Reduced to Ashes (book) - Revision history

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	\| pub_date = June, 6, 2023		\| pub_date = June, 6, 2023
	}}		}}
	'''''Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab''''' is the report of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), authored by Ram Narayan Kumar, Amreek Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur. The report focuses on human rights violations committed by the [[Punjab Police (India)\|Punjab Police]] during its operations to suppress the [[Punjab insurgency]] in India, from 1984 to 1994. The author Ram Narayan Kumar claims that the issue of [[Khalistan]] was used by the State to divert attention from real issues of democracy, constitutional safeguard and citizens' rights.~~<~~ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs"~~>~~{{cite web \|url=http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm \|title=Human Wrongs \|author=Ram Narayan Kumar And Tanu Thomas K \|work=[[The Times Of India]] \|date=29 June 2003 \|access-date=2009-12-20 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512081620/http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm \|archive-date=May 12, 2008}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~		'''''Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab''''' is the report of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), authored by Ram Narayan Kumar, Amreek Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur. The report focuses on human rights violations committed by the [[Punjab Police (India)\|Punjab Police]] during its operations to suppress the [[Punjab insurgency]] in India, from 1984 to 1994. The author Ram Narayan Kumar claims that the issue of [[Khalistan]] was used by the State to divert attention from real issues of democracy, constitutional safeguard and citizens' rights.<ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs">{{cite web \|url=http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm \|title=Human Wrongs \|author=Ram Narayan Kumar And Tanu Thomas K \|work=[[The Times Of India]] \|date=29 June 2003 \|access-date=2009-12-20 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512081620/http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm \|archive-date=May 12, 2008}}</ref>

	==Content==		==Content==

	The book is organized into 7 chapters, each containing further subsections and finishing in 634 pages with the authors giving their conclusion and suggestions. The book starts by giving a chronology of events and a detailed information into [[Jaswant Singh Khalra]] case. The following chapters look into details of missing [[Sikh]]s and discrepancies of law and its deliberate misuse. It also presents the [[organizational structure]] of Punjab police. The book contains over 500 testimonies by the families of the victims, and describes 672 cases of alleged illegal executions by the police in the [[Amritsar district]].~~<~~ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs"/~~>~~		The book is organized into 7 chapters, each containing further subsections and finishing in 634 pages with the authors giving their conclusion and suggestions. The book starts by giving a chronology of events and a detailed information into [[Jaswant Singh Khalra]] case. The following chapters look into details of missing [[Sikh]]s and discrepancies of law and its deliberate misuse. It also presents the [[organizational structure]] of Punjab police. The book contains over 500 testimonies by the families of the victims, and describes 672 cases of alleged illegal executions by the police in the [[Amritsar district]].<ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs"/>

	:Contents		:Contents
Line 42:		Line 42:
	==Reviews==		==Reviews==

	[[Khushwant Singh]], a well-known English columnist in leading National Newspapers in India, is said to have gone volte-face on his views after reading this research work,~~<~~ref name="KSreview"~~>~~{{cite news \| last = Singh \|first = Khushwant \| title = K. P. S. Gill you have questions to answer\| publisher = The Hindustan Times\| date = 2003-06-20}}~~<~~/ref~~><~~ref name="ChangingKS"~~>~~{{Cite news \| last1 = Singh \| first1 = Baldev \| title = Changing Interpretation of Khushwant Singh\| newspaper = Sikh Spectrum Quarterly\| issue=15\| date = February 2004\| url = http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/khushwant_7.htm \| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040603084447/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/khushwant_7.htm \| url-status = usurped \| archive-date = June 3, 2004 }}~~<~~/ref~~>~~ in his own words out of his review of the book he remarks "It is spine-chilling.... Well, Mr Gill, it is not rubbish; you and the Punjab police have quite a few awkward questions to answer."~~<~~ref name="KSreview"/~~>~~ The Punjab Police chief [[Kanwar Pal Singh Gill\|K. P. S. Gill]], one of the accused in the book, had earlier dismissed the book by calling it "rubbish" in his comment to Khushwant Singh's query.~~<~~ref name="KSreview"/~~>~~ However, later several police officials were charged with murder, and found guilty of kidnapping ~~<~~ref name=amnesty~~>~~{{cite web\|publisher=Amnesty International\|title=A mockery of justice: The case concerning the "disappearance" of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra severely undermined\|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND\|date=July 20, 1999\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017113415/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND\|archive-date=October 17, 2007}}~~<~~/ref~~><~~ref~~>~~{{cite web\|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/09/27/india11792.htm\|title=Other Screams of Terror\|publisher=Human Rights Watch\|author=Meenakshi Ganguly\|date=27 September 2005 }}~~<~~/ref~~><~~ref name=ensaaf~~>~~{{cite web\|url=http://www.ensaaf.org/news/pr2005-11-18.php\|title=Punjab Cops Convicted of 1995 Murder of Activist Khalra\|publisher=Ensaaf\|access-date=2007-12-28\|archive-date=2006-11-23\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123135906/http://www.ensaaf.org/news/pr2005-11-18.php\|url-status=dead}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~		[[Khushwant Singh]], a well-known English columnist in leading National Newspapers in India, is said to have gone volte-face on his views after reading this research work,<ref name="KSreview">{{cite news \| last = Singh \|first = Khushwant \| title = K. P. S. Gill you have questions to answer\| publisher = The Hindustan Times\| date = 2003-06-20}}</ref><ref name="ChangingKS">{{Cite news \| last1 = Singh \| first1 = Baldev \| title = Changing Interpretation of Khushwant Singh\| newspaper = Sikh Spectrum Quarterly\| issue=15\| date = February 2004\| url = http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/khushwant_7.htm \| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040603084447/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/khushwant_7.htm \| url-status = usurped \| archive-date = June 3, 2004 }}</ref> in his own words out of his review of the book he remarks "It is spine-chilling.... Well, Mr Gill, it is not rubbish; you and the Punjab police have quite a few awkward questions to answer."<ref name="KSreview"/> The Punjab Police chief [[Kanwar Pal Singh Gill\|K. P. S. Gill]], one of the accused in the book, had earlier dismissed the book by calling it "rubbish" in his comment to Khushwant Singh's query.<ref name="KSreview"/> However, later several police officials were charged with murder, and found guilty of kidnapping <ref name=amnesty>{{cite web\|publisher=Amnesty International\|title=A mockery of justice: The case concerning the "disappearance" of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra severely undermined\|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND\|date=July 20, 1999\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017113415/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND\|archive-date=October 17, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/09/27/india11792.htm\|title=Other Screams of Terror\|publisher=Human Rights Watch\|author=Meenakshi Ganguly\|date=27 September 2005 }}</ref><ref name=ensaaf>{{cite web\|url=http://www.ensaaf.org/news/pr2005-11-18.php\|title=Punjab Cops Convicted of 1995 Murder of Activist Khalra\|publisher=Ensaaf\|access-date=2007-12-28\|archive-date=2006-11-23\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123135906/http://www.ensaaf.org/news/pr2005-11-18.php\|url-status=dead}}</ref>

	A. J. Philip, Senior Associate Editor of [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)\|The Tribune]], accused [[Central Bureau of Investigation\|CBI]] of not doing their jobs honestly and praised the authors of the book for taking the responsibility and doing what CBI failed to do.~~<~~ref name="PhilipReview"~~>~~{{Cite news \| last = Philip \| first = A. J. \| title = They did what CBI did not\| work = The Tribune\| date = 2003-06-01 \| url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030601/spectrum/book1.htm }}~~<~~/ref~~>~~ He wrote, "The CBI did such a shoddy job investigating the illegal cremations that truth remained hidden under mounds of illegible paperwork. It is against this backdrop that the painstaking effort of four intrepid researchers Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab should be seen and commended.".~~<~~ref name=PhilipReview/~~>~~		A. J. Philip, Senior Associate Editor of [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)\|The Tribune]], accused [[Central Bureau of Investigation\|CBI]] of not doing their jobs honestly and praised the authors of the book for taking the responsibility and doing what CBI failed to do.<ref name="PhilipReview">{{Cite news \| last = Philip \| first = A. J. \| title = They did what CBI did not\| work = The Tribune\| date = 2003-06-01 \| url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030601/spectrum/book1.htm }}</ref> He wrote, "The CBI did such a shoddy job investigating the illegal cremations that truth remained hidden under mounds of illegible paperwork. It is against this backdrop that the painstaking effort of four intrepid researchers Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab should be seen and commended.".<ref name=PhilipReview/>

	[[Columbia Law School]] Professor Peter Rosenblum wrote for preface "The careful analysis by the authors allows the reader to "pierce through the thick veils of ideology, intrigue and ‘state security’ that obscure our understanding of the campaign to pacify Punjab."~~<~~ref name=RDA~~>~~{{cite book \| last =Kumar \| first =Ram \|author2=Singh, Amrik \|author3=Agrwaal, Ashok \|author4=Kaur, Jaskaran \| title =Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab\| publisher =[[South Asia Forum for Human Rights]]\| year =2003 \|place=Kathamandu (Nepal)\| isbn=99933-53-57-4}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~		[[Columbia Law School]] Professor Peter Rosenblum wrote for preface "The careful analysis by the authors allows the reader to "pierce through the thick veils of ideology, intrigue and ‘state security’ that obscure our understanding of the campaign to pacify Punjab."<ref name=RDA>{{cite book \| last =Kumar \| first =Ram \|author2=Singh, Amrik \|author3=Agrwaal, Ashok \|author4=Kaur, Jaskaran \| title =Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab\| publisher =[[South Asia Forum for Human Rights]]\| year =2003 \|place=Kathamandu (Nepal)\| isbn=99933-53-57-4}}</ref>

	==References==		==References==

MayraBarnett41: Expanded article with relevant info

2026-03-13T05:09:05Z

Expanded article with relevant info

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:39, 13 March 2026
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	{{Infobox book		{{Short description\|Book by Ram Narayan Kumar}}
	\| name = Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab		{{Infobox book
	\| title_orig =		\| name = Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab
	\| image = ReducedToAshesBookColor.jpg		\| title_orig =
	\| caption = Cover page.		\| image = ReducedToAshesBookColor.jpg
	\| author = Ram Narayan Kumar ~~with Amrik~~ Singh, Ashok Agrwaal ~~and~~ Jaskaran Kaur		\| caption = Cover page.
	\| cover_artist = ~~Marlyn Tadros, Hendrik van der Berge & Chandra Khatiwada~~		\| author = Ram Narayan Kumar, Amreek Singh Muktsar, Ashok Agrwaal, Jaskaran Kaur
	\| country = ~~United States~~		\| cover_artist = SIMRIK
	\| language = English		\| country = INDIA
	\| series =		\| language = English
	\| subject =		\| series =
	\| genre = research		\| subject =
	\| publisher = ~~{{flagicon\|Nepal}} [[South Asia Forum for Human Rights]]~~		\| genre = research
	~~\| release_date = May 2003~~		\| publisher = RETHINK BOOKS
	\| english_release_date =		\| english_release_date =
	\| media_type = Print [~~[Paperback]~~]		\| media_type = Print [HARDCOVER]
	\| pages = 634		\| pages = 634
	\| isbn = ~~99933~~-53-57-4		\| isbn = 978-93-94737-86-0
	\| preceded_by =		\| preceded_by =
	\| followed_by =		\| followed_by =
			\| pub_date = June, 6, 2023
	}}		}}
	'''''Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab''''' is the report of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), authored by Ram Narayan Kumar, ~~Amrik~~ Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur. The report focuses on human rights violations committed by the [[Punjab Police (India)\|Punjab Police]] during its operations to suppress the [[Punjab insurgency]] in India, from 1984 to 1994. The author Ram Narayan Kumar claims that the issue of [[Khalistan]] was used by the State to divert attention from real issues of democracy, constitutional safeguard and citizens' rights.<ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs">{{cite web\|url=http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm \|title=Human Wrongs \|author=Ram Narayan Kumar And Tanu Thomas K \|work=[[The Times Of India]] \|date=29 June 2003 \|access-date=2009-12-20 \|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512081620/http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm \|archive-date=May 12, 2008 }}</ref>		'''''Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab''''' is the report of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), authored by Ram Narayan Kumar, Amreek Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur. The report focuses on human rights violations committed by the [[Punjab Police (India)\|Punjab Police]] during its operations to suppress the [[Punjab insurgency]] in India, from 1984 to 1994. The author Ram Narayan Kumar claims that the issue of [[Khalistan]] was used by the State to divert attention from real issues of democracy, constitutional safeguard and citizens' rights.<ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs">{{cite web \|url=http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm \|title=Human Wrongs \|author=Ram Narayan Kumar And Tanu Thomas K \|work=[[The Times Of India]] \|date=29 June 2003 \|access-date=2009-12-20 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512081620/http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm \|archive-date=May 12, 2008}}</ref>

	==Content==		==Content==

	The book is organized into 7 chapters, each containing further subsections and finishing in 634 pages with the authors giving their conclusion and suggestions. The book starts by giving a chronology of events and a detailed information into [[Jaswant Singh Khalra]] case. The following chapters look into details of missing [[Sikh]]s and discrepancies of law and its deliberate misuse. It also presents the [[organizational structure]] of Punjab police. The book contains over 500 testimonies by the families of the victims, and describes 672 cases of alleged illegal executions by the police in the [[Amritsar district]].<ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs"/>		The book is organized into 7 chapters, each containing further subsections and finishing in 634 pages with the authors giving their conclusion and suggestions. The book starts by giving a chronology of events and a detailed information into [[Jaswant Singh Khalra]] case. The following chapters look into details of missing [[Sikh]]s and discrepancies of law and its deliberate misuse. It also presents the [[organizational structure]] of Punjab police. The book contains over 500 testimonies by the families of the victims, and describes 672 cases of alleged illegal executions by the police in the [[Amritsar district]].<ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs"/>

	:Contents		:Contents
Line 41:		Line 42:
	==Reviews==		==Reviews==

	[[Khushwant Singh]], a well-known English columnist in leading National Newspapers in India, is said of have gone volte-face on his views after reading this research work,<ref name="KSreview">{{cite news \| last = Singh \|first = Khushwant \| title = K. P. S. Gill you have questions to answer\| publisher = The Hindustan Times\| date = 2003-06-20}}</ref><ref name="ChangingKS">{{Cite news \| last1 = Singh \| first1 = Baldev \| title = Changing Interpretation of Khushwant Singh\| newspaper = Sikh Spectrum Quarterly\| issue=15\| date = February 2004\| url = http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/khushwant_7.htm }}</ref> in his own words out of his review of the book he remarks "It is spine-chilling.... Well, Mr Gill, it is not rubbish; you and the Punjab police have quite a few awkward questions to answer."<ref name="KSreview"/> The Punjab Police chief [[Kanwar Pal Singh Gill\|K. P. S. Gill]], one of the accused in the book, had earlier dismissed the book by calling it "rubbish" in his comment to ~~Khuswant~~ Singh's query.<ref name="KSreview"/> However, later several police officials were charged with murder, and found guilty of kidnapping <ref name=amnesty>{{cite web\|publisher=Amnesty International\|title=A mockery of justice: The case concerning the "disappearance" of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra severely undermined\|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND\|date=July 20, 1999\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017113415/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND\|archive-date=October 17, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/09/27/india11792.htm\|title=Other Screams of Terror\|publisher=Human Rights Watch\|author=Meenakshi Ganguly}}</ref><ref name=ensaaf>{{cite web\|url=http://www.ensaaf.org/news/pr2005-11-18.php\|title=Punjab Cops Convicted of 1995 Murder of Activist Khalra\|publisher=Ensaaf}}</ref>		[[Khushwant Singh]], a well-known English columnist in leading National Newspapers in India, is said to have gone volte-face on his views after reading this research work,<ref name="KSreview">{{cite news \| last = Singh \|first = Khushwant \| title = K. P. S. Gill you have questions to answer\| publisher = The Hindustan Times\| date = 2003-06-20}}</ref><ref name="ChangingKS">{{Cite news \| last1 = Singh \| first1 = Baldev \| title = Changing Interpretation of Khushwant Singh\| newspaper = Sikh Spectrum Quarterly\| issue=15\| date = February 2004\| url = http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/khushwant_7.htm \| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040603084447/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/khushwant_7.htm \| url-status = usurped \| archive-date = June 3, 2004 }}</ref> in his own words out of his review of the book he remarks "It is spine-chilling.... Well, Mr Gill, it is not rubbish; you and the Punjab police have quite a few awkward questions to answer."<ref name="KSreview"/> The Punjab Police chief [[Kanwar Pal Singh Gill\|K. P. S. Gill]], one of the accused in the book, had earlier dismissed the book by calling it "rubbish" in his comment to Khushwant Singh's query.<ref name="KSreview"/> However, later several police officials were charged with murder, and found guilty of kidnapping <ref name=amnesty>{{cite web\|publisher=Amnesty International\|title=A mockery of justice: The case concerning the "disappearance" of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra severely undermined\|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND\|date=July 20, 1999\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017113415/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND\|archive-date=October 17, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/09/27/india11792.htm\|title=Other Screams of Terror\|publisher=Human Rights Watch\|author=Meenakshi Ganguly\|date=27 September 2005 }}</ref><ref name=ensaaf>{{cite web\|url=http://www.ensaaf.org/news/pr2005-11-18.php\|title=Punjab Cops Convicted of 1995 Murder of Activist Khalra\|publisher=Ensaaf\|access-date=2007-12-28\|archive-date=2006-11-23\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123135906/http://www.ensaaf.org/news/pr2005-11-18.php\|url-status=dead}}</ref>

	A. J. Philip, Senior Associate Editor of [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)\|The Tribune]], accused [[Central Bureau of Investigation\|CBI]] of not doing their jobs honestly and praised the authors of the book for taking the responsibility and doing what CBI failed to do.<ref name="PhilipReview">{{Cite news \| last = Philip \| first = A. J. \| title = They did what CBI did not\| work = The Tribune\| date = 2003-06-01 \| url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030601/spectrum/book1.htm }}</ref> He wrote, "The CBI did such a shoddy job investigating the illegal cremations that truth remained hidden under mounds of illegible paperwork. It is against this backdrop that the painstaking effort of four intrepid researchers Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab should be seen and commended.".<ref name=PhilipReview/>		A. J. Philip, Senior Associate Editor of [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)\|The Tribune]], accused [[Central Bureau of Investigation\|CBI]] of not doing their jobs honestly and praised the authors of the book for taking the responsibility and doing what CBI failed to do.<ref name="PhilipReview">{{Cite news \| last = Philip \| first = A. J. \| title = They did what CBI did not\| work = The Tribune\| date = 2003-06-01 \| url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030601/spectrum/book1.htm }}</ref> He wrote, "The CBI did such a shoddy job investigating the illegal cremations that truth remained hidden under mounds of illegible paperwork. It is against this backdrop that the painstaking effort of four intrepid researchers Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab should be seen and commended.".<ref name=PhilipReview/>

	[[Columbia Law School]] Professor Peter Rosenblum wrote for preface "The careful analysis by the authors allows the reader to "pierce through the thick veils of ideology, intrigue and ‘state security’ that obscure our understanding of the campaign to pacify Punjab."<ref name=RDA>{{cite book \| last =Kumar \| first =Ram \|author2=Singh,Amrik \|author3=Agrwaal, Ashok \|author4=Kaur, Jaskaran \| title =Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab\| publisher =[[South Asia Forum for Human Rights]]\| year =2003 \|place=Kathamandu (Nepal)\| isbn=99933-53-57-4}}</ref>		[[Columbia Law School]] Professor Peter Rosenblum wrote for preface "The careful analysis by the authors allows the reader to "pierce through the thick veils of ideology, intrigue and ‘state security’ that obscure our understanding of the campaign to pacify Punjab."<ref name=RDA>{{cite book \| last =Kumar \| first =Ram \|author2=Singh, Amrik \|author3=Agrwaal, Ashok \|author4=Kaur, Jaskaran \| title =Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab\| publisher =[[South Asia Forum for Human Rights]]\| year =2003 \|place=Kathamandu (Nepal)\| isbn=99933-53-57-4}}</ref>

	==References==		==References==

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{{Infobox book
| name = Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab
| title_orig =
| image = ReducedToAshesBookColor.jpg
| caption = Cover page.
| author = Ram Narayan Kumar with Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur
| cover_artist = Marlyn Tadros, Hendrik van der Berge & Chandra Khatiwada
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| subject =
| genre = research
| publisher = {{flagicon|Nepal}} [[South Asia Forum for Human Rights]]
| release_date = May 2003
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print [[Paperback]]
| pages = 634
| isbn = 99933-53-57-4
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
'''''Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab''''' is the report of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), authored by Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur. The report focuses on human rights violations committed by the [[Punjab Police (India)|Punjab Police]] during its operations to suppress the [[Punjab insurgency]] in India, from 1984 to 1994. The author Ram Narayan Kumar claims that the issue of [[Khalistan]] was used by the State to divert attention from real issues of democracy, constitutional safeguard and citizens' rights.<ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs">{{cite web|url=http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm |title=Human Wrongs |author=Ram Narayan Kumar And Tanu Thomas K |work=[[The Times Of India]] |date=29 June 2003 |access-date=2009-12-20 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512081620/http://www.countercurrents.org/hr-kumar290603.htm |archive-date=May 12, 2008 }}</ref>

==Content==

The book is organized into 7 chapters, each containing further subsections and finishing in 634 pages with the authors giving their conclusion and suggestions. The book starts by giving a chronology of events and a detailed information into [[Jaswant Singh Khalra]] case. The following chapters look into details of missing [[Sikh]]s and discrepancies of law and its deliberate misuse. It also presents the [[organizational structure]] of Punjab police. The book contains over 500 testimonies by the families of the victims, and describes 672 cases of alleged illegal executions by the police in the [[Amritsar district]].<ref name="RNKumar_Human_Wrongs"/>

:Contents
:Preface
:Introduction
:NHRC Chronology
:Chapter 1: Jaswant Singh Khalra: A Martyr for Human Rights
:Chapter 2: Impunity by All Means
:Chapter 3: Rights and the Dead Ends of Law
:Chapter 4: Methodology
:Chapter 5: Analysis of Case Summaries
:Chapter 6: Summaries of Cases of Illegal Cremations included in CBI Lists
:Chapter 7: Endnote: Reflections and Recommendations
:Appendices

==Reviews==

[[Khushwant Singh]], a well-known English columnist in leading National Newspapers in India, is said of have gone volte-face on his views after reading this research work,<ref name="KSreview">{{cite news | last = Singh |first = Khushwant | title = K. P. S. Gill you have questions to answer| publisher = The Hindustan Times| date = 2003-06-20}}</ref><ref name="ChangingKS">{{Cite news | last1 = Singh | first1 = Baldev | title = Changing Interpretation of Khushwant Singh| newspaper = Sikh Spectrum Quarterly| issue=15| date = February 2004| url = http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/khushwant_7.htm }}</ref> in his own words out of his review of the book he remarks "It is spine-chilling.... Well, Mr Gill, it is not rubbish; you and the Punjab police have quite a few awkward questions to answer."<ref name="KSreview"/> The Punjab Police chief [[Kanwar Pal Singh Gill|K. P. S. Gill]], one of the accused in the book, had earlier dismissed the book by calling it "rubbish" in his comment to Khuswant Singh's query.<ref name="KSreview"/> However, later several police officials were charged with murder, and found guilty of kidnapping <ref name=amnesty>{{cite web|publisher=Amnesty International|title=A mockery of justice: The case concerning the "disappearance" of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra severely undermined|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND|date=July 20, 1999|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017113415/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200071998?open&of=ENG-IND|archive-date=October 17, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/09/27/india11792.htm|title=Other Screams of Terror|publisher=Human Rights Watch|author=Meenakshi Ganguly}}</ref><ref name=ensaaf>{{cite web|url=http://www.ensaaf.org/news/pr2005-11-18.php|title=Punjab Cops Convicted of 1995 Murder of Activist Khalra|publisher=Ensaaf}}</ref>

A. J. Philip, Senior Associate Editor of [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], accused [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]] of not doing their jobs honestly and praised the authors of the book for taking the responsibility and doing what CBI failed to do.<ref name="PhilipReview">{{Cite news | last = Philip | first = A. J. | title = They did what CBI did not| work = The Tribune| date = 2003-06-01 | url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030601/spectrum/book1.htm }}</ref> He wrote, "The CBI did such a shoddy job investigating the illegal cremations that truth remained hidden under mounds of illegible paperwork. It is against this backdrop that the painstaking effort of four intrepid researchers Ram Narayan Kumar, Amrik Singh, Ashok Agrwaal and Jaskaran Kaur of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab should be seen and commended.".<ref name=PhilipReview/>

[[Columbia Law School]] Professor Peter Rosenblum wrote for preface "The careful analysis by the authors allows the reader to "pierce through the thick veils of ideology, intrigue and ‘state security’ that obscure our understanding of the campaign to pacify Punjab."<ref name=RDA>{{cite book | last =Kumar | first =Ram |author2=Singh,Amrik |author3=Agrwaal, Ashok |author4=Kaur, Jaskaran | title =Reduced To Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab| publisher =[[South Asia Forum for Human Rights]]| year =2003 |place=Kathamandu (Nepal)| isbn=99933-53-57-4}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.org/details/ReducedToAshes-TheInsurgencyAndHumanRightsInPunjab/mode/2up Download the book in PDF format]

[[Category:2003 non-fiction books|Reduced to Ashes book]]
[[Category:Khalistan movement]]