The merciless genocide of the Sikh community 40 years ago was instigated by top leaders of the Congress Party, the ruling party at that time. It had the complete patronage of authorities at the highest level.

By Harsh Thakor 

November 1, 2024, marked the 40th year of pan-India massacres in which thousands of Sikhs were brutally maimed and killed. In the aftermath of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination on 31 October 1984 at her residence, over 5000 Sikhs were mercilessly butchered in what was arguably the most brutal or heinous communal massacre in India since 1947. It is hard for any adjective to do justice to describe the sheer horror or brutality of the carnage.

The Sikh massacre of 1984 tarnished the nation’s secular image as never before and created a complete metamorphosis in the psyche of the Sikh community. It gave a mortal blow to the almost unbreakable bond that existed between the Hindus and Sikhs for centuries. 

The merciless genocide of the Sikh community 40 years ago was instigated by top leaders of the Congress Party, the ruling party at that time. It had the complete patronage of authorities at the highest level being systematically planned and executed by their followers. Although the official statistics on the number of deaths in Delhi alone was 2733, probably the total number escalated to 3,000 in Delhi to 30,000 deaths all over India. It spread to the regions of Patna, Bokaro and Kanpur. The magnitude and nature of the organised massacres clearly proved the conspiracy and complicity of the then ruling political party, Congress. The Congress-I politicians with the complicity of the State machinery, ignited the massacre.

The perishing of thousands of innocent lives is still fresh in people’s memories with the demand for justice left virtually unheeded till today. Even when several inquiry commissions projected the fact that in spite of grave crimes, no action was taken by the then government and various governments that followed in the subsequent decades.

Criminals not brought to the book nor compensation given to victims 

In Delhi a total of 587 FIRs were registered in all, out of which 241 were marked as untraceable and hence could not be investigated. 11 others were quashed by the Police and 3 were withdrawn leaving a total of 302 cases. Of these, it was only in 25 cases that conviction occurred while in 264 cases the accused were acquitted. Although the total number of persons charged for murder was 1286, only 60 persons were convicted of murder charges while 68 others were convicted for petty crimes such as theft, violating the curfew, criminal trespass etc. About 20 cases are still pending in various courts in Delhi. Of these 6 cases are against the senior Congress (I) leader and former Member of Parliament Sajjan Kumar (3 in trial courts, 3 in High Court of Delhi and 1 in Supreme Court) and 2 cases against another Congress (I) prominent leader and former Member of Parliament Jagdish Tytler. (Information from PUDR Delhi)

In the report “Who are the Guilty” (1984) based on the investigation of PUDR along with PUCL, published within the fortnight of carnage, 17 November 1984, names of these prominent Congress (I) leaders responsible for the carnage were clearly highlighted. It also included the names of over 140 police officials, many of whom played active roles in the killings.  Based on these findings, PUDR and PUCL also petitioned the Delhi High Court for a comprehensive enquiry, which was dismissed. However, after sustained protest and pressure from various civil rights and other organizations, the government yielded and started setting up committees to investigate the cause of this carnage and to provide relief and compensation to the victims. Till 2015, altogether 12 commissions and committees were set up, but still no justice provided to the victims. Reports “Justice Denied” (1987) and “A Report on the Aftermath” (1992) critically analysed the findings of these commissions and committees and status of cases.

This is what Late Khushwant Singh wrote about the Nanavati’s Commission’s report:

 “I have only two words for Justice G.T. Nanavati’s inquiry report on the butchery of Sikhs 21 years ago: utter garbage. I have the report in hand, all 349 pages, plus the Action Taken Report presented by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government in Parliament on August 8. I thought it would take a whole day or two to go through it. It took only a couple of hours because it is largely based on what transpired in zones of different police stations and long lists of names which meant nothing to me. There are broad hints about the involvement of Congress leaders like H.K.L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler, Dharam Dass Shastri and Sajjan Kumar. He gives them the benefit of the doubt and suggests yet another inquiry commission to look into the charges against them. Yet another commission? For God’s sake, is he serious? To say the least, I was deeply disappointed with the whole thing. But the game of shirking responsibility was to attain higher levels!

First, the government took its own sweet time to put the report on the table of the House, waiting till the last day allotted to it for doing so. Union home minister Shivraj Patil had assured the House when the report had been submitted to him six months ago that the government had nothing to hide. However, he hid it till he could hide it no more. That shows the government’s mala fide intent in the whole business. Even the Action Taken Report makes sorry reading. Most of it is aimed at the policemen now retired from service and hence no longer liable for disciplinary action. Any wonder why, despite monetary compensation, the sense of outrage among families of victims has not diminished by the passage of years.”

Resistance of People 

There were numerous instances when Hindu neighbours gave protection and shelter to their Sikh brethren. In no terms could it be categorised as a Hindu-Sikh riot, with ordinary Hindus playing no part in the execution of Sikhs. It could not embitter or completely break the centuries old bond between Sikhs and Hindus.

In the aftermath of the riots India witnessed nationwide protests by civil liberties and cultural groups, particularly in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad. I have vivid memories of a united protest of groups staging street plays exposing the fascist character of the anti-Sikh riots in Mumbai, with predominant roles played by Aavhan Natya Manch and Navnirman Sanskritik Manch. In Delhi notable performances were done by Nishant Natya Manch. Within the Marxist-Leninist camp, retaliatory resistance was organised by the CPI(ML) Party Unity group in Delhi, who formed anti-communal or self-defence committees and saved many lives of Sikhs. Impactful propaganda was also undertaken through pamphleting by LokShahi Hakk Sanghatana in Mumbai, Peoples Union for Democratic Rights in Delhi and Association for Democratic Rights in Punjab. Student group Vidhyarti Pragathi Sanghatana of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh Radical Students Union also resisted the genocide.

Communal tide fermenting today 

As a continuation of the dark chapter, we have been witnessing the continuous use of communal violence by the ruling establishment to establish its hegemony. While the Sikh community was targeted in the eighties, the Muslims are being hounded today. Acts of violence such as lynching have become routine. Innumerable members of the Muslim community have been languishing within bars on various trumped-up charges ranging from sedition to disrespecting the national flag.

Maligning propaganda against the community was shamelessly circulated in the lead-up to the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections. The current discourse around madrasas and the Wakf Bill aggravates an already hostile environment, making Muslims and their institutions a target of prejudice and disenfranchisement. This targeting of minority communities along religious lines ensures that people do not unite against burning issues like inflation, unemployment, illiteracy and malnutrition. 

Commemoration meeting of 40th anniversary in Delhi

Lok Raj Sangathan commemorated the 40th anniversary of the gruesome 1984 Sikh genocide. A public meeting was organised on this occasion in Jantar Mantar on 2nd November 2024. The participants renewed the call for an end to state-organised communal violence and demanded the Indian State admit the organised nature of the 1984 Sikh genocide and its failure to compensate the victims, with proper justice. They also advocated constructing mechanisms for accountability, making those holding positions of power answerable for orchestrating communal attacks. 

They noted that in the four decades since 1984, commissions and inquiries have only had a token or cosmetic effect, never securing justice. The genocide, which murdered nearly 10,000 people, accompanied by the brutal rape of women and intensive looting, has not been recognised as an organised massacre. Only nominal punishments have been handed out to a few individuals, with the main culprits left free.

The meeting was organised by Lok Raj Sangathan, Jamaat E Islami Hind, Communist Ghadar Party of India, Welfare Party of India, Social Democratic Party of India, The Sikh Forum, LokPaksh, Mazdoor Ekta Committee, Purogami Mahila Sangathan, Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha, Citizens for Democracy, Student Islamic Organisation, CPIML (New Proletarian), APCR and others.

Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist.

Thanks sourced from Birju Nakay of Lok Raj Sangathan, student journal Kalam and report of Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi.