Sikh Community remained silent for almost three decades and now hopes justice!

Sikh Community remained silent for almost three decades and now hopes justice!

Palash Biswas

Sikhs protest outside Sonia Gandhi's house against Sajjan Kumar's acquittal! So what? Have you forgot the 1984 riots?Those who used operation blue star and sikh genocide to invoke blind hindu imperialism may not call for justice. Our sikh brothers and sisters must understand the ground reality.Thousands of Sikhs were massacred during the first week of November 1984 in Delhi and elsewhere in India. The killings of Sikhs were carried out in form of different massacres, that were part of a wider plan of genocide of Sikhs.Indian state system did not only suffered the failure to deliver justice to the victims and try or punish the culprits; rather it patronized and rewarded the culprits with political seats.

Sikh Community remained silent for almost three decades and now hopes justice!It is true that the community faced unprecedeted holocaust in free India nand inflicted with terror as well as cruelest repression, it lost its identity. Sikh politics conviently merged itself in Hindutva politics. Meanwhile , the ruling brahaminical hegemony succeeded to close all windows and dooors for justice awaited for such a long time. The democratic system and its secular setup demand justice for sikh community lest the anger of the most militant community in India repeat the history once again.We must stand united rock solid with the victims of sikh genocide! Opening of Jgadish Tyteler case raised hopes for justice, which has been dismissed abruptly with the acquittal of congress leader Sajjan kumar.Mr Kumar, who was accused of being one of the ring-leaders in the 1984 riots in which 3000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi, has been acquitted in one of three cases in which he is accused of murder and criminal conspiracy during the riots, which erupted after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards.

Indian system took 29 years to conclude a case against Sajjan Kumar, one of the culprits was facing charges of instigating the killings of Sikhs at Delhi cantonment area.

But the trial court acquitted Sajjan Kumar of all the charges in this case, while convicting five others. Sajjan Kumar is an Indian politician who was able to evade investigation or trial in November 1984 Sikh massacres related cases for more than two decades. It was only after the recommendations of Justice G. T. Nanavati Commission in 2005 that FIR was registered against him. The CBI has filed charge-sheet against Sajjan Kumar and five others in 2010.

As per media reports on April 30, 2013 the District and Sessions Judge J R Aryan acquitted Sajjan Kumar while convicting five others -Balwan Khokkar, an ex-councillor, Mahender Yadav, an ex-MLA, Kishan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal.

The case was related with the brutal murder of five Sikhs– Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvender Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh– who were members of the same family and were killed in an organized Delhi Cant's Raj Nagar area.

Balwan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal were held guilty for the offence of murder under section 302 (murder) of the IPC which entails death penalty as maximum punishment while Mahender Yadav and Kishan Khokkar were convicted for the offence of rioting only.

Balwan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal were ordered to be taken into judicial custody by the court.

It is notable that most the cases related to massacres of Sikhs in November 1984 remains untried even after the lapse of 29 years as there were only few trials. Convictions were there in very rare cases – that too against low-profile culprits. These cases signifies the persistent denial of justice to the victims of largest organized massacre in post-1947 India.

According to certain media reports the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh G.K. announced on April 27, 2013 that DSGMC would construct a memorial in memory of Sikhs killed in Sikh genocide of November 1984.As per information Manjit Singh G.K. who was at Amritsar to attend the function regarding dedication of June 1984 memorial in Darbar Sahib Complex to the Sikh nation, said that DSGMC would get constructed a memorial dedicated to the Sikhs who were killed during the November 1984 massacres.

"More than 3,000 persons died in the Delhi following the then prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination", he reminded adding that DSGMC would soon earmark the land for this memorial.He also said that if need be, the DSGMC would purchase suitable land for the memorial.

DSGMC president claimed that the SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar has assured the DSGMC of all help for the construction of this memorial.

The announcement was welcomed and hailed in a traditional way by all those present.

Terming as "very unfortunate" the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, SAD on Tuesday said it will challenge the court order and demanded the setting up of a court-monitored Special Investigation Team to probe the riot cases.

"The acquittal of Sajjan Kumar is sad and very unfortunate. We will challenge it in a higher court," Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said.

Badal said while there was direct evidence against Kumar in the anti-Sikh riots case, he wondered how the Congress leader alone was left out while all other accused in the case have been convicted based on the evidence against them. "Everyone in the country knows he (Kumar) was directly involved. There was direct evidence against him by witnesses who had come forward. The Sikh community is feeling very sad that justice has not been given," the chief minister said.

SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "This is the saddest day in the history of Sikhs and India. We will appeal in a higher court. We will continue to fight till we get justice."

"The way CBI was used to save the guilty in the coal scam, in Sajjan Kumar's case and also the whole CBI team was used by the Congress party to save him," Sukhbir said.

Meanwhile, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said the Sikh body will move a higher court in the case. "We already knew that Congress would shield Sajjan Kumar. Rajiv Gandhi (after the assassination of Indira Gandhi) has stated 'jab koyee bara perh girta hai to dharti hilti hai (when a big tree falls, the earth shakes)'. It was Rajiv Gandhi's youth brigade like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler who led the genocide of Sikhs," Makkar said.

"If they (Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler) are innocent, then who killed thousands of Sikhs?... How was it that all those killed were Sikhs and the houses destroyed were of Sikhs only? This was a planned conspiracy," Makkar added.

Angry Sikh protesters stormed Subhash Nagar Metro station  in the capital and blocked the tracks disrupting train schedule for a few hours on Wednesday. They were protesting against the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a case related to 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Two metro stations in West Delhi were closed to commuters for some time today after protesters stormed the Subhash Nagar station, climbing on to the tracks and metro coaches. They were protesting against the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.The protests are epicentred in nearby Tilak Nagar and the Tilak Nagar Metro Station was closed as a precaution. For about half an hour, metro traffic through Subhash Nagar had to be stopped as over 500 protesters crowded the station, blocking the tracks.They also climbed metro coaches stationed there holding banners and shouting slogans. The police had to bring protesters back to the platform one by one.

Protesters have said they plan to march to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi tomorrow.

They are angry, they say, that 29 years after the riots, Mr Kumar, who was then an MP, has been acquitted of all charges in what is called the Delhi Cantonment case. Witnesses have claimed in court that they saw Mr Kumar at the spot instigating a mob which killed five Sikh men on November 2, 1984.

Five other people have been convicted in the same case.

Mr Kumar's acquittal sparked angry scenes at the court in New Delhi too yesterday, where a Sikh demonstrator hurled a shoe in protest at the presiding judge, but missed. A witness broke down.

Activists accuse the Congress of having turned a blind eye to the killing of Sikhs and allege some city leaders such as Mr Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and H.K.L. Bhagat – who is now dead – incited mobs.

Mind you, the symtoms are not good for Indian nation as in NEW YORK, a US based Sikh rights group has announced a million-dollar reward for those individuals whose testimony and evidence may result in the conviction of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar.The reward will be given to those individuals who will come forward with tips, evidence and testimony leading to the reversal of a Delhi court's judgement acquitting Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) announced.SFJ said it would engage top advocates to prosecute the appeal against the acquittal of Kumar before Delhi High Court.On the other hand,the World Sikh Organization of Canada expresses its disappointment with the not-guilty verdict pronounced by a Delhi court in the case of Sajjan Kumar, a senior Congress leader and former MP who was accused of orchestrating the massacre of Sikhs in November 1984.The reward presented an "opportunity for those who witnessed the killings to come forward with testimony and evidence to help victims in seeking justice against those Congress leaders who organized violence against Sikhs," SFJ legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said.

Since Kumar was acquitted on the basis of "benefit of doubt" because complainant Jagdish Kaur's testimony was not corroborated by any independent witness, SFJ will campaign to find additional witnesses relating to Kumar's role.Several Sikh leaders in the US have expressed their "dismay and shock" at Kumar's acquittal.

Sajjan Kumar's acquittal on Tuesday came almost three decades after an estimated 3,000 Sikhs were killed in three days of riots in India's capital and elsewhere after the Oct 31, 1984, assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

On Tuesday, Delhi District and Sessions Judge JR Aryan acquitted Kumar while convicting three others of murder – Balwan Khokkar, an ex-councillor, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal. Mahender Yadav, an ex-MLA and Kishan Khokkar were convicted by the court of "rioting".

The decision comes 29 years after genocidal killing of Sikhs across India, following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In 2010, the Supreme Court of India refused to quash the charges against Kumar and criticized India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for delaying the case and failing to conclude its arguments in a timely manner.

Before being handed over to the CBI in 2005, the investigation into the cases had been conducted by the Delhi Police. The CBI told the court that there was a conspiracy of "terrifying proportion" between Kumar and the police and that the police had kept its "eyes closed" during the violence. The CBI further alleged that Kumar's name was systematically eliminated by the Delhi Police from all records and complaints.

According to figures, only 10 murder cases involving the killing of Sikhs in November 1984 have ended in convictions.

Kumar still awaits a decision in another case involving the killing of five Sikhs in Sultanpuri and for a charge of "spreading enmity between two communities."

Reacting to Kumar's acquittal, WSO senior policy advisor Gian Singh Sandhu said, "this verdict is only the latest in a series of disappointments that have spanned 29 years. This is a lower court decision that will now be appealed to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court. Given the time that has already elapsed, it's likely that many of the victims will not live to see this case reach its final conclusion."

WSO President Prem Singh Vinning said, "the proceedings against Sajjan Kumar have been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, intimidation and collusion by the Delhi Police. It's certainly surprising that the testimony of the witnesses in this case was accepted against five accused but that same testimony was not accepted against Kumar. This entire process has been yet another example of the ongoing victimization of the survivors of November 1984, many of whom have now lost hope of ever seeing justice served."

On the second day of protests, Sikh groups shouted slogans outside Congress president Sonia Gandhi's residence and the Congress office on Thursday, over the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Burning effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sajjan Kumar, different Sikh groups gathered outside Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence.

"Over a thousand protesters marched towards Sonia Gandhi's residence, breaking two barricades. But they were blocked by the policemen. Similar scenes were witnessed at 24 Akbar Road (the Congress office)," a senior police officer told IANS.

A traffic police officer told IANS that several roads in central Delhi had been blocked to prevent angry protesters from reaching the Congress office and the residence of Sonia Gandhi. Among the roads closed to traffic and pedestrians were Akbar Road, Motilal Nehru Marg, Krishna Menon Marg, Mansingh Road, Maulana Azad Road and Janpath.

Police barricades, however, failed to deter protesters who stood as close as they could to the places they wished to reach, shouting slogans.

On Wednesday, protesters had blocked busy roads in the national capital. Metro services were also disrupted by the protests for a few hours.

The Sikh groups are angry at the acquittal of Sajjan Kumar by a city court Tuesday in a case related to the killing of five people in the Delhi Cantonment area during violence against Sikhs following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984.

The court convicted five others in the same case.

Sajjan Kumar's acquittal comes almost three decades after an estimated 3,000 Sikhs were killed in three days of riots in India's capital and elsewhere.

Subhash Nagar and Tilak Nagar Metro stations, located in predominantly Sikh neighborhoods , had to be closed down for two hours, leading to a bunching of trains on the Dwarka-Noida /Vaishali corridor. The effect was also felt on the Jahangirpuri-HUDA City Centre line as trains were delayed at the Rajiv Chowk station. They also protested in front of the Tilak Nagar police station which closed its gate for a brief period to avoid protesters from entering the premises.

Protesters entered Subhash Nagar Metro station around 12:45pm and sat on the tracks. Cops moved them away, but the protesters tried to occupy the tracks again shouting slogans vehemently against Kumar's acquittal. They carried placards saying 'Give justice to 1984 victims' and 'hang the culprits' . A train had to be stopped for close to 10 minutes due to the sudden protest, a Metro official said.

Moushumi Samajdar, who was travelling from Dwarka to Vaishali, said the train had stopped between Subhash Nagar and Tilak Nagar stations. "Announcements were being made inside the train that there was a technical snag because of which the train had to be stopped. The train started moving after 15-20 minutes."

According to CISF personnel at the Metro station, there were around 60 protesters who tried blocking the tracks.

"We will not stop protesting till justice is done. We demand immediate action against Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar both accused for inciting the 1984 riots. They should be hanged. We plan to escalate our protests till we receive an explanation from the government," said Harpal Singh, a senior citizen and president of a Tilak Nagar resident welfare association (RWA).

Tempers ran high even among the young who joined the protests with their relatives and friends. "Delhi will face consequences if they don't do justice to our community . Our parents have still not forgotten the horror of 1984. We will not stop now," said Manmeet Singh, a businessman.

"Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal has asked the community to wait till May 10. If our demands are not met, Sikh youths will protest across the city," said Karanpreet Singh, another protester.

A lot of senior citizens who had witnessed the riots in 1984 were seen in front of the Metro stations. Harpal Singh, for instance, said he couldn't forget how his photo studio was burnt down in Dabri and a close relative lost his life. "It's very hard to brush aside all that," he added . Tilak Nagar is particularly sensitive because it was built as a resettlement colony for those affected in the 1984 riots. Protesters threatened to gather in front of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's residence and Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib on Thursday.

A special CBI court has acquitted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar of all charges in one of three 1984 anti-Sikh genocide case against him. He was accused of murder and instigating mobs that killed five Sikhs in Delhi's cantonment area on November 2, 1984. Three of the five other accused in the case have been convicted for murder; two for rioting.

A man named Karnail Singh threw a shoe at the judge in the court. He has been arrested. Outside the court, angry protests began as news of the Congressman's acquittal came in.

An eyewitness Jagdish Kaur, who claims to have seen Sajjan Kumar leading a mob that killed her husband and father, broke down in court.

In its concluding arguments last week, the CBI told the court that there was a conspiracy of "terrifying proportion" between Mr Kumar and the police during the riots 29 years ago.

The case against Mr Kumar was registered in 2005 on the recommendation of the Nanavati Commission. The CBI had filed two chargesheets against him and the other accused in January 2010.

Mr Kumar, who was then the Congress MP from Outer Delhi, is also accused of instigating a mob during riots in the Sultanpuri area. Six people were killed in the violence there.

The Congress leader and other co-accused Ved Prakash Pial alias Vedu Pradhan and Brahmanand Gupta had moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court order to frame charges against them in the Sultanpuri case. The High Court deferred its decision yesterday saying "further hearing is required" on Mr Kumar's plea. It posted the matter for hearing on May 15.

Apart from murder and rioting, a lower court in 2010 charged Mr Kumar and others for spreading enmity between two communities in the Sultanpuri case. The Congress leader is also facing trial in a third anti-Sikh riots case in Nangloi area of Delhi.

In 2010, the Supreme Court refused to quash the charges against Mr Kumar and said the trial would continue against him. It had also pulled up the CBI for failing to conclude its arguments and taking too much time.

Earlier this month, a Delhi court reopened an anti-Sikh riots case against another Congress leader Jagdish Tytler. He is accused of inciting a mob that killed three men during the riots.

The 1984 anti-Sikh genocide took place after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. Ten different commissions and committees have looked into the 1984 riots in last three decades.

According to information the decision of an Indian court to acquit Indian politician in a case related to November 1984 massacre of Sikhs in Delhi's Cant area reportedly sparked sharp reactions – inside and outside the court room.

It is learnt a Sikh hurled a shoe at the judge after he pronounced his decision to acquit Sajjan Kumar, one of the organizers who had led the massacres of Sikhs in Delhi in November 1984.

As per media reports Karnail Singh Peermohammad, President of All India Sikh Students Federation – a Sikh body engage in pursuing the cases against culprits of Sikh Genocide 1984 hurled a shoe at District and Sessions judge in Delhi as a protest against persistent denial of justice to the victims of 1984 massacres.

It is learnt that Karnail Singh Permohammad was arrested the police immediately after he threw a shoe towards the judge.

Peermohammad's lawyers has reportedly said that his clients intention was not to hit the judge rather the act symbolizes the genuine grievances of the Sikhs against Indian judicial system for it's persistent failure to deliver justice to the Sikh victims of 1984.

Peermohammad's lawyer reportedly said that his client is ready to face the consequences of the act.

dna edit: Dark day for the 1984 riot victims

Sajjan Kumar's acquittal has to do with an indulgent political machinery.

Congress leader Sajjan Kumar's acquittal has every reason to be interpreted as a politically engineered investigation which was never meant to deliver justice. For 29  long years, first the Delhi Police and then the Central Bureau of Investigation enacted a farce, unmindful of the fact that the Sikhs not just of Delhi but all across India were waiting patiently for the perpetrators of the 1984 pogrom to be punished. It is only too obvious that they took to the streets and an aggrieved bystander even hurled a shoe at the judge when he pronounced what many complained was an impossible verdict.

After all, five others, including a former legislator, were convicted in this case in which five Sikhs of the same family were slaughtered in Delhi Cantonment's Raj Nagar area. Many witnesses had come forward to give evidence against Kumar who had apparently instigated the mob without fear or scruple. What these key witnesses described was the fact that Kumar had given himself the licence to kill. The judge did not find the evidence strong enough to apportion blame on the brazen Congress leader. It implies that the investigation had lost credibility because of the inordinate delay.

There are several reasons for this blatant miscarriage of justice. Successive governments have prevailed upon investigating agencies either to defer pursuing the cases in a thorough manner or  to trivialise the massacre. Congress leaders never really did a serious self-introspection after the Sikh tragedy.

Ever since the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi dismissed the genocide as an incident of the earth shaking following the collapse of a gigantic tree, the Congress party never really bothered to figure out if the wounds of the shattered Sikh population had healed. Many apologies may have been given, including the famous one by Manmohan Singh, but the Congress has not been able to bridge the distance with Sikhs.

This is Sajjan Kumar's second acquittal. There are two more cases pending against him, but given the lack of seriousness on the part of the investigating agencies, there is little hope for a verdict against him. An indulgent political machinery has conveniently ensured the great escape of a man accused of orchestrating riots.

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/1829613/editorial-dna-edit-dark-day-for-the-1984-riot-victims

CBI concluded arguments against Sajjan Kumar & five others in November 1984 Sikh carnage case

New Delhi, India (March 23, 2013): As per media reports the CBI today concluded it's arguments in the trial of an Indian politician leader Sajjan Kumar and five others in a November 1984 genocidal violence related case. The agency opposed the defence arguments and said the nature and extent of crime shows the vast network and larger conspiracy behind it.

"The nature and extent of crime, protection to the perpetrators, disappearance of evidence and non-registration of cases show that there was a vast network and a larger conspiracy behind it," CBI Special Prosecutor R S Cheema said while wrapping up arguments in the case.

During his submissions made before District Judge J R Aryan, Cheema, assisted by advocate D P Singh, reportedly said that Sajjan Kumar was involved in the killings.

Sajjan Kumar: one of the organizers of Sikh Genocide 1984

The prosecution also reportedly rebutted Sajjan Kumar's arguments that the statement of CBI witnesses were contradictory and relied on the deposition of witness Manjeet Singh who it said supported the agency's case and also narrated how the raging mob roamed in the area searching for Sikhs and killed those they found.

Advocate Cheema reportedly pointed out that none of the accused including Sajjan Kumar had challenged Manjeet Singh's deposition and therefore, it was a strong piece of evidence.

The CBI argued that on November 1, 1984 Sajjan Kumar had ordered the killings of Sikhs and the manner in which the police did not register even a case about the incident shows that there was a conspiracy of terrifying proportion between Kumar and the police during the violence against the Sikhs.

Advocate Cheema concluded his arguments with an Urdu couplet apparently directed at the conduct of the police, "Na daman pe koi cheet, na khanjar pe koi daag, wo qatal karey hain ya karamat karey hain" (there is no blood stain to be seen, was it a murder or some some magic).

The counsel was hinting at the CBI's stand that the Delhi police had turned a blind eye to the killings.

It is notable that Sikhs were subjected to genocidal violence in the first week of November 1984 after the assassination of contemporary Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October, 1984. The culprits, who perpetuated the genocide have enjoyed impunity over last 28 years. There were few instances where the culprits were charged and convictions were there in very rare cases, that too in the cases of low-profile culprits.

An independent inquiry by human rights bodies namely "People's Union for Civil Liberties" and "People's Union for Democratic Rights" had concluded that:

"A fact-finding team jointly organised by one People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and people's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) in the course of investigations from November 1 to November 10, has come to the conclusion that 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 assasination 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. Although there was the handiwork of a determined group which was inspired by different sentiments altogether".

- Who Are Guilty? (1984), PUCL and PUDR

[source: http://www.pucl.org/ Topics/ Religion-communalism/ 2003/ who-are-guilty.htm]

Many culprits including Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, HKL Bhagat and Kamal Nath were rewarded with high profile political positions by the Indian state.

The case against Sajjan Kumar was registered after a delay of two decades and the verdicts is yet to be pronounced in this case, whereas 28 years have already passed since the genocide took place. Many like Jagdish Tytler and Kamal Nath never faced trial for their participation in the genocide of Sikhs in 1984.

http://www.sikhsiyasat.net/2013/03/23/cbi-concluded-arguments-against-sajjan-kumar-five-others-in-november-1984-sikh-carnage-case/

Justice delayed, denied

Existing patterns of immunity area blot on the face of secularism and democracy

Delhi high court verdict on one of the cases of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, convicting 5 persons and acquitting top Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, almost three decades on, has once again demonstrated the weaknesses of the state as well as the legal justice system on the questions of minority rights and justice to minority victims of communalism. While the same evidence and eye-witness accounts have been used to nail 5 smaller fishes in the case, Sajjan Kumar has been exonerated. Added to this is the baggage of the long delay in probing something as heinous as brutal slaughtering of over 2500 people and homelessness of over 50,000 people across north-India, particularly in Delhi. After years of delay some hope was inspired by the report of Nanavati Commission in 2005, which indicted both Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, though gave a clean chit to HKL Bhagat. The hope was a little dimmed in 2007 with CBI exonerating Tytler, though last month, when a court once again directed re-opening of Tytler's file, there was reason to believe that all is not still lost. Needless to point out that 28 years after having remained unscathed for his role in mass murders, an unrepentant Tytler was caught on camera inciting mobs in Orissa for unleashing communal violence, last year. The fresh verdict once again dampens such optimism. There are three things that this verdict is a grim reminder of. One, that delay in delivering justice amounts to denial of justice. Two, that there are two yardsticks while dealing with majority and minority culprits of violence. Three, that even under severe public pressure, legal justice system functions with its marked delays, to deliver justice in cases of violence perpetuated by majority community; it only handpicks the smaller culprits and leaves the bigger high-profiled organisers scot free. This over-delay in the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984, which became the percusor to the equally, if not more, gory genocide of Gujarat in 2002 fails to enthuse any hope or sense of justice. Rather, this delay points out to the institutional breakdown of justice, where thousands of Indian citizens can be denied their rights in order to protect the few, elite, and powerful, including the state which is responsible for protecting their rights and lives. The 1984 case has seen 10 commissions, the last of them Nanavati Commission in 2005 which absolved Bhagat and Tytler was later given a clean chit by the CBI. Similar is the tale of Gujarat massacres and the 1993 Mumbai riots It is a shame that in such cases of blatant human rights abuse across the country where state is involved as perpetrator of crimes against humanity, the legal justice system fails to deliver. The legal justice system has remained elusive and time has been bought by ordering a plethora of commissions, which is no substitute for justice. That decades after such massacres, the victims are still oscillating between despair and occasional feeble flickers of hope points out to the travesty of justice. There are evidently two yardsticks that govern the norm for delivering justice – one for the state sponsored majority and another for the more powerless minority. While people like Afzal Guru and Davinderpal Singh Bhullar are sent to the gallows on the basis of circumstantial evidence or confessional statements made to the police under duress and for playing a rather minor role in violence, people like Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Bal Thackeray and Narendra Modi who play a key role would remain above the board. While Guru and Bhullar would be hanged to satiate "the collective conscious of a society", people like Aseemanand, Sadhvi Pragya and Col. Purohit would get the benefit of doubt for similar lack of concrete evidence to enable the legal justice system to go slow on their pursuit. Third, if at all the legal justice system has delivered, it are scapegoats who get convicted; the elite officials and politicians manage to escape the noose all along, pointing out to the failure of the legal justice system to deliver and its inability to question the virtual collapse of authority of the state. An instigator is never taken to task, only the provoked ultimately get nailed down; as if provocation is a far bigger crime than instigating, planning and organising. The instigator is left untouched to carry on the hate soaked agenda of perpetuating more such ugly communal bloodbath, as is amply demonstrated by the allegations against Tytler – from Delhi to Orissa. Barring the case of top Hindutva honchos like Babu Bajrangi and Maya Kodnani, convicted and sentenced in Gujarat's Naroda Patya massacres, the instigators continue to be clean and well patronised by their respective parties. Bal Thackeray got a state funeral when he died. Lal Kishen Advani continues to be one of the choices for BJP as next prime minister even as he stands accused of instigating the Babri mosque demolition that so greatly damaged the secular fabric of the country. Narendra Modi has become a hero of both the Hindutva and the corporate world which continues to thrive on the rising trajectory of such communal and class divisions or disparities. Investigators have absolved RSS stalwart Indresh Kumar in Jaipur and Mecca blasts even without questioning him even as his name figured in the preliminary probe. Top leaders of the two main national parties are tainted in cases of mass murders and there is an obvious reason to conclude that this will fuel the delay and denial of justice in these cases; it being an apt case of returning favours or scratching each other's backs. But such petty politicking should not dictate the course of country's legal justice system or its commitment to the ideals of secularism, equality and justice. The government of the day needs to ensure a system of accountability by ordering fair probes and fast-tracking the justice system. It must either have the will or capacity to implement an impartial and thorough investigation into these mass crimes or else invite the international community to help it develop a mechanism to redress these crimes. Such existing patterns of impunity are a blot in the face of a democratic country.

http://www.kashmirtimes.com/newsdet.aspx?q=15956

When silence speaks more than words

OWMIYA ASHOK

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The HinduA woman displaying a banner outside the Karkardooma Court Complex in the Capital on Tuesday. Photo: S. Subramanium

She silently stood holding a placard which read: "A government and a judiciary that punish the innocent and reward the guilty have no democratic standing". In front of her, 54-year-old Harwinder Singh Kohli, was talking about how he witnessed his father and brother-in-law being set ablaze by a frenzied mob.

"I strongly feel for the community. Justice should be done," she said, merely identifying herself as an independent activist. "I started reading about this issue last year and I was left devastated. This is my way of showing my support."

With a dupatta over her head to protect her from the heat, she enquired if she could enter the court complex but decided instead to join the gathering outside. "It is not just about Sajjan Kumar but there were so many people behind the scenes such as the police and the intelligence who were also responsible for the riots," she said. "It was a Sikh genocide and it has been completely trivialised."

An hour or so later, when the verdict was revealed, she stood behind the protesters who had managed to enter the court complex. This time her placard read – "How can anyone in India be safe if man eaters are free to kill again and again."

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/when-silence-speaks-more-than-words/article4672933.ece

White House Condemns 1984 Sikh Genocide and Human Rights Violations in India

By: Sikh24 Editors

WASHINGTON, DC, USA (April 2, 2013)–The White House has responded to the petition signed by over 30,000 individuals asking the US Government to "Recognize the Sikh Genocide of 1984″.  The petition was launched last year in November and gained popularity through social media channels.  Sikh volunteers all over the country also put in efforts to get the petition signed at Gurdwaras.  Although at this point, the US Government has not publically recognized the carnage as a genocide, it has however condemned the brutal killings of Sikh men and women post 1984 in India.

The announcement by the White House is a major blow to India, which boasts of being the largest democracy in the World.  Human Rights violations in India have been condemned by various Human Rights Organizations in the World, including the Amnesty International and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The following response was provided by the White House -

Thank you for expressing your views. During and after the 1984 violence, the United States monitored and publicly reported on the grave human rights violations that occurred and the atrocities committed against members of the Sikh community. The State Department's Official Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, for example, covered the violence and its aftermath in detail, with sections on political killings, disappearances, denial of fair public trials, negative effects on freedom of religion, and the government's response to civil society organizations investigating allegations of human rights violations.

We continue to condemn — and more importantly, to work against — violence directed at people based on their religious affiliation. U.S. Government efforts to protect the rights and freedoms of all people have long been a feature of our foreign policy. Our diplomats regularly report on and speak out against violence against minorities around the world.

Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act (.pdf) in 1998, which affirms U.S. commitment to religious freedom, enshrined both in the United States Constitution and in numerous international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

In accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act, the President appoints an Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to head the Office of International Religious Freedom at the State Department and to advise the Secretary of State and the President on issues related to international religious freedom. The Ambassador is also responsible for providing information related to religious freedom to be included in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Human Rights Reports) and preparing a separate Annual Report on International Religious Freedom[International Religious Freedom Report (IRFR).] The IRFR describes the status of religious freedom in every country, highlights trends and violations, and details the actions that the United States government is taking to improve freedom of religion.

Sikh24 Editors can be reached at @

1984 anti-Sikh riots

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1984 Anti-Sikh Genocide
A Sikh man being surrounded and beaten by a mob
Date	31 October 1984 − 3 November 1984
Target	Sikhs
Deaths	11,000 (3,000 in Delhi)[1]

The 1984 anti-Sikhs riots^[2][3][4][5] or the 1984 Sikh Massacre was a riot directed againstSikhs in India, by anti-Sikh mobs, in response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, there were more than 3000 deaths.^[4] CBI is of the opinion that the acts of violence were well organized with support from the then Delhi police officials and the central government headed by Indira Gandhi's son, Rajiv Gandhi.^[6] Rajiv a congress member, who was sworn in as the Prime Minister after his mother's death, when asked about the riots said "when a big tree falls, the earth shakes".^[7]

In the 1970s, during the Indian Emergency imposed by Indira, thousands of Sikhs campaigning for autonomous government were imprisoned. 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.^[8]

The violence in Delhi was triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Prime-minister of India, 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 riots, the Government of India reported 20,000 had fled the city, however the PUCL reported "at least" 1,000 displaced persons.^[9] The most affected regions were the Sikh neighbourhoods in Delhi. Human rights organisations and newspapers across India believe the massacre was organised.^[4][6][10] The collusion of political officials in the massacres and the Judiciary's failure to penalize the killers alienated normal Sikhs and increased support for the Khalistan movement.^[11] The Akal Takht, the governing religious body of Sikhism, considers the killings to be a genocide.^[12]

In 2011, Human Rights Watch reported the Government of India had "yet to prosecute those responsible for the mass killings".^[13] The2011 WikiLeaks cable leaks revealed that the United States was convinced about the complicity of Indian Government ruled by theIndian National Congress in the riots, and termed it as "opportunism" and "hatred" of the Congress government against Sikhs.^[14][15]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.^[16]

Contents   [hide]  1 Background 2 Characteristics of violence 2.1 Meetings and distribution of weapons 2.2 Use of voter lists by the Congress Party 3 Timeline of events 3.1 First day (31 October) 3.2 Second day (1 November) 3.3 Third day (2 November) 3.4 Fourth day (3 November) 4 Aftermath 4.1 Convictions 5 Investigations 5.1 Marwah Commission 5.2 Misra Commission 5.3 Kapur Mittal Committee 5.4 Jain Banerjee Committee 5.5 Potti Rosha Committee 5.6 Jain Aggarwal Committee 5.7 Ahuja Committee 5.8 Dhillon Committee 5.9 Narula Committee 5.10 The Nanavati Commission 5.11 Role of Jagdish Tytler 5.12 Civil case in New York 5.13 Alleged Role of Amitabh Bachchan 6 Impact and legacy 7 In popular culture 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

[edit]Background

In 1973 Akali Dal and other Sikh groups introduced the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which demanded special status for Punjab andSikhs. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, security in Punjab started deteriorating due to State level and religious politics, leading to the sacking of the Punjab government in 1983.^[17][18]

See also: List of terrorist incidents in Punjab (India) and Punjab insurgency

[edit]Characteristics of violence

See also: Hondh-Chillar Massacre

After the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards, anti-Sikh riots erupted on 1 November 1984, and continued in some areas for days, killing more than 3,000 Sikhs.^[4] Sultanpuri, Mangolpuri, Trilokpuri, and other Trans-Yamuna areas of Delhi were the worst affected. Mobs carried iron rods, knives, clubs, and combustible material, including kerosene. The mobs swarmed into Sikh neighbourhoods, 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 alive.

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 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][19]} or massacres.^[20][21]

[edit]Meetings and distribution of weapons

On 31 October, the crowd around the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, 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.^[22] The violence on 31 October was restricted to the area around the AIIMS and did result in many Sikh deaths.^[22] People in other parts of Delhi reported their neighbourhoods were peaceful.

Throughout the night of 31 October and morning of 1 November, 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.^[22] On the morning of 1 November, Sajjan Kumar was seen holding rallies in, at least, the following Delhi neighbourhoods; 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.^[22] 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".^[22] At an undefined time in the morning of 1 November, Sajjan Kumar led a mob of people along the Palam Railway main road to the Mangolpuri neighbourhood where the crowd answered his calls with chants of "Kill the Sardars" and "Indira Gandhi is our mother and these people have killed her".^[23] 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]}

The CBI recently told to the court that during the riot Sajjan Kumar had said that "not a single Sikh should survive".^[6][25] It also said that Delhi police kept its "eyes closed" during the riot as it was pre-planned.^[6]

In the neighbourhood of Sharkapur, Congress (I) leader Shyam Tyagi's home was used as a meeting place for an undefined number of people.^[24] 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."^[24]

During the night of 31 October, 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.^[24] At 8:30 AM on 1 November, 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.^[24]

The chief weapon used by the mobs, kerosene was supplied by a group of Congress Party leaders who owned filling stations.^[26] 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.^[26] 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.^[26] Aseem Shrivastava, a Masters student at the Delhi School of Economics described the organised 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.^[27]

A senior official at the Ministry of Home Affairs informed journalist Ivan Fera, that an arson investigation of several businesses burned in the riots had uncovered an unnamed combustible chemical "whose provision required large-scale coordination".^[28] Eyewitness reports confirmed the use of a combustible chemical besides kerosene.^[28] 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.^[26]

[edit]Use of voter lists by the Congress Party

On 31 October, Congress party officials provided assailants with voter lists, school registration forms, and ration lists.^[29] 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 neighbourhoods. On the night of 31 October, the night before the massacres began, assailants used the lists to mark the houses of Sikhs with letter "S".^[29] 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 neighbourhoods.^[26] By using the lists the mobs were able to pinpoint the locations of Sikhs they otherwise would have missed.^[26]

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 neighbour drag him into his neighbour's house and declare him dead. However, a group of 18 assailants later came looking for his body, and when his neighbour 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."^[26] Sikh men not in their homes were easily identified by their distinctive turban and beard while Sikh women were identified by their dress.

[edit]Timeline of events

[edit]First day (31 October)

• 9:20 am: Indira Gandhi is shot by two of her Sikh security guards at her residence, No. 1 Safdarjung Road, and rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
• 10:50 am: Indira Gandhi dies.^[30][31]
• 11:00 am: All India Radio listeners learn that the 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 motorcade of President Zail Singh, who is returning from a foreign visit, is stoned as it approaches AIIMS.

evening and night

• Organized and well equipped gangs of ruffians set out in different directions from AIIMS.
• The violence, including violence towards Sikhs and destruction of Sikh properties, spreads.
• Rajiv Gandhi is sworn in as the Prime Minister.
• Senior advocate and BJP leader Ram Jethmalani, meets Home Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and urges him to take immediate steps to protect Sikhs from further attacks.
• Delhi's Lt. Governor, P.G. Gavai and Police Commissioner, S.C. Tandon, visits some of the affected areas.

[edit]Second day (1 November)

• The first killing of a Sikh occurs in East Delhi.
• 9:00 am: Armed mobs take over the streets of Delhi and launch a massacre.

Among the first targets are Gurdwaras, the holy temples of Sikhs

The worst affected areas are low income colonies like Trilokpuri, Shahdara, geeta colony, 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.

[edit]Third day (2 November)

Curfew is announced throughout Delhi, but is not enforced. The Army deployed throughout Delhi too but ineffective because the police did not co-operate with soldiers (who are not allowed to open fire without the consent of senior police officers and executive magistrates).

Mobs continue to rampage.

[edit]Fourth day (3 November)

Violence continues. By late evening, the national Army and local police units work together to subdue the violence. After law enforcement intervention, violence is comparatively mild and sporadic.In Delhi the dead bodies of the victims of riots were taken to All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi and Civil Hospital Mortuary Tis hazari, Delhi.^[32]

[edit]Aftermath

The Delhi High Court, while pronouncing its verdict on a riots-related case in 2009, stated:^[33]

"

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."^[34][35]

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, police officers, neighbours 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.^[9]

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".^[36] Time reported the riots only led to minor arrests and that no major politician or police officer had been convicted and quotes Ensaaf,^[37] a human rights organisation, as saying the government worked to destroy evidence of involvement by refusing to record First Information Reports.^[36]

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.^[38]

There are allegations that the violence was led and often perpetrated by Indian National Congress activists and sympathizers during the riot. The government, then led by the Congress, was widely criticised for doing very little at the time, possibly acting as a conspirator. Voting lists were used to identify Sikh families.^[10]

A few days following the massacre, many surviving Sikh youth in Delhi had retaliated in either joining or creating Sikh militant groups. This lead to series of more violence in the Punjab, where several assassinations of senior congress party members took place. TheKhalistan Commando Force and Khalistan Liberation Force took responsibility of the targeted hits in retaliation. An underground network had also been established between the victims of the genocide and Sikh extremists.

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 titledWho 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.^[39]

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.^[40]

[edit]Convictions

In Delhi, 442 of the rioters were convicted by the courts. 49 of these were sentenced to the life imprisonment, and another three to imprisonment of more than 10 years. 6 Delhi Police officers were punished for lapses during the riots.^[41] In April 2013, the Supreme Court of India dismissed the appeal of three convicts who had challenged the High Court's decision to award them life sentence.^[42]

In April 2013, the Karkardooma district court in Delhi convicted five people — Balwan Khokkar (former councillor), Mahender Yadav (former MLA), Kishan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal — for inciting a mob against the Sikhs in the Delhi Cantonment area. It acquitted the Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the same case, leading to protests.^[43]

[edit]Investigations

Numerous commissions have been set up to investigate the riots. The most recent commission on the pogroms, 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 enquired 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.

[edit]Marwah Commission

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.^[44] 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.

[edit]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 criticised 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 pogroms. 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."^[38]

People's Union for Civil Liberties criticised the Misra commission for keeping information on the accused secret while revealing the names and addresses of victims of violence.^[45]

[edit]Kapur Mittal Committee

Kapur Mittal Committee was appointed in February 1987 on the recommendation of the Misra Commission to enquire 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.

[edit]Jain Banerjee Committee

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 MrSajjan Kumar in August 1987, but no case was registered.

In November 1987, press reports criticised 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.

[edit]Potti Rosha Committee

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.

[edit]Jain Aggarwal Committee

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.

[edit]Ahuja Committee

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.

[edit]Dhillon Committee

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.

[edit]Narula Committee

Narula Committee was appointed in December 1993 by the Madan Lal Khurana led BJP 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 and Sajjan Kumar. Ultimately, despite the delay by the Central government, the CBI was able to file the charge sheet in December 1994.

[edit]The Nanavati Commission

The Nanavati Commission was established in 2000 after some dissatisfaction was expressed with previous reports.^[46] 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 "indicate that local Congress leaders and workers had either incited or helped the mobs in attacking the Sikhs".^[46] Its report also found evidence against Jagdish Tytler "to the effect that very probably he had a hand in organising attacks on Sikhs".^[46] 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 fired about 392 rounds of bullets, arrested approximately 372 persons, and "remained passive and did not provide protection to the people" throughout the rioting.^[46][47]

[edit]Role of Jagdish Tytler

Jagdish Tytler in 2010

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.^[48] 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.^[49]

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.^[50]

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.^[51]

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 riot, but did not want to come to India as they feared for their security.^[52] 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.^[53]

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.^[54]

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 riotscase. 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 has forced the Congress party to cut the Tytler and Sajjan Kumar Lok Sabha tickets.^[55] On 10th April 2013, Delhi court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to reopen the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.Court ordered CBI to further probe killing of 3 persons in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in which Jagdish Tytler was given clean chit.^[56]

[edit]Civil case in New York

Kamal Nath in 2008

On 14 March 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.^{[57] [58] [59]} The court complaint was dismissed in March 2012 by Judge Robert Sweet of the US District Court Southern District of New York, against Nath, who stated that the court lacked jurisdiction in the case.^[60] The 22-page order granted Nath's motion to dismiss the claim, and the judge also noted that 'Sikhs for Justice' failed to "serve the summons and its complaints to Nath in an appropriate and desired manner." ^[61]

[edit]Alleged Role of Amitabh Bachchan

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was accused by certain members of the Sikh community of instigating attacks^[62] He is alleged to have made polemic remarks saying "Khoon ka Badla Khoon se lenge" ( "Blood for Blood").^{[62][63][64][65]} Responding to the allegations, Mr Bachchan is said to pleading his innocence to the Akal Takht.^[66][67][68]

[edit]Impact and legacy

"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 riots^[69]

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 riots are cited as a reason to support creation of a Sikh homeland in India, often called Khalistan.^[70][71]

Many ordinary Indians of different religious dispositions made significant efforts to hide and help Sikh families during the rioting.^[72]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.^[73] The decision came soon after a similar motion was raised in the Canadian Parliament by a Sikh MP.

[edit]In popular culture

The Delhi riots have been the core subject of several films and novels.

• 2005 English film Amu, by Shonali Bose and starring Konkona Sen Sharma and Brinda Karat, is based on Shonali Bose's own novel of the same name. The film portrays story of a girl, orphaned during the riots, reconciling with her adoption years later. The film which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English was censored in India and was released on DVD without the cuts.
• 2004 Hindi film Kaya Taran (Chrysalis), directed by Shashi Kumar and starring Seema Biswas, is based on the Malayalam short story "When Big Tree Falls" by N.S. Madhavan. The film revolves around a Sikh woman and her young son who have taken shelter in a nunnery in Meerut during the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots.
• 2003 Bollywood film Hawayein, directed by Ammtoje Mann, is based on the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination, the nationwide 1984 Anti-Sikh riots and the subsequent victimisation of the people in Punjab (India) in the years that followed.
• Khushwant Singh's novel "Tragedy of Punjab: Operation Bluestar & After" focuses on the events surrounding the riots.
• Jarnail Singh's non fiction book 'I Accuse' describes various incidents that took place during the riots.
• Chapter 2 of Mohit Sharma's Graphic Novel '84 Tears' is a poetic account of a sikh girl before committing suicide whose family is killed by anti-sikh mob.
• Uma Chakravarthi and Nandita Hakser, "The Delhi Riots: Three Days in the Life of a Nation" contains interviews with the victims of November 1984 riots in Delhi.

[edit]See also

• H. S. Phoolka
• Operation Blue Star
• Nellie massacre (1983)
• List of massacres in India

[edit]Notes

1. ^ On November 2, Moti Singh witnessed two policemen, one an SHO and another a constable, both of whom who had attended Sajjan Kumar's meeting the previous day, shoot and kill Roshan Singh (his son) and kill his grandchildren when they ran to help their father.^[24]

[edit]References

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2. ^ ^a b State pogroms glossed over. The Times of India. 31 December 2005.
3. ^ ^a b "Anti-Sikh riots a pogrom: Khushwant". Rediff.com. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} Bedi, Rahul (1 November 2009). "Indira Gandhi's death remembered". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2009. "The 25th anniversary of Indira Gandhi's assassination revives stark memories of some 3,000 Sikhs killed brutally in the orderly pogrom that followed her killing"
5. ^ Nugus, Phillip (Spring 2007). "The Assassinations of Indira & Rajiv Gandhi". BBC Active. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
6. ^ ^a b c d "1984 anti-Sikh riots backed by Govt, police: CBI". IBN Live. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
7. ^ "1984 anti-Sikh riots 'wrong', says Rahul Gandhi".Hindustan Times. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
8. ^ Charny, Israel W. (1999). Encyclopaedia of genocide. ABC-CLIO. pp. 516–517. ISBN 978-0-87436-928-1. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
9. ^ ^a b Mukhoty, Gobinda; Kothari, Rajni (1984), Who are the Guilty ?, People's Union for Civil Liberties, retrieved 4 November 2010
10. ^ ^a b Swadesh Bahadur Singh (editor of the Sher-i-Panjâb weekly): "Cabinet berth for a Sikh", Indian Express, 31 May 1996.
11. ^ Watch/Asia, Human Rights; (U.S.), Physicians for Human Rights (1994-05). Dead silence: the legacy of human rights abuses in Punjab. Human Rights Watch. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-56432-130-5. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
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18. ^ "Badal refuses to speak on Anandpur Sahib resolution".The Indian Express. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
19. ^ Grewal, Jyoti. Betrayed by the State: The Anti-Sikh Pogrom of 1984. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-306303-2.
20. ^ McLeod, W. H. Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. 2005, page xiv
21. ^ Yoo, David. New Spiritual Homes: Religion and Asian Americans. 1999, page 129
22. ^ ^{a b c d e} Kaur, Jaskaran; Crossette, Barbara (2006). Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Ensaaf. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-9787073-0-9. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
23. ^ Kaur, Jaskaran; Crossette, Barbara (2006). Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India(2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Ensaaf. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-9787073-0-9. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
24. ^ ^{a b c d e} Kaur, Jaskaran; Crossette, Barbara (2006). Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Ensaaf. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-9787073-0-9. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
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26. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Kaur, Jaskaran; Crossette, Barbara (2006). Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Ensaaf. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-9787073-0-9. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
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28. ^ ^a b Fera, Ivan (23 December 1985). "The Enemy Within". The Illustrated weekly of India (The Illustrated weekly of India).
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33. ^ 1984 riots: three held guilty of rioting. Indian Express. 23 August 2009.
34. ^ Mustafa, Seema (9 August 2005). "1984 Sikhs Massacres: Mother of All Cover-ups". Front page story (The Asian Age). p. 1.
35. ^ Agal, Renu (11 August 2005). "Justice delayed, justice denied". BBC News.
36. ^ ^a b Mridu Khullar (28 October 2009). "India's 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Waiting for Justice". TIME. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
37. ^ ensaaf.org
38. ^ ^a b Patricia Gossman (1991), Punjab in Crisis, Human Rights Watch, retrieved 4 November 2010
39. ^ "A life sentence". Hinduonnet.com. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
40. ^ mha.nic.in Archived 11 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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45. ^ Justice Denied, People's Union for Civil Liberties and People's Union for Democratic Right, 1987
46. ^ ^a b c d "Leaders 'incited' anti-Sikh riots". BBC Online (BBC News). 8 August 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
47. ^ "Report:Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry" (pdf). Retrieved 27 April 2012.
48. ^ "Fresh probe into India politician". BBC News. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
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53. ^ "CBI gives Tytler clean chit in 1984 riots case". The Indian Express. India. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
54. ^ faces shoe missile from scribe^{[dead link]}
55. ^ Smriti Singh (9 April 2009). "Sikhs protest outside court hearing Tytler case". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
56. ^ "Anti-Sikh riots case against Jagdish Tytler reopened".
57. ^ "US court summons Congress party on Sikh riots case". Sify. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
58. ^ "US court to hear 1984 anti-Sikh riots case on March 29 as Congress hires US law firm to defend itself". Times of India. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
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[edit]Further reading

• Singh, Parvinder (May 2009). 1984 Sikhs' Kristallnacht. Ensaaf. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
• Rao, Amiya; Ghose, Aurobindo; Pancholi, N. D.; Citizens for Democracy (India)., Citizens for Democracy (India) (1985). Truth about Delhi violence: report to the nation. Citizens for Democracy. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
• Parvinder Singh. 1984 Sikhs' Kristallnacht. 28-page report, 2009."1984 Sikhs Kristallnacht" (PDF). Retrieved 23 September 2009.
• Kaur, Jaskaran; Crossette, Barbara (2006). Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Ensaaf. ISBN 978-0-9787073-0-9. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
• Cynthia Keppley Mahmood. Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues With Sikh Militants. University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 978-0-8122-1592-2.
• Cynthia Keppley Mahmood. A Sea Of Orange: Writings on the Sikhs and India. Xlibris Corporation, ISBN 978-1-4010-2857-2
• Ram Narayan Kumar et al. Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab. South Asia Forum for Human Rights, 2003. Report^{[dead link]}
• Joyce Pettigrew. The Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of State and Guerrilla Violence. Zed Books Ltd., 1995.
• Anurag Singh. Giani Kirpal Singh's Eye-Witness Account of Operation Bluestar. 1999.
• Patwant Singh. The Sikhs. New York: Knopf, 2000.
• Harnik Deol. Religion and Nationalism in India: The Case of the Punjab. London: Routledge, 2000
• Mark Tully. Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle. ISBN 978-0-224-02328-3.
• Ranbir Singh Sandhu. Struggle for Justice: Speeches and Conversations of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Ohio: SERF, 1999.
• Iqbal Singh. Punjab Under Siege: A Critical Analysis. New York: Allen, McMillan and Enderson, 1986.
• Paul Brass. Language, Religion and Politics in North India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974.
• PUCL report "Who Are The Guilty. Link to report.
• Manoj Mitta & H.S. Phoolka. When a Tree Shook Delhi (Roli Books, 2007), ISBN 978-81-7436-598-9.
• Jarnail Singh, 'I Accuse...' (Penguin Books India, 2009), ISBN 978-0-670-08394-7
• Jyoti Grewal, 'Betrayed by the state: the anti-sikh pogrom of 1984' (Penguin Books India, 2007), ISBN 978-0-14-306303-2

[edit]External links

• 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Homepage at Times of India
• 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: The Causes and The Repercussions
• 1984 riots case records, Government of Delhi
• Misra Commission Report
• Ahooja Committee Report
• witness84.com, Commission – Sikri Report
• Who Are The Guilty?
• In pictures: Massacre of the Sikhs
• Punjab Chief Minister, Prakash Singh Badal, faces anger of Sikhs in USA

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