A recording of the final public speech by slain human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra has resurfaced on social media following the removal of Satluj from streaming platform ZEE5 in India.
Directed by Honey Trehan and starring Diljit Dosanjh, Satluj premiered on July 3 after facing years of delays over certification. The film was removed from ZEE5 less than two days after its release.
The biographical drama chronicles the life of Khalra, who exposed alleged extrajudicial killings and disappearances in Punjab during the militancy period. He disappeared in September 1995 and is widely believed to have been killed soon afterwards.
The renewed attention has focused on Khalra's final recorded speech, delivered during a visit to Canada in April 1995. In the address, he compared the fight for truth to a lone lamp challenging darkness.
"I challenge the darkness. If nothing else, then at least I will not allow it to settle around me," Khalra said, urging people to continue standing against oppression.
The speech is also recreated in Satluj, where Dosanjh's character repeats the metaphor of a lamp defying darkness.
The film, previously titled Punjab 95, had remained in limbo for nearly four years after failing to secure certification from India's censorship authorities before its brief streaming release.