely on the fact that “Bhai” was around. Today, if people get together or there is an issue to discuss, people recall that “Bhai” used to be around. Even today, the world remembers him.

Testimonies of Truth: A Video Archive will serve as a permanent, powerful, interactive tool to educate the global community, complementing Ensaaf’s data site on Crimes Against Humanity.

Help bring their voices to the entire world!