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Revision as of 18:43, 11 April 2005 by Gaurav1146 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)1984 Anti-Sikh Riots took place in India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh guards acting in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar.
Over the next four days nearly 3000 Sikhs were massacared in systematic riots planned and led by Congress activists and symphathizers. The then Congress government was widely criticized for doing very little at the time, if not acting as an conspirator, especially since voting lists were used to identify Sikh families. The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, said "When a big tree falls, the earth is bound to shake" on the Sikh carnage. His widow, Sonia Gandhi and current President of the Congress Party, officially apologized in 1998 for the events of November, 1984. The most affected regions were neighborhoods in Delhi. The riots were a key antagonist in the subsequent Punjab insurgency.
Numerous commissions have been setup to investigate the riots, however, many of the primary accused were acquitted or never charge-sheeted. According to a Times of India report, nine commissions and committees have inquired into the riots. Justice Rangnath Mishra headed the first commission on the riots and the commission and their report has been heavily criticized as biased and a miscarriage of justice. The most recent commision on the riots, headed by Justice G.T. Nanavati submitted its 185-page report to the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil on February 9, 2005 and the report is due to be made public soon. Several of the primary accused including Jagdish Tytler, Kamal Nath, Sajan Kumar and H.K.L. Bhagat are still at large and Jagdish Tytler is presently a junior Union Minister in the Congress-led UPA goverment. The 20th anniversary of the Sikh riots was observed in November 2004.
As an indication of the complexity of politics involved since the riots, Dr. Manmohan Singh a sikh and a Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist became the Prime Minister of India on a Congress mandate May 22, 2004 acting on Sonia Gandhi's request. It is also important to note that many ordinary Indians of different religious dispositions made significant efforts to hide and help Sikh families as outlined in affidavits of Sikh victims and have been active in seeking appropiate justice.
The Incident
The following account is based on the report released in the House of Commons, Britain, on May 25, 2004 to mark the 20th anniversary of the riots. The report was prepared by Truth & Justice Campaign, Berkshire (London). The report is titled '1984 Sikhs' Kristallnacht', or 'Night of the Broken Glass'.
"On November 1, 1984, a huge mob from the suburbs of Delhi descended on various localities where the Sikh were mainly concentrated. They carried iron rods, knives, clubs, and combustible material, including kerosene. They had voters' lists of houses and business establishments belonging to the Sikhs. People began to swarm into Sikh homes, ripping the occupants to pieces, chopping off the heads of children, raping women, tying Sikh men to tyres set aflame with kerosene, burning down the houses and shops after ransacking them. They stopped buses and trains, in and out of Delhi, pulling out Sikh passengers to be lynched or doused with kerosene and burnt. There was no retaliation by the Sikhs."
Timeline
9:20 AM: Indira Gandhi shot by two of her security guards at her residence, No. 1 Safdarjung Road, and rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
11:00 AM: All India Radio listeners learn that two security guards who shot Indira Gandhi were Sikhs.
4:00 PM: Rajiv Gandhi returns from West Bengal and reaches AIIMS. Stray incidents of attacks in and around that area.
5:30 PM: The cavalcade of President Zail Singh, who returned from a foreign visit, was stoned as it approached AIIMS.
Late Evening and Night: Mobs fanned out in different directions from AIIMS. The violence against Sikhs spread, starting in the neighboring constituency of Congress Councillor Arjun Das. The violence included destruction of Sikh properties and takes place even in VIP areas such as in the vicinity of Prithviraj Road.
Shortly after Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in, senior advocate and opposition leader, Ram Jethmalani, met Home Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao and urged him to to take immediate steps to save Sikhs from further attacks. Delhi's Lt. Governor, P.G. Gavai and Police Commissioner, S.C. Tandon, visited some of the violence affected areas. But no precautionary follow -up action was initiated.
On the night of October 31 and morning of November 1, several Congress leaders allegedly held meetings and mobilize support to launch a full scale pogrom against Delhi's Sikhs.
Quotes related to Riots
- I felt like a refugee in my country. In fact, I felt like a Jew in Nazi Germany. (Khuswant Singh)
- Criminally led hoodlums killed Sikhs, looted or burnt homes and properties while the police twiddled their thumbs. (India Today, November 15, 1984)
External Links
- A Comprehensive Site on The Riots
- Times of India Report On the 20th Anniversary of the riots
- Pictures of the riots