A Sikh man being surrounded and beaten |
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| Date | 31 October 1984 − 3 November 1984 |
|---|---|
| Target | Sikhs |
| Deaths | 2,700−20,000[1] |
The 1984 Anti-Sikh pogroms / riots[2][3][4][5] or the 1984 Sikh Massacre were four days of violence in northern India, particularly Delhi, during which armed mobs killed Sikhs, looted and set fire to Sikh homes, businesses and schools, and attacked gurdwaras, in response to the assassination of then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
In the 1970s, during the Indian Emergency, thousands of Sikhs campaigning for autonomous government were imprisoned.[6] The sporadic violence continued as a result of an armed Sikh separatist group which was designated as a terrorist entity by the government of India. In June 1984, during Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to secure the Golden Temple and eliminate any insurgents, as it had been occupied by Sikh Separatists who were stockpiling weapons. Later operations by Indian paramilitary forces were initiated to clear the separatists from the countryside of Punjab. Even today many Sikhs perceived the actions as an assault on their religion and rights, while the issue is contentious with abusive crimes committed by both sides.
The violence in Delhi was triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards in response to her actions authorising the military operation. The Government of India reported 2,700 deaths in the ensuing chaos. In the aftermath of the pogrom, the Government of India reported 20,000 had fled the city, however the PUCL reported "at least" 50,000 displaced persons.[7] The most affected regions were neighborhoods in Delhi. Human rights organizations and the newspapers believe the massacre was organized.[4][8] The collusion of political officials in the massacres and the failure to prosecute any killers alienated normal Sikhs and increased support for the Khalistan movement.[9] The Akal Takht, the governing religious body of Sikhism, considers the killings to be a genocide.[10]
In 2011, Human Rights Watch reported the Government of India had "yet to prosecute those responsible for the mass killings".[11] The 2011 WikiLeaks cable leaks revealed that the United States was convinced about the complicity of Indian Government ruled by the Indian National Congress in the pogrom, and termed it as "opportunism" and "hatred" of the Congress government against Sikhs.[12][13] Also in 2011, a new set of mass graves were discovered in Haryana and Human Rights Watch reported that "Widespread anti-Sikh attacks in Haryana were part of broader revenge attacks" in India.[14]
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In the 1970s, during the Indian Emergency, thousands of Sikhs campaigning for autonomous government were imprisoned.[6] In 1984, Indian Army launched operation called Operation Bluestar to flush out the separatists hidden in Golden temple along with their leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, in which several innocent Sikhs were killed during crossfire and Sikh reference library was burned.
After the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards, riots erupted on 1 November 1984, and continued in some areas for days, killing some 800 Sikhs.[4] Sultanpuri, Mangolpuri, Trilokpuri, and other Trans-Yamuna areas of Delhi were the worst affected. Mobs belonging to Congress (I) carried iron rods, knives, clubs, and combustible material, including kerosene. The mobs swarmed into Sikh neighborhoods, arbitrarily killing any Sikh men or women they could find. Their shops and houses were ransacked and burned. In other incidents, armed mobs stopped buses and trains, in and around Delhi, pulling out Sikh passengers to be lynched or doused with kerosene and burnt.
Such wide-scale violence cannot take place without police help. Delhi Police, whose paramount duty was to upkeep law and order situation and protect innocent lives, gave full help to rioters who were in fact Congress Workers or else mercenaries hired by the Indian National Congress who where working under able guidance of sycophant leaders like Jagdish Tytler and H K L Bhagat. It is a known fact that many jails, sub-jails and lock-ups were opened for three days and prisoners, for the most part hardened criminals, were provided fullest provisions, means and instruction to "teach the Sikhs a lesson". But it will be wrong to say that Delhi Police did nothing, for it took full and keen action against Sikhs who tried to defend themselves. The Sikhs who opened fire to save their lives and property had to spend months dragging heels in courts after-wards.
-Jagmohan Singh Khurmi, The Tribune
These "riots" are alternately referred to as pogroms[2][3][4][15] or massacres.[16][17]
On October 31, the crowd around the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), began shouting for revenge with slogans like "Blood for blood" and turned into an unruly mob. At 5:20 PM, President Zail Singh arrived at the hospital and the mob outside stoned his car. The mob began assaulting Sikhs by stopping cars and buses to pull Sikhs out of them and burn their turbans.[18] The violence on October 31 was restricted to the area around the AIIMS and did not result in any Sikh deaths.[18] People in other parts of Delhi reported their neighborhoods were peaceful.
Throughout the night of October 31 and morning of November 1, Congress leaders met with local supporters to distribute money and weapons. Congress party MP Sajjan Kumar and Trade Union leader Lalit Maken handed out 100 rupee notes and bottles of liquor to assailants.[18] On the morning of November 1, Sajjan Kumar was seen holding rallies in, at least, the following Delhi neighborhoods; in Palam Colony from 6:30 AM to 7:00 AM, in Kiran Gardens from 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM, and in Sultanpuri from around 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM.[18] In Kiran Gardens at 8:00 AM, Sajjan Kumar was seen distributing iron rods from a parked truck to a group of 120 people and instructing them to "attack Sikhs, kill them, and loot and burn their properties".[18] At an undefined time in the morning of November 1, Sajjan Kumar led a mob of people along the Palam Railway main road to the Mangolpuri neighborhood where the crowd answered his calls with chants of "Kill the Sardars" and "Indira Gandhi is our mother and these people have killed her".[19] In Sultanpuri, Moti Singh, a Sikh who had served in the Congress party for 20 years heard Sajjan Kumar give the following speech:
Whoever kills the sons of the snakes, I will reward them. Whoever kills Roshan Singh and Bagh Singh will get 5000 rupees each and 1000 rupees each for killing any other Sikhs. You can collect these prizes on November 3 from my personal assistant Jai Chand Jamadar.[note 1]
In the neighborhood of Sharkapur, Congress (I) leader Shyam Tyagi's home was used as a meeting place for an undefined number of people.[20] H. K. L. Bhagat, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting distributed money to Boop Tyagi, Shyam Tyagi's brother, and ordered him to “Keep these two thousand rupees for liquor and do as I have told you.... You need not worry at all. I will look after everything.”[20]
During the night of October 31, Balwan Khokhar, a local Congress (I) party leader who was later implicated in the ensuing massacre, held a meeting at the Ration Shop of Pandit Harkesh in the Palam Colony.[20] At 8:30 AM on November 1, Shankar Lal Sharma, an active Congress party supporter, held a meeting at his shop where he formed a mob and had the people swear to kill Sikhs.[20]
The chief weapon used by the mobs, kerosene was supplied by a group of Congress Party leaders who owned filling stations.[21] In Sultanpuri, Brahmanand Gupta, the president of the A-4 block Congress Party distributed oil while Congress Party MP Sajjan Kumar "instructed the crowd to kill Sikhs, and to loot and burn their properties" as he had in other meetings throughout New Delhi.[21] In much the same way, meetings were held in places like Cooperative Colony in Bokaro where P.K. Tripathi, president of the local Congress Party and owner of a gas station in Nara More, provided kerosene to mobs.[21] Aseem Shrivastava, a Masters student at the Delhi School of Economics described the organized nature of the mobs in an affidavit submitted to the Misra Commission:
The attack on Sikhs and their property in our locality appeared to be an extremely organized affair...There were also some young men on motorcycles, who were instructing the mobs and supplying them with kerosene oil from time to time. On more than a few occasions we saw auto-rickshaw arriving with several tins of kerosene oil and other inflammable material such as jute-sacks.[22]
A senior official at the Ministry of Home Affairs informed journalist Ivan Fera, that an arson investigation of several businesses burned in the pogroms had uncovered an unnamed combustible chemical "whose provision required large-scale coordination".[23] Eyewitness reports confirmed the use of a combustible chemical besides kerosene.[23] The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee later identified 70 affidavits which cited the use of a highly flammable chemical in its written arguments before the Misra Commission.[21]
On October 31, Congress party officials provided assailants with voter lists, school registration forms, and ration lists.[24] The lists were used to find the location of Sikh homes and business, an otherwise impossible task because they were located in unmarked and diverse neighborhoods. On the night of October 31, the night before the massacres began, assailants used the lists to mark the houses of Sikhs with letter "S".[24] In addition, because most of the mobs were illiterate, Congress Party officials provided help in reading the lists and leading the mobs to Sikh homes and businesses in the other neighborhoods.[21] By using the lists the mobs were able to pinpoint the locations of Sikhs they otherwise would have missed.[21]
In some cases, the mobs returned to locations where they knew Sikhs were hiding after consulting their lists. One man, Amar Singh, escaped the initial attack on his house by having a Hindu neighbor drag him into his neighbor's house and declare him dead. However, a group of 18 assailants later came looking for his body, and when his neighbor replied that others had already taken away the body an assailant showed him a list and replied, "Look, Amar Singh’s name has not been struck off from the list so his dead body has not been taken away."[21] Sikh men not in their homes were easily identified by their distinctive turban and beard while Sikh women were identified by their dress.
The Congress opponents such as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly condemned the riots.[25] Sikh author Khushwant Singh, who has otherwise been critical of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), mentions that RSS and BJP helped and protected the Sikhs from the rioters, and the BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself intervened at a couple of places to help the Sikh taxi drivers.[26]
The worst affected areas are low income colonies like Trilokpuri, Mongolpuri, Sultanpuri and Palam Colony. The few areas where the local police stations take prompt measures against mobs see hardly any killings or major violence. Farsh Bazar and Karol Bagh are two such examples.
Mobs continue to rampage.
The Delhi High Court, while pronouncing its verdict on a riots-related case in 2009, stated:[30]
| “ | Though we boast of being the world’s largest democracy and the Delhi being its national capital, the sheer mention of the incidents of 1984 anti-Sikh riots in general and the role played by Delhi Police and state machinery in particular makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity. | ” |
There are allegations that the government destroyed evidence and shielded the guilty. Asian Age, an Indian daily newspaper, ran a front-page story calling the government actions "the mother of all cover-ups."[31][32]
From 31 October 1984 to 10 November 1984, human rights groups People's Union for Democratic Rights and People's Union for Civil Liberties conducted an inquiry into the riots by interviewing victims of the riots, police officers, neighbors of the victims, army personnel and political leaders. In their joint report, entitled Who Are The Guilty?, they concluded:
The attacks on members of the Sikh Community in Delhi and its suburbs during the period, far from being a spontaneous expression of "madness" and of popular "grief and anger" at Mrs. Gandhi's assassination as made out to be by the authorities, were the outcome of a well organised plan marked by acts of both deliberate commissions and omissions by important politicians of the Congress (I) at the top and by authorities in the administration.[7]
Eyewitness accounts obtained by Time magazine state the Delhi Police looked on as "rioters murdered and raped, having gotten access to voter records that allowed them to mark Sikh homes with large Xs, and large mobs being bused in to large Sikh settlements".[33] Time reported the riots only led to minor arrests and that no major politician or police officer had been convicted and quotes Ensaaf,[34] a human rights organization, as saying the government worked to destroy evidence of involvement by refusing to record First Information Reports.[33]
A Human Rights Watch report published in 1991 on violence between Sikh separatists and the Government of India traces part of the problem back to the government response to the violence:
Despite numerous credible eye-witness accounts that identified many of those involved in the violence, including police and politicians, in the months following the killings, the government sought no prosecutions or indictments of any persons, including officials, accused in any case of murder, rape or arson.[35]
There are allegations that the violence was led and often perpetrated by Indian National Congress activists and sympathizers during the riots. The government, then led by the Congress, was widely criticized for doing very little at the time, possibly acting as a conspirator. Voting lists were used to identify Sikh families.[8]
On 31 July 1985, Harjinder Singh Jinda, Sukhdev Singh Sukha and Ranjit Singh Gill of Khalistan Commando Force assassinated Lalit Maken (Member - Parliament of India and a leader of Congress (I)) to take revenge of 1984 Anti Sikh Riots. In a 31-page booklet titled Who Are The Guilty, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) listed 227 people who led the mobs, Lalit Maken's name was third on the list.[36]
Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha also assassinated Congress (I) leader Arjan Dass because of his involvement in 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. Arjan Dass's name appeared in various affidavits submitted by Sikh victims to the Nanavati Commission which was headed by Justice G.T. Nanavati, retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India.[37]
Numerous commissions have been set up to investigate the riots. The most recent commission on the riots, headed by Justice G.T. Nanavati, submitted its 185-page report to the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil on 9 February 2005 and the report was tabled in Parliament on 8 August 2005.
Ten commissions and committees have so far inquired into the riots. The commissions below are listed in the order they were formed. Many of the primary accused were acquitted or never charge-sheeted.
This commission was appointed in November 1984. Ved Marwah, Additional Commissioner of Police, was assigned the job of enquiring into the role of the police during the carnage of November 1984. Many of the accused officers of Delhi Police went to Delhi High Court. As Ved Marwah completed his inquiry towards the middle of 1985, he was abruptly directed by the Home Ministry not to proceed further.[38] Complete records of the Marwah Commission were taken over by the government and were later transferred to the Misra Commission. However, the most important part of the record, namely the handwritten notes of Mr Marwah, which contained important information, were not transferred to the Misra Commission.
Misra commission was appointed in May 1985. Justice Rangnath Misra, was a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India. Justice Misra submitted his report in August 1986 and the report was made public six months thereafter in February 1987. In his report, Justice Misra stated that it was not part of his terms of reference to identify any person and recommended the formation of three committees.
The commission and its report was criticized by People's Union for Civil Liberties and Human Rights Watch as biased. A Human Rights Watch report recording the Misra Commission noted:
It recommended no criminal prosecution of any individual, and it cleared all high-level officials of directing the riots. In its findings, the commission did acknowledge that many of the victims testifying before it had received threats from local police. While the commission noted that there had been "widespread lapses" on the part of the police, it concluded that "the allegations before the commission about the conduct of the police are more of indifference and negligence during the riots than of any wrongful overt act."[35]
People's Union for Civil Liberties criticized the Misra commission for keeping information on the accused secret while revealing the names and addresses of victims of violence.[39]
Kapur Mittal Committee was appointed in February 1987 on the recommendation of the Misra Commission to inquire into the role of the police, which the Marwah Commission had almost completed in 1985 itself, when the government asked that committee to wind up and not proceed further.
After almost two years, this committee was appointed for the same purpose. This committee consisted of Justice Dalip Kapur and Mrs Kusum Mittal, retired Secretary of Uttar Pradesh. It submitted its report in 1990. Seventy-two police officers were identified for their connivance or gross negligence. The committee recommended forthwith dismissal of 30 police officers out of 72. However, till date, not a single police officer has been awarded any kind of punishment.
This committee was recommended by the Misra Commission for recommending registration of cases. It consisted of Justice M.L. Jain, former Judge of the Delhi High Court and Mr A.K. Banerjee, retired Inspector General of Police.
The Misra Commission held in its report that a large number of cases had not been registered and wherever the victims named political leaders or police officers, cases were not registered against them. This committee recommended registration of cases against Mr Sajjan Kumar in August 1987, but no case was registered.
In November 1987, press reports criticized the government for not registering cases despite the recommendation of the committee. In December 1987, one of the co-accused along with Sajjan Kumar, namely Mr Brahmanand Gupta filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court and obtained a stay against this committee. The government did not oppose the stay. The Citizen's Justice Committee filed an application for vacating the stay. Ultimately, the writ petition was decided in August 1989 and the high court quashed the appointment of this committee. An appeal was filed by the Citizens Justice Committee in the Supreme Court of India.
Potti Rosha Committee was appointed in March 1990, by the V.P. Singh government, as a successor to the Jain Banerjee Committee. In August 1990, Potti-Rosha issued recommendations for filing cases based on affidavits victims of the violence had submitted. There was one against Sajjan Kumar. A CBI team went to Kumar's home to file the charges. His supporters locked them up and threatened them harm if they persisted in their designs on their leader. As a result of this intimidation, when Potti-Rosha's term expired in September 1990, Potti and Rosha decided to disband their inquiry.
The committee was appointed in December 1990 as a successor to the Potti Rosha Committee. It consisted of Justice J.D. Jain, retired Judge of the Delhi High Court and Mr D.K. Aggarwal, retired DGP of Uttar Pradesh. This committee recommended registration of cases against H.K.L. Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar, Dharamdas Shastri and Jagdish Tytler.
The Committee also suggested setting up of two - three Special Investigating Teams in the Delhi Police under a Deputy Commissioner of Police and the overall supervision by the Additional Commissioner of Police, In-charge - CID and also to review the work-load of the three Special Courts set up to deal with October - November 1984 riots cases exclusively so that these cases could be taken up on day-to-day basis.
The question of appointment of Special Prosecutors to deal with October - November 1984 riots cases exclusively was also discussed. This committee was wound up in August 1993. However, the cases recommended by this committee were not even registered by the police.
Ahuja Committee was the third committee recommended by the Misra Commission to ascertain the total number of killings in Delhi. This committee submitted its report in August 1987 and gave a figure of 2,733 as the number of Sikhs killed in Delhi alone.
The Dhillon Committee, headed by Mr Gurdial Singh Dhillon was appointed in 1985 to recommend measures for the rehabilitation of the victims. This committee submitted its report by the end of 1985. One of its major recommendations was that the business establishments, which had insurance cover, but whose insurance claims were not settled by insurance companies on the technical ground that riot was not covered under insurance, should be paid compensation under the directions of the government. This committee recommended that since all insurance companies were nationalised, they be directed to pay the claims. However, the government did not accept this recommendation and as a result insurance claims were rejected by all insurance companies throughout the country.
Narula Committee was appointed in December 1993 by the Madan Lal Khurana government in Delhi. One of the recommendations of the Narula Committee was to convince the Central Government to grant sanction in this matter.
Mr. Khurana took up the matter with the Central Government and in the middle of 1994, the Central Government decided that the matter did not fall within its purview and sent the case to the Lt. Governor of Delhi. It took two years for the Narasimha Rao Government to decide that it did not fall within Centre's purview.
Narasimha Rao Government further delayed the case. This committee submitted its report in January 1994 and recommended the registration of cases against H.K.L. Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. Ultimately, despite the delay by the Central government, the CBI was able to file the charge sheet in December 1994.
The Nanavati Commission was established in 2000 after some dissatisfaction was expressed with previous reports.[40] The Nanavati Commission was appointed by a unanimous resolution passed in the Rajya Sabha. This commission was headed by Justice G.T. Nanavati, retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India. The commission submitted its report in February 2004. The commission reported that recorded accounts from victims and witnesses to the riots "indicate that local Congress leaders and workers had either incited or helped the mobs in attacking the Sikhs".[40] Its report also found evidence against Jagdish Tytler "to the effect that very probably he had a hand in organising attacks on Sikhs".[40] It also recommended that Sajjan Kumar's involvement in the rioting required a closer look. The commission's report also cleared Rajiv Gandhi and other high ranking Congress (I) party members of any involvement in organising riots against Sikhs. It did find, however, that the Delhi Police "remained passive and did not provide protection to the people" throughout the rioting.[40]
India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) closed all cases against Jagdish Tytler in November 2007 for his alleged criminal conspiracy to engineer riots against Sikhs in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination on 31 October 1984. CBI submitted a report to the Delhi court which stated that no evidence or witness was found to corroborate the allegations against Tytler of leading murderous mobs during 1984 Re-probe Tytler’s role: Court.[41] It was also alleged in the court that then member of Indian Parliament Jagdish Tytler was complaining to his supporters about relatively "small" number of Sikhs killed in his parliamentary constituency Delhi Sadar, which in his opinion had undermined his position in the ruling Indian National Congress party of India.[42]
However in December 2007, a certain witness, Jasbir Singh, who is living in California, appeared on several private television news channels in India, and stated he was never contacted by Central Bureau of Investigation. India's main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded an explanation from the minister in-charge of CBI in Indian Parliament. However, Minister of State for Personnel Suresh Pachouri, who is in-charge of department of CBI, and was present in the parliament session, refused to make a statement.[43]
On 18 December 2007, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Delhi court, Sanjeev Jain, who had earlier dismissed the case after CBI submitted a misleading report in his court, ordered India's Central Bureau of Investigation to reopen cases relating to 1984 anti-Sikh riots against Jagdish Tytler.[44]
In December 2008, a two-member CBI team was sent to New York to record the statements of two eyewitnesses, Jasbir Singh and Surinder Singh. The two witnesses have stated that they saw Jagdish Tytler lead a mob during the riots, but did not want to come to India as they feared for their security.[45] They also blamed the CBI for not conducting a fair trial and accused it of protecting Tytler.
However, in March 2009, CBI gave a clean chit to Tytler, amidst protests from Sikhs and the opposition parties.[46]
On 7 April 2009, a Sikh reporter with Dainik Jagran, Jarnail Singh hurled his shoe at home minister P Chidambaram in protest against the clean chit given to Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. He was however let off as the home minister did not want the police to pursue the case, in lieu of the upcoming Lok Sabha (general) elections.[47]
On 9 April 2009, over 500 protesters from various Sikh organisations from all over the country gathered outside the court which was scheduled to hear CBI’s plea of closing the case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. Later in the day, Tytler announced his decision to pull out of the Lok Sabha elections, saying he does not want to cause embarrassment to his party. This sensitive issue has once again poked its face and Congress does not want this to become an anti-Congress tide. This has forced the Congress party to cut the Tytler and Sajjan Kumar Lok Sabha tickets.[48]
On March 14, 2011, an American-based NGO, Sikhs for Justice, filed a civil suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York accusing the Indian government of complicity in the riots. The court issued a summons to the Indian Congress Party and Kamal Nath.[49] [50]
“It seemed easy for [former Prime Minister] Rajiv Gandhi to say, ‘When a giant tree falls, the earth below shakes.’ Our trees fell and we can still feel the tremors.” -Victim whose husband was burned alive during the pogroms[51]
The attack on the Sikh community in India is remembered annually in the UK with a remembrance march through London bringing together thousands of Sikhs from all over the UK. The Sikh Pogroms are cited as a reason to support creation of a Sikh homeland in India, often called Khalistan.[52][53]
Many ordinary Indians of different religious dispositions made significant efforts to hide and help Sikh families during the rioting.[54]
Recently on 15 July 2010 the Sikh high clergy (Jathedar) declared the events following the death of Indira Gandhi to be a Sikh "Genocide" replacing the widely used term "Anti-Sikh riots" used by the Indian government, media and other writers.[55] The decision came soon after a similar motion was raised in the Canadian Parliament by a Sikh MP.
The Delhi riots have been the core subject of several films and novels.