India bid adieu to martyr Sarabjit Singh today. It was not only a heartbreaking moment for his family members and but also for the entire nation, which could not save its citizen from the torture of Pakistani authorities and the jail inmates in Lahore. He was cremated with full state honours at his village in Bhikhiwind near Amritsar amidst crowd. The key leaders and politicians were present during his funeral.
Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur, who had been fighting for Sarabjit’s release for last 23 years, performed the last rites. The villagers and entire nation mourned his death, but all were looking helpless. His sister expressed her anger insisting the government to break all ties with Pakistan. Will Pakistan pay for his death? It sounds quite odd, as India has been always soft towards the neighbouring country despite a series of humiliation and attacks.
Mourning his death, Dalbir said that she will continue her fight for other (Sarabjits) Indians in Pakistan jails.
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The Indian government could be blamed for his death. They acted too late and something should have been done earlier. The political masters were the mute spectators. They were only present at the funeral to give farewell to him. It was an emotional moment for everyone and all were looking outrageous. Among the politicians present at the funeral were Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
Sarabjit’s body reached his home at night via a special government plane after another post-mortem was conducted at an Amritsar hospital. A team of six doctors conducted the second post-mortem at the Government Hospital at Patti as per the request of his family to know the cause behind his death.
However, it is unclear whether Pakistan will share its own autopsy report with India.
The Punjab government has announced a financial assistance of Rs 1 crore for the kins of Sarabjit. A three-day state mourning was also declared for the martyr. Flags will fly half mast on all government buildings and no official ceremonial functions will be held during this period. Centre also announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh for Sarabjit’s family from Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.