Arivu Perarivalan and 6 others are languishing in jails of Tamil Nadu even after more-than-adequately completing their prison terms. World Sikh News editor and human rights activist Jagmohan Singh joins the campaign by Tamil nationalists to #StandWithArputhamAmmal -the mother of Perarivalan who is in jail for 30 years for a crime he did not commit. WSN editor writes an Open Letter to Arputham Ammal and expresses his deep feelings for her agony and hopes that one day soon Perarivalan and others will be released from jail.

DEAR AMMA: VANAKKAM    I JOIN TAMIL ACTIVISTS to stand with you, your ailing husband and family to seek the release of your son Arivu Perarivalan, who is behind the four walls of prison -first Vellore and now Chennai, for the last 30 years, since he was incarcerated for a crime he did not commit.

You are a great mother. Running from pillar to post -from home to prison, from lawyers to political leaders, your life has been a roller-coaster ride and I deeply admire you for this. The harassment that you and your family suffered in the initial years of Arivu’s arrest is a gruesome story by itself.

Amma, 30 years ago, on this day, like a good citizen,  confident of your son’s innocence, you took Arivu to the CBI and since then your journey for his release began.

Sikh mothers whose sons have been arraigned for donkey years, even after completing their prison terms and about whose release the government is not taking any steps, are with me in expressing affinity with you and sharing your pain and anxiety.

I sympathise with you that it has taken three decades to learn that the years of investigation and thousands of pages of evidence in the Rajiv Gandhi case, was unable to conclusively prove that the current from the 9-volt battery which triggered the bomb strapped to suicide bomber Dhanu’s body was from the cell provided by Perarivalan.

An officer from India’s Central Bureau of Investigation -CBI, which handled the Rajiv Gandhi case, after many years of the conviction in the case, has publicly said that he had manipulated the so-called confession of Perarivalan as the supplier of the 9-volt-battery.

Amma, as a Sikh human rights and political activist, I express wholehearted solidarity with Tamil nationalists who continue to espouse their rights and stand up for the dignity and honour, not only of their own people but for all struggling peoples and nationalities.

It saddens me to note that actually the current from that 9-volt battery has turned your life upside down and that of your son and family.

Visiting a son who is innocent for 30-years is no mean task. You virtually saw Arivu grow in prison and I know that throughout all these years your tears have not dried up. I fully empathise with you. Yet, continuing to take care of your ailing husband, your grit and determination to pursue the case, is remarkable and I have seen in your eyes that like all mothers, your love, for now, 50-year-old Perarivalan has never waned.

Amma, we are living in an unequal world. We are living at a time when though all legal and political authorities have virtually ordered that Perarivalan and others, who have more than adequately completed their prison terms in the Rajiv Gandhi case are released, the governor of Tamil Nadu continues to drag the case for unconstitutional and unlawful reasons.

You are a great mother. Running from pillar to post -from home to prison, from lawyers to political leaders, your life has been a roller-coaster ride and I deeply admire you for this.

I am happy for you that you get to see him sometimes when he is on parole. I deeply appreciate the education work that Perarivalan has been doing in prison. It is comforting to note that he maintains good health despite the three decades in prison.

Amma, as a Sikh human rights and political activist, I express wholehearted solidarity with Tamil nationalists who continue to espouse their rights and stand up for the dignity and honour, not only of their own people but for all struggling peoples and nationalities.

I recall that when I met you, we could not speak much as I don’t speak or understand Tamil and you are not comfortable with Hindi or English. Yet, I could gauge the depth of your agony and your gratitude towards me and everyone who stood by you. I am pretty certain that this current solidarity is not just a campaign for a day but a vigorous step towards ensuring the release of Perarivalan.

I desperately wait for the day when Perarivalan is released and I get the opportunity to do a Bhangra gig in celebration, as promised to you and your family. Let us all hope and pray that, that day comes very soon.

With deep respect, love and regards.

Jagmohan Singh