Amarjot Kaur's elder sister reveals Chamkila Paaji never told us that he was already married, says 'we came to know after their first son was born'

Amarjot Kaur’s elder sister reveals Chamkila Paaji never told us that he was already married, says ‘we came to know after their first son was born’

Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila and his second wife, Amarjot Kaur, have been in the news ever since the movie was released earlier this month on Netflix.

There has been a lot of interest in his life, especially with Amarjot and his first wife, Gurmail Kaur.

A few days ago, Gurmail Kaur had spoken about her relationship with her husband, Amar Singh Chamkila’s second wife, and singer Amarjot. Now Amarjot’s elder sister, Jaswant Kaur, has spoken for the first time about the much-discussed wedding.

In an interview with BBC Punjabi, Jaswant Kaur spoke about how her sister was always interested in singing from a very young age and that she would accompany her father, who was a drama inspector, in a PR.

She went on to say that before Amarjot’s hit pair with Chamkila, her sister had worked with other singers as well and recorded a few cassettes.

“Before Chamkila, she first sang with Pyaara Singh Panchi and recorded two songs with him. Next, she was singing with Dhana Singh Rangeela, then Karnail Gill, and later Manak Bashah. Post said that Chamkila Ji was in need of a female singer, so she started singing with him,” she said in her interview, which is in Punjabi.

Jaswinder further said that the duo would perform daily, and at one time it was two shows in one day. Together, they released 25 cassettes.

Jaswinder also said that Amar Singh Chamkila never told her father or their family that he was already married. She said that as their father wanted Amarjot to get married to an unmarried man, Chamkila never revealed his marital status to them.

“We were not thinking of getting her (Amarjot) married, but Paaji (Amar Singh Chamkila) never told us about his first wedding. He said he was unmarried, and my father had said we would get Amarjot married to someone who is unmarried and a singer. Chamkila said he is unmarried; we came to know about his first marriage much later, when they (Amarjot and Chamkila) had their first son,” said Jaswant.

Jaswant was in tears when she recalled the day her sister and brother-in-law were gunned down by alleged Sikh militants.

Recalling the events of that fateful day, she said even their car was not working and was giving them issues, as if giving them signs of the mishap that was going to happen.

“The day they were killed, the car was also giving them issues, as if it also didn’t want them to go for any programme. But Chamkila asked someone to fix the car. Next, they decided to hire another car, but their own vehicle started, and then it broke down again near Jagraon (town),” she said.

“By the time they reached the shagun programme (where they were to perform), it was on. The organisers asked them to wait, and they had lunch also. Later, Paaji and Amarjot were called for their programme, and the aatankwadi were already there, and you all know what happened then,” she added.

Amaer Singh Chamkila and his wife, Amarjot Kaur, were gunned down by unknown assailants on March 8, 1988, in Mehsampur village near Jalandhar.

Jaswant says they have lost their loved ones, and now their only demand is that the case be reopened after 36 years of their deaths, and the two should get justice.

“There is only one demand from the government: it has been 36 years now, and my sister and Chamkila haven’t gotten justice. Their files haven’t been re-opened. We want it if they can arrest the perpetrators and punish them,” Jaswant Kaur ended her conversation.

Chamkila’s wife has also spoken about her life after her husband’s death and the fact that she met Amarjot, who would accompany her husband.