November 84 World Awareness Initiative

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

LIST OF PEOPLE IDENTIFIED BY SURVIVORS

POLITICIANS

The following is the list of those alleged to have instigated violence and/or protected alleged criminals.

1. Mr. H.K.L. Bhagat, Minister of state (Information and Broadcasting). On November 5, reported to have intervened to get miscreants released who were held in Shahdara Thana.

2. Babu Ram Sharma, Member, Municipal Corporation (Ward No. 58) reported to be the right-hand man of H. K. L. Bhagat. Reportedly responsible for loot, arson and murder in trans-Yamuna areas-Babarpur, Chajupur Colony, Maujpur, Gonda. Allegedly led people on motor cycle with megaphone.

3. Sajjan Kumar, Cong. (I) M.P. from Mangolpuri. Reported to have paid Rs. 100 and a bottle of liquor to each person involved in the killing.

4. Lalit Makan, Cong. (I) Trade Union Leader and Metropolitan Councillor. Reportedly paid to mob Rs. 100 each plus a bottle of liquor. A white ambassador car reportedly belonging to him came 4 times to the G.T. Road area near Azadpur. Instructions to mobs indulging in arson were given from inside the car.

5. Dharam Das Shastri, Cong. (I) M. P. from Karol Bagh. Reported to becarrying voters list with him at Prakash Nagar for identification of Sikhs. On November 5, according to newspaper reports, he along with other Congress-I leaders tried to pressurize the SHO of Karol Bagh Police Station to release the persons who arrested during the police raids to recover looted property.

6. Jagdish Tytler, Cong.(I) M. P. from Sadar Constitutency. On 6th November 5 p.m. he barged into a press conference that the Police Commissioner S. C. Tandon was holding. A journalist reports that he told the Police Commissioner that "by holding my men you are hampering the relief work".

7. Mahendra, Metropolitan Councillor. Reported to have accompanied Dharam Das Shastri with voters lists at Prakash Nagar.

8. Mangat Ram Singal, Member of Municipal Corporation (Ward No. 32) was reportedly with Dharam Das Shastri and Mahendra at Prakash Nagar.

9. Dr. Ashok Kumar, Member of Municipal Corporation, Kalyanpuri. Reportedly held a meeting in Kalyanpuri, following which violence broke out immediately. According to many eye witnesses he led mobs which indulged in loot, murder, arson and rape.

10. Sukhan Lal Sood, Metropolitan Councillor. According to eye witnesses was seen leading mobs, which indulged in loot, murder, arson and rape. He had come with petrol and serial lists and addressess of Sikhs in the locality. The women refugees, recognized him and drove him out.

11. Jagdish Chander Tokas, Member of Municipal Corporation Munirka (Ward No. 14) reportedly led a mob to R.K. Puram Sector IV and V.

12. Ishwar Singh, Member, Municipal Corporation, Mangolpuri (Ward No. 37). Allegedly led the mobs that indulged in looting, burning, rape and murder in Mangolpuri area.

13. Balwant Khokhar, Youth Congress-I Leader, Delhi, Identified as one of the persons responsible for instigating looting and arson in Palam Colony area.

14. Faiz Mohammad, Youth Congress-I Leader, Delhi, named by refugees in Shakurpur camp and in Mangolpuri for being a part of the mob indulging in looting, arson and murder.

15. Ratan, Youth Congress-I Leader, Delhi, named as having taken part in violence and looting in Palam Colony area.

16. Satbir Singh, Youth Congress-I. He allegedly brought bus loads of people from Ber Sarai to Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School (Munirka). They burnt school buses and parts of the school building. He was reportedly involved in looting and beating of Sikhs which carried on throughout the night on November 1.

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

ROLE OF MEDIA AND OPPOSITION

Although we do not intend at this stage to go into the role of the media during the riots, a few words in this connection may not be out of place. The first day's evening bulletins (October 31) brought out by different newspaper establishments stated that there were "two Sikhs and one clean shaven Sikh" among the assailants. The reporters did not clarify whether the news was from official or unofficial sources. Nor was it clear how a "clean shaven Sikh" could be identified as a Sikh. In later reports the next day and the following days, we were told that only two assailants - both Sikhs were involved. What happened to the earlier reported third one ? No newspaper has yet followed up the discrepancy.

But what is of immediate relevance is the question: should the media have described the assailants immediately as Sikhs ? Given the background of the Punjab situation, such mentioning of a community by name was bound to excite communal passions and inflame communal hatred. It may be worthwhile in this context to refer to a recommendation made at a seminar on communal writings held in New Delhi in November 1970 under the joint auspices of the Press Institute of India and the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India. It was suggested that certain facts which may aggravate the situation if published straight away should be printed after a stipulated period.

We were also intrigued to find Doordarshan allowing the broadcast of highly provocative slogans like 'khoon ka badla khoon' (blood for blood) by some members from the mourning crowd at Teen Murti.

There was a tendency among many reporters to concentrate on the names of important politicians instead of on earnest efforts made by a group of concerned citizens in South Delhi on November 2, which was joined by the Janata leader Mr. Chandrasekhar and some of his followers, some newspapers the next day described it as a Janata Party march. This created temporary misunderstanding and hampered the efforts of the non-party group to bring together all citizens, many of whom did not want to identify themselves with any particular political party. The need to keep party politics out of ventures like peace marches to put down riots, is yet to be recognised by our media people who seem to remain obsessed with names of political personalities.

This brings us to the role of Opposition political leaders. We regret to say that by and large, they failed to rise to the occasion during the crucial days of October 31 to November 5. Although news of arson and carnage was pouring into the offices of the political parties every hour, they hardly made any effort to rush to the spot with their cadres, stop the violence and organise peace committees in the localities, and remained content with issuing a joint statement with the Prime Minister on November 1 pleading for peace and amity.

On November 3, when following the carnage at Trilokpuri, the group of concerned citizens went to the Opposition party leaders (referred to earlier), some among the former appealed to the Janata Party leader Chandrasekhar to lead them in a deputation to Teen Murti and appeal to the Prime Minister. Mr. Chandrasekhar rose, folded his hands and pleaded: "I cannot do it. I don't want to be accused of ruining the late Prime Minister funeral'.

Who Are The Guilty : Report to the nation. By the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights. Published Nov 1984

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

November 84 World Awareness Initiative

October 24

ROLE OF THE PUBLIC

While the disturbances that shook Delhi from October 31 to November 5 could be deseribed as an 'organised disorder' with signs of meticulous planning by certain groups in some areas, deliberate laxity on the part of theadministration in other areas and wilful relinquishment of responsibility of senior Ministers as well as opposition parties on a wider scale, we cannot at the same time rule out the existence of hostility and suspicion among large sections of the Hindu population against the Sikhs because of the happenings in Punjab during the last two years.

By not solving the outstanding economic and political issues in Punjab, by allowing Sikh extremism and Hindu communalism to feed on each other leading to the army raid in the Golden Temple and antagonising thereby large sections of the Sikh community, the ruling party (Congress (I)) at the centre had sown the seeds of communal division between Hindus and Sikhs.

As a result, when from October 31, organised assaults on the Sikhs began (as distinct from a spontaneous mass upsurge against Sikhs which some observers are trying to make it out to be), the Hindu public by and large appeared to be in a mood that sanctioned such assaults. Comments by responsible Hindu citizens in Delhi indicate to some extent the popular psyche. An officer belonging to the IPS was heard to comment that the government was not preventing the violence so that people could let off steam and the Sikhs in Punjab would be 'taught a lesson'. An Indian who works for the UNO in Geneva who flew to Delhi for Mrs. Gandhi's funeral, told a member of our team that the orgy of violence had been allowed to 'teach the Sikhs a lesson'. When asked about the suffering that this was causing the common people, he said: 'Who is suffering?'.

How did the Sikh victims view this attitude of their Hindu neighbours? Victims in Gurgaon said : "People stood on their rooftops watching our houses burning, just as they do when observing the Republic Day Parade".

It was this mood again that allowed the Hindu public to believe all sorts of rumours ranging from the story of poisoning drinking water to that of armed Sikhs prowling the streets to attack Hindus. The next step from such belief in rumours is acquiescence in the rampage that had started from the evening of October 31 and even active participation by the younger and more aggressive Hindus in some cases.

The anti-Sikh communal partisan feelings had penetrated the lower ranks of the administration also, as evident from the behaviour of the police force, who were given the reins for three or four days by their superior officers.

Given this mood of vicarious exultation at the plight of the Sikhs among the public, it was easy for an organised group enjoying the patronage of the ruling party to carry out the plan of systematic destruction and killings.

The anti-Sikh sentiments in some areas were also stoked by some isolated expressions of happiness at Mrs. Gandhi's death among some Sikhs, and of bravado and attempts at resistance could have been taken as a challenge by the marauding hordes who were sure of getting police protection at every step.

But these stray incidents were marginal and do not explain the wide scale explosion of indiscriminate violence against all Sikhs throughout India on the same date and the same time, which could be the result of only a well designed strategy.

The only signs of courage and initiative in an otherwise ominous landscape were demonstrated by those Hindu and Muslim neighbours who helped Sikh families in the affected areas. We came across a large number of Sikh inmates in the relief Camps who told us repeatedly that, but for these neighbours they would have been butchered.

In a makeshift camp opposite the Kalyanpuri police station on November 3, we met a Hindu family, whose house was burnt down by the miscreants because he had given shelter to his Sikh neighbours.

A postal employee living in Bhopal told us how his house was damaged and partly burnt because he helped two Sikhs. With army assistance he moved the Sikhs to his village in Faridabad.
Members of a voluntary organisation traced two Sikh families who were given shelter by Hindus in Khichripur on November 3. Defying a belligerent mob that stood at the entrance of the lanes, a local Hindu youth led the members to the house and rescued the families who were being sheltered by a poor Hindu family. The next day, the volunteers following a request by a mother in a relief camp went to trace her daughter in Trilokpuri who was being looked after by a Hindu family. The latter restored the daughter to the volunteers, kept with them two other Sikh children whose parents were still traced.
"It is our responsibility to look after them", they said.

Near Azadpur, a Hindu factory owner hid a Sikh inside the factory premises. When the Hindus surrounded the factory demanding that the Sikh be handed over to them, the factory owner persuaded the Sikh to shave his hair and beard have him a cycle which helped him to pass through the crowd and escape.

On the GT-Karnal Road, Hindus saved a Gurudwara and a Sikh doctor's clinic from being burnt down. In the same area, from November 1 to 5, Delhi University teachers and students kept vigil around the entry point to lances where Sikhs lived.

Hindus from Munirka village and residing in Munirka colony provided protection in their own homes to ten Sikh families.

Thirty Sikh families residing in Mayur Vihar were guarded all through the period by young Hindi neighbours who resisted attempts by outsiders to raid the compound.

According to a rough estimate based on information gatgered from different sources, at least 600 Sikhs were saved by Hindus of Trilokpuri. According to an army officer posted in Shahadara, of the Sikh families he rescued from different parts of the area, at least 70% were sheltered by Hindus.

It is these acts of courage, however, few they may be, which reassure us that sanity still prevails in our country.

Who Are The Guilty : a report to the nation. By the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights. Published Nov 1984

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

How or more importantly, WHY have none of these murderers been identified?

This is but one, of many questions needing answers, regarding the continuing absence of justice for the victims of the Sikh Genocide in India.

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

Destruction of history, facts and evidence continues....

Two “unidentified” persons stole some pictures and documents related to the anti-Sikh massacres that took place in Hondh Chillar, Pataudi and Gurgaon in Haryana in 1984.

The burglary took place at the private office of Manwinder Singh Giaspura, a member of the committee that had been set up to inquire into the massacres.

In his complaint to Focal Point police station, Manwinder Singh declared that two unidentified persons alighted from a car bearing a Haryana registration number and broke open the locks of his office at Baba Gajja Jain Colony in Moti Nagar.

The accused then decamped with important documents and pictures related with the massacres.

During the anti-Sikh pogroms in 1984, 32 Sikhs were killed in Hondh Chillar in Hissar, 17 in Pataudi and 47 in Gurgaon in Haryana.

Manwinder Singh had exposed the hitherto hidden story in 2011.

Thereafter, members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the ministers from Punjab and Haryana governments had visited the sites of the massacres and ordered the investigation. The case has been sub-judice.

The complainant, a yarn trader, said he used his business office in Moti Nagar to hold meetings of the coordination committee and also kept all records of the matter in the office.

Manwinder further said, "The office landlord informed me about the broken locks on June 12. I reached the office and found that the documents and pictures related to the case were missing."

"The accused did not touch anything else lying in the office. I fear that someone wants to hamper the investigation and therefore stole the documents. Later, I came to know that the accused had come in a car bearing a Haryana number, and fled in the same car after executing the burglary," he said.

"Though I informed the police on June 12 itself, but the police did not register the case until June 15," he reported.

The station house officer at the Focal Point police station confirmed that a case under sections 380 (theft) and 454 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking in order to commit offence) of the Indian Penal Code had been registered. He said a manhunt had been launched to identify and arrest the accused.

This is the second such incident.

On March 4, 2011, “unidentified” miscreants had struck at Manwinder Singh’s house in the Giaspura area and absconded with some of the records relating to the massacre.

More than 2 years later, that case too remains unsolved to date.

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

Hondh Chillar and Pataudi....where not even a whisper escaped and not even an ounce of human decency survived....

AMIDST FIELDS of ripening wheat, a man who had never shed a tear wept inconsolably. Manwinder Singh Giaspur, 35, a textile engineer based in Gurgaon, broke down when he discovered the 26-year-old secret of genocide. On 2 November 1984, a mob attacked the small Sikh hamlet of Hondh-Chillar located 15 km from Pataudi, in Rewari district of Haryana. The remnants of burnt buildings are the only testimony to a shameful truth: that the anti-Sikh riots had also claimed victims in Haryana with the same ruthless efficiency displayed in Delhi.

Overwhelmed by a blitz of reporters, camera crews and netas (political minions), the then sarpanch and eyewitness, Dhanpat Singh Yadav, ran his finger through his thinning grey hair and said, “For 26 years you all were fast asleep, now suddenly the media has woken up and come to find out what happened?”

The attack came in two waves, he recalled. The villagers of Chillar and Hondh were able to fend off the first group of attackers on 1 November, but at 10 am the next day, a truck and a bus carrying 200-250 young men armed with rods, lathis, diesel and matches stormed the village. Overawed by the aggression and repeated threats by the outsiders, the villagers stood helpless as they killed 31 Sikh men, women and children and razed their bungalows and gurudwara to the ground. While some were burnt alive, others were beaten to death. The four-hour-long carnage came to an abrupt halt when a group of Sikhs broke out of their burning house armed with swords and attacked the rioters. Under the cover of night, the 32 survivors were taken by tractor to Rewari, from where they scattered across the country like Partition refugees.

Those who chose to stay back were forced to rise out of the sewers to rebuild their lives

“An FIR was filed (now apparently lost), a brief inquiry was also carried out, the police knew all the details, the local MLA Col. Ram Singh was aware of the killings but nothing happened. Everyone knew about it but chose to forget,” adds Dhanpat.

Sitting in a small, unkempt room, Gurjeet Singh, pradhan of Pataudi’s Gurudwara Singh Sahib said, “I have kept this room of my house unchanged from the ’84 riots. I want my children to see what was done to us at the hands of our own people, in our own country.” He looked at his son, smiled sardonically and added, “Every day mediapersons and netas pass through Pataudi on their way to Hondh-Chillar, but no one has come here to find out what happened to the Sikh families. Before 1984, there were close to 30 Sikh families in Pataudi, but today there are only five. We, who chose to stay back, were forced to rise out of the sewers to rebuild our lives.”

PRITAM KAUR, 80

Lost her house and commercial shops She and her son Gurjeet Singh, the pradhan of the local gurudwara, stay in a house that still bears scars from the riots

Gurjeet’s mother Pritam Kaur, wrapped in a grey shawl, leaning on her walking stick, said, “Every night, in every idle moment of every day, I am haunted by those memories. Whatever property that was taken, is gone. There is nothing we can do about that now, but the pain, the memories of fear and death will never fade.”

At 6 pm on 1 November, panic filled the city as the gurudwra was set on fire. The Sikhs of Pataudi ran for their lives, hiding wherever they could find cover as an angry mob ripped through the town burning their houses. While one group ran to the safety of the village, another chose to stay in the local ashram.

Leaving the safety of the ashram the next morning, they went to their respective houses to assess the damage. Separated, out in the open, tired and crying, they were attacked by a frenzied mob at 10 am. Many hid in neighbours’ houses, some escaped to the village but 17 people were brutally murdered that day. Burnt alive, their charred bodies — the ‘evidence’ — were piled up and burnt to ashes.

Gurjeet narrates the story of two sisters, Harmeet Kaur, 16, and Karamjeet Kaur, 19. “The mob dragged them out into the street, stripped them, abused them, beat them, urinated on their faces and burnt them alive,” he says. “There was no sense of human dignity, no sense of compassion. What role did these girls have in Mrs Gandhi’s assassination? Were we all responsible? Sardaron ke bachche hai, tho marao (They are children of sardars, so kill them).”

THOUGH MULTIPLE FIRs were lodged, no one was caught or prosecuted and the stories of Pataudi, like those of Hondh, have remained but whispers in once glorious havelis. However, when asked for an action plan, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “Action will be taken in accordance with the report filed by the Gurgaon Commissioner. Though compensation has been given, the guilty must be punished. If the report deems judicial action is needed, we will pursue it.”

When asked why no one brought out these stories before, Gurjeet said, “The media, the Sikh organisations, the politicians had all labelled the riots as the ‘Delhi riots’. We had no influential leader. There was no local media, we were scared and alone, what could we do? As time passed, we were faced with the responsibility of rebuilding our future, looking to the needs of our families, we did not have the time, resources or support to fight against the system. And to be honest, when you lose your whole world, your will to fight dies.”

Physically, emotionally and financially, none of the Sikh families of Pataudi have been able to recover. If stagnation is normalcy, their lives are on an even keel.

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amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

Avtar Singh Gill, the former petroleum secretary, alleged that Rajiv Gandhi and Arun Nehru had sanctioned the violence.

“Lalit Suri of Lalit Hotels, who used to come and see me often, dropped by. He was the errand boy for Rajiv Gandhi, and since he often needed some work done, he was close to me. He came to me in the ministry and said, ‘Clearance has been given by Arun Nehru for the killings in Delhi and the killings have started. The strategy is to catch Sikh youth, fling a tyre over their heads, douse them with kerosene and set them on fire. This will calm the anger of the Hindus'.

Suri told me that I should be careful even though my name is not in the voters’ list, the Delhi Gurdwara voters’ list. ‘They [the rioters] have been provided this list. This will last for three days. It has started today, it will end on the third [of November].’"

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

Alok Tomar (Editor, Datelineindia.com)

Nobody could have imagined the wrath and anger that October 31 brought with it. Alok Tomar was going to watch a movie in now defunct Chanakya theatre when, as a routine habit of a crime reporter, he called the police control room and was informed that PM Indira Gandhi had been shot dead by her Sikh guards at PM’s official residence at Safdarjang. He could not digest the idea of her being hit by 38 bullets.

He hired a taxi to AIIMS hospital and managed to see Mrs Gandhi at the 7th floor, lying lifeless. Many of the cabinet members were waiting in the conference hall of AIIMS. Rajiv Gandhi flew back from Orissa. Some of the prominent ministers urged him to take oath immediately but he insisted that his first priority was his mother who was dead. Alok then called Prabhash Joshi, his editor, and dictated to the desk the whole scenario over phone

He even witnessed the first death in the riots at around 4 pm on October 31 when, near the INA market, a sardar was brutally battered with bricks. Later in the day, he filed his story. He recalled the first lines of his report that said- “Aaj do hathyaen hui hai- ek Indira ki aur doosri manushya ke manushya par vishwas ki” (Today, two deaths have occurred- one of Indira and the other of trust in humans)

By November 1, the situation had worsened. While walking to his office, he was amazed to find all the police posts closed and locked. Trilokpuri, especially block 32, was badly hit. The second death occurred at 10:20 am when an elderly sardar was thrashed and killed using a burning tyre that was thrust around his neck. When he questioned Nikhil Kumar (the then additional commissioner of Delhi Police and now Governor of Nagaland), he answered that Hindus are just burning garbage and how could police stop the madding crowd?

Rahul Bedi of the Indian Express went with him to Home Minsiter Narsimha Rao’s place and both, tired and agitated, blamed him for the situation. Rao, however, replied that the Army had been called in. Mundka, Nandgoi, Shahdara and Trans-Yamuna areas were wrecked. Kakanagar, Sarojini Nagar, Palam were the other residential areas that were scarred. More than 300-400 bodies were seen by Rahul and Alok. The toll had passed 3000 in a span of 4 days. Because Indian Express group was pro-victims, Hindu mobs thrashed several of its employees, including Alok.

Later, several committees were set up where he recorded his statements; but all the enquiries were in vain. He also attended the cremation of Indira Gandhi where Rajiv Gandhi’s stoic and numb presence was really unbearable. Amitabh Bachchan, who had cordial relations with the Gandhi family then, was also present there.

Recalling the horror of those sleepless nights, he said that he and his team hoped against hope that what they had been doing would prevent a rise in casualties but unfortunately it was not enough. To quote Rao, “it was madness” but Alok saw a well-defined method in it. A bloody method!

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

November 84 World Awareness Initiative

October 20 · Edited

Deepak Duggal & Jasbir (Businessmen in Kanpur)

Deepak Duggal recollected the memories of the horrendous behaviour of crazed mobs towards Sikhs. As William Penn puts it, “Passion is the mob of the man that commits a riot upon his reason”. Duggal’s experience confirmed the same.

By the night of October 31, it was clear that Indira Gandhi was dead. The incidents which took place on November 1 shook the whole of Kanpur. He elaborated, stating that at 7 am, the lower caste groups from Jajmau and other areas of the city started vandalising shops and ransacking the houses Sikhs in Lal Bunglow and Govindpur areas.

Friends turned foes. Women were raped and molested, not even kids and elders were spared. Police kept mum and the local Congress leaders added fuel to fire. Sikhs were singled-out and burnt alive. “We fired gun-shots and opposed the mob, which was trying to enter our house. Our trucks were burnt but thank God we were saved but the conditions were horrendous”, added Duggal’s friend, Jasbir.

After 3 days on November 4, curfew was imposed and continued for another week; but many lives were lost already. Politics had played its game, what was left was pain.

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

“India is ablaze with hate and anger. In city after city from one corner of the country to the other enraged mobs have gone and are going about systematically burning and looting Sikh properties and assaulting Sikhs without discrimination.” 1The Times of India

“Sikhs were sought out and burned to death. Children were killed, shops looted, cars burnt, markets destroyed, houses gutted. Trains were stopped and Sikhs were picked out and murdered.” Akbar M.J.

“Around 300 Sikh officers and men in uniform were done to death in the presence of non-Sikh soldiers, who stood as silent spectators.” 2 Economic and Political Weekly

Police officers “stood by and watched arson, rape, looting and murder, without making any attempt to intervene to protect citizens brlonging to the Sikh minority, without attempting to dissuade the attackers to call for reinforcements or other support, or even to inform the fire brigade.” 3 Independent Report

“Many people complained that, in some cases, the police were not merely hanging back, but giving active support.” 4 The Times

“We started from the foot paths after the 1947 Partition, now we get back to it in our old age” wept an old couple, they had been deprived of all their belongings and also a young son.

1 The Times of India November 2 1984

2 Economic and Political Weekly – Thapar, Ramesh.

3 Who are the Guilty? - Report PUCL and PUDR

4 The Times, 5 Nov 1984

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

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amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

Remembering 1984 Genocide in Bokaro : A Heroic Tale

By Jayant a Bokaro resident.

"My recollection of the 1984 Genocide is quite vivid. We woke up on 1 November, and the air was heavy with foreboding. Having heard about Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination all day the day before, it was clear to everyone that something bad was going to happen. The big shock was to find out it happened in Bokaro, which had not had any communal violence in all the time we had lived there, or that we knew of.

At about 9 am, we began to see smoke rising from several places in the city. My brother and I went up on our roof, and it was obvious things were seriously wrong. From that vantage point, we could see all the way to Cooperative Colony and Chas, and it appeared that new fires were being set even as we watched. These were the first riots we had ever seen, and it hit us then that, near those fires, innocent people were probably being butchered. I don’t want to make it seem like we suffered, because obviously the victims of the violence and the people who really suffered were Sikhs, but it was an extremely scary realization.

About 100 meters from our house was the house of a Sikh family. They had two teenagers, a boy and a girl. Their house was locked up, with a big lock on the front door. They must have been smart and left during the night, we said. It was a relief, because we certainly didn’t want anything to happen to them.

At about 10 am, we saw a crowd gathering in front of their house. One fact became apparent at this time. All of the people in this crowd were unfamiliar, which took some doing in a small place like Bokaro. This lends credence to the theory I have often heard, that political parties brought people in to organize these riots. The other fact that was clear was that these people were probably told they could take what they wanted from Sikh houses without fear, because that is why they had congregated in front of our neighbour’s house.

Some of them banged on the front door. Others milled about on the family’s small lawn. Suddenly, we saw the family’s Standard car, parked outside, burst into flames. Things were rapidly getting very ugly.

Then, a group of them went over to the back door of the house, and began pulling it open. In a few minutes, they had managed to break it open, and about 20 of them disappeared inside. Almost immediately, we heard a female screaming from inside, and we realized with some shock that the family had been hiding inside all this while! I cannot describe how helpless I felt at that moment, because I fully expected all of the members of that family to be killed.

Suddenly, almost everybody who had gone into the back door came running out. We heard a very loud, dull thud, and then the last man stumbled out, and started running like his life depended on it. He was followed very closely by the lady of the family under attack, who had a hockey stick in her hands. She proceeded to whack a couple of other, slower men with the stick – that thud was the sound of the stick hitting their backs – and then stood out there, screaming at them, and guarding her house. I had only heard about how ferocious a ‘Sikhni’ could be, but there she was, a small, slightly overweight woman, standing between the mob and her family like a tigress!

The cowards making up the mob began to regroup, realizing they had just lost face. Every time I think of them, it brings to mind all the TV programs I have ever seen about hyenas, who attack only when they are in a group. The rest of the family had come out as well, and they were standing there, waiting for the worst. In the meantime, some people had started shouting about how they were going to avenge Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination by killing everyone in this family. Others started throwing things at the family, and still others began to advance, while the family tried to retreat into their house. It was a nightmare unfolding before our eyes, because all of us realized that this was it. Regardless of how brave the family was, simple numbers dictated that the mob would overpower and kill them within minutes.

You know how, in the movies, when something like this is unwinding, a hero comes and saves the day? Well, something like that happened that day. Sunil Singh’s father, a gentleman if I ever saw one, and easily one of the bravest men I have had the honour of knowing, walked into the mob and told them to stop attacking women and children immediately. Just like that! And the really strange thing was, that was all it took. Yes, some of them shouted back that Mrs. Gandhi was a woman, too, but he shut them. Emboldened by his example, others in the area also approached the mob to intervene. Sunil’s father then asked the family to come to his house, which was only a couple of hundred meters away, and I understand they went there and then to the camp at Xavier’s. After things calmed down, they came back to their house.

I am thankful that things ended well for that family because of the bravery of Sunil’s father. I don’t know if he was ever recognized formally for what he did, but he should have been. In today’s TV-dominated age, he would have been on every TV program as a hero."

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

Colonel (retd) Bhupinder Malhi joined the army in 1983, he retired in 2009 and now runs a security agency in Delhi

"We, a group of young Army Officers of Armoured Corps, were on board the Jhelum Express to attend the Young Officers Course at Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACCS) at Ahmednagar and happened to witness the anti-Sikh riots at very close quarters.

I boarded the Jhelum Express at Ambala Cantt early morning on 01 Nov 1984 along with few other course-mates. By the time our train reached outer Delhi near the Sabji Mandi area, we could see that Delhi was burning. Lots of trucks were on fire and smoke could be seen rising from buildings.

When the train reached the New Delhi Railway Station, we got down to enquire about the situation. We spotted many Sikhs lying injured on the platform and no one was willing to provide any first aid or help. We tried to help a few of the injured but our train was immediately moved out of the station.

The train was forcibly stopped near the Nizammudin Railway Station by an unruly mob. They started pulling out Sikhs from the train and there was chaos all around. We all quickly put on our uniforms and got down to help the Sikhs. We could not help most, though we managed to save a few. Some Sikhs had been set on fire; cycle rubber tyres were placed around them.

Some of us tried calling the police using the railways phone but there was no response. We also tried calling the Army headquarters' Duty Officer but could not reach them. We spotted an injured Sikh who was thrown on the railway track; two of us rushed to help him, but by the time we reached him, an approaching train over-ran him and we saw his body cut into pieces. We collected his body parts in a bed sheet and brought it to the railway platform to be handed over to police.

The train moved a bit and was again stopped near the Okhla slums. Another group of mob entered our AC 2 tier compartment by breaking the window glass as there are no iron grills in AC compartment. The mob systematically started searching the compartment and pulling Sikhs out of the train. We tried to reason with rioters and managed to save few fellow Sikhs. Unfortunately we could not save all. Capt Gill of 89 Armoured Regiment was stabbed at a distance of 1 ft from me. We requested rioters to spare his life as he was a soldier but the rioters argued that the person who killed Mrs Indira Gandhi was also a soldier.

We handed over Captain Gill's body to Army authorities at the Mathura railway station at night. Another Sikh officer named Sahota from GREF (General Reserve Engineer Force) was made to hide under the berth in our compartment. He was spotted by the mob and was killed there itself after he was hit by iron rods.

We were lucky to save my course mate Harinder (86 Armoured Regiment) who was being pulled out of the train but some of us held on to him and managed to free him from the clutches of death.

Another newly-wedded young officer from Artillery who was travelling with his wife was saved by shaving his beard and cutting his hair.

We repeatedly requested railways authorities for help but no one was willing to oblige. On the contrary, one TTE was seen indicating to the mob about the location of Sikhs hiding in the compartments.

Two officers Yadav (75 Armoured Regiment) and AP Singh (9 Horse) managed to get hold of a 12 bore rifle which was being carried by a soldier proceeding on leave. They fired a few rounds at the mob and the mob retreated."

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

The horrific ordeal that women faced during this Genocide cries for justice....can anyone hear them?

“On the morning of 1 November, when Indira Mata’s body was brought to Teen Murti, everyone was watching television. Since 8 a.m. they had been showing the homage being paid to her dead body. At about noon, my children said: ‘Mother, please make some food. We are hungry.’ I had not cooked that day and I told them: ‘Son, everyone is mourning. She was our mother, too. She helped us to settle here. So I don’t feel like lighting the fire today.’ Soon after this the attack started. Three of the men ran out and were set on fire. My youngest son stayed in the house with me. He shaved off his beard and cut his hair. But they came into the house. Those young boys, 14 and 16 years old, began to drag my son out even though he was hiding behind me.

They tore my clothes and stripped me naked in front of my son. When these young boys began to rape me, my son began to cry and said: ‘Elder brothers, don’t do this. She is like your mother just as she is my mother.’ But they raped me right there, in front of my son, in my house. They were young boys, maybe eight of them. When one of them raped me, I said: ‘My child, never mind. Do what you like. But remember, I have given birth to children. This child came into the world by this same path.’

After they had taken my honour, they left. I took my son out with me and made him sit among the women but they came and dragged him away. They took him to the street corner, hit him with lathis, sprinkled kerosene over him, and burnt him alive. I tried to save him but they struck me with knives and broke my arm. At that time, I was completely naked. I somehow managed to get hold of an old sheet which I had wrapped around myself. But that could easily be pulled away unless I held on tight to it with my arms. It inhibited my physical movements. If I had had even one piece of clothing on my body, I would have gone and thrown myself over my son and tried to save him. I would have done anything to save at least one young man of my family. Not one of the four is left. ” – Gurdip Kaur, block 32 Trilokpuri.

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

As Sikhs huddled in make shift camps, they had become refugees in what was their own country......

......slowly the trauma was lifting and the horrific visions of the days before were returning.....

“All night, the attacks continued. My husband was hiding in a trunk. They dragged him out and cut him to pieces. Another 16-year-old boy was killed in front of my eyes. He was carrying a small child in his arms. They killed the child, too.

We women were forced to come out of our houses and sit in a group outside. I was trying to hide my daughter. I put a child in her lap and dishevelled her hair so that she would look older. But finally one of our own neighbours pointed her out to these men. They began to drag her away. We tried to save her. I pleaded with them

They took Koshala to the old masjid (Mosque). I don’t know what happened to her. At about 4 a.m., when we were driven out of the colony, she called out to me from the roof of the masjid. She was screaming to me: ‘Mummy, mujhe lechal, mujhe lechal, Mummy’[take me with you]. But how could Mummy take her? They beat her because she called to me. I don’t know where she is now.” – Rajjo Bai, Trilokpuri

amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

Request for everyone to make this their cover/profile picture.....

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amar_jkp · November 1, 2014

Reply to Kuldip Nayar's article in which he asked Sikhs to 'FORGET' 1984 Genocide.

Once again apologies for long posts but we want all to know the truth of 84.

by Karnail Singh

President, All India Sikh Students Federation.

" While I was reading my daily news, I came across Kuldeep Nayar’s article on a number of English medium web sites. One example is copied below (from a newspaper called the Statesman). This article is not really about the blacklist – it goes much wider than that. In his article Nayar is basically asking the Sikhs to simply forget the terrible injustices of the past as a way to restore harmony in Punjab. He does not seem to understand that reconciliation can only happen when injustices are removed and when the guilty are punished.

I want to let Mr.Nayar understand the truth which he wants us to forget without justice , there are a number of points which I want you to think about, For example:-

1.Mr. Nayar you say you are a journalist. Most journalists will want the truth to be uncovered, so that justice can be delivered to the victims of oppression (which he himself acknowledges took place). Why does he want to silence the efforts to uncover the past and punish the guilty? What agenda is being served by covering up the atrocities faced by the Sikhs in the 1980s and 1990s?What kind of harmony we will have, if there is no justice for those innocent people who lost their life in this struggle crushed by the government of that time? There is no bias on the ground level a number of Hindus and Sikhs are all on the same about what happened at that point of time, and they are even coming forward with their views on the issue. So with all due respect fight for justice wont hamper the peace or lead to any kind of bias between these two communities, what it may really do we hope is we will see the truth come out and justice served which long pending from the last 30 years.

2. We say that such injustice is EXACTLY the cause of polarizing society in Punjab. The blacklist is a very small example of this on-going injustice and, if Mr. Nayar is interested in harmony in Punjab, he should support efforts to get all injustices removed. Those include:

The failure to address the causes of the Indo-Sikh conflict (there has been no attempt by India to resolve any of those) continued detention of Sikh political prisoners and the threat of hanging people like Bhai Rajoana-Reconciliation is done when effort is made to convey solidarity from both sides , for example political prisoners in Ireland were freed as a sign for an effort towards peace. Which we can also follow as the world’s largest democracy.

Impunity being given to those who carried out genocide – in a couple of weeks we will mark the 30th anniversary of the November 1984 genocide for which none of the responsible political or security officials have been punished. so this is the long pending step where all governments at different point of time and judiciary has failed in. No meaningful justice has been served, we talk about human rights what about the rights of innocent people who died in November 1984 genocide or should that also be forgotten as Mr.nayar has suggested.

continued intimidation of Sikh political activism in Punjab – even the Punjab Police chief today is an alleged encounter specialist

3. Mr. Nayar says that when he appointed as Indian High Commissioner in the UK, his task was “explain that New Delhi was prepared to transfer all subjects to the state except three”. This is a huge lie. No such offer was ever made by New Delhi to the Sikhs. I challenge Nayar to produce evidence of this outrageous claim. The reality was (and is) that India has crushed a legitimate, mass struggle for self-determination by the Sikhs by the illegal use of force which has cost hundreds of thousands of lives. It is very convenient for Nayar to try to hide that reality by telling such lies in media but, those who know the bitter experience of the past, will not be fooled by that shameful tactic.

4. Mr.Nayar claims to have ended the blacklist of UK Sikhs whilst he was High Commissioner. That is also not true. There are Sikhs in the UK today who are still being denied visas. In addition, those foreign based Sikhs who do get to visit Punjab are still liable to be picked up and imprisoned on fabricated terrorism charges (we can give examples) so that the Sikh Diaspora remains a target of political suppression to this day. Is this is the way Mr.Nayar wants us to proceed ?

5. The Sikhs have given up on the Indian judicial system and are now calling for an international criminal court to intervene and punish the guilty. Denying justice or forgetting and not talking about doesn’t ensure peace and harmony between classes and castes or as a matter of fact a nation.

Mr.Nayar says that both communities need to find reason for suspicion and bias, I want to ensure Nayar that no Hindu brother is against the demand for justice. Among all the points he has put forward he is quite right about Sikhs being a short sturdy community, what he seems to not mention is we are proudly shining in the world for what we stand for, we fought for your rights and justice under the leadership of

Guru Gobind Singh Ji at that point in history, we surely won’t forget the injustice done to us and keep on demanding justice for the killings of innocent lives lost in November 1984 Sikh genocide. so that we can have real peace and harmony."