Account of tragic events of carnage and aftermath of riots against the Sikh peoples at various places in India
31st October,1984 to 10 November,1984.
edited from various sources - MANJIT SINGH CHAHAL Advocate
“when a mighty tree falls, it is only natural that the earth around it shakes a little”.
- on 19 November,1984 then new PM of India - Rajiv Gandhi made the infamous speech, telling in an election meeting.
Background - In 1984, Delhi had a sizeable population of Sikhs. According to the 1981 Census, the Sikh population of Delhi was 3,93,921, which worked out to 6.33% of the total population of New Delhi. New Delhi-the actual city where the PM of India- Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 31st October,1984 by her Sikh bodyguards. A few months before (on 1 June,1984) she ordered "Operation Blue Star" - the storming of the Holy shrine of Sikhs- Harmandir Sahib (Golden temple) in Amritsar along with 42 Gurdwara in other parts of Punjab to counter the Punjab insurgency. Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian army to enter the Golden Temple in order to subdue Bhindranwale and his followers. In the resulting "Operation Blue Star" on 1-7 June,1984, the Holy shrine complex of Golden temple, other Gurdwaras of Punjab were attacked, damaged and estimated 2000-4000 civilians (devotees and some armed sikhs),700 armymen were killed. There are accusations of highhandedness by the Indian Army,CRPF, BSF other security forces and allegations of human rights violations by security forces in Operation Blue Star and subsequent military operations in Punjab have been levelled against Indian Government.
PM Indira Gandhi was assassinated & declared dead by 2:30 pm on 31/10/1984 at AIIMS and cremated on 3 November near Raj Ghat. Her funeral was televised live on domestic and international stations, including the BBC. on 31/10/1984 incident of riots against the sikhs took place making millions of Sikhs displaced and nearly three-four thousand sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh riots. Thereafter (new elected PM) Rajiv Gandhi said in Public meeting and went on a live TV shown saying about the carnage, (dated 19/11/1984)- "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes."
New-delhi (capital of India) -
On 31/10/1984 - Whole new Delhi city looked normal in the morning of 31st October and every sikh of New-delhi completely unaware that within few hours, whole city will become a jungle, where they become "hunted" by Organized Mob-violence against them for next few days.
TRAGIC INCIDENTS/ACCOUNTS of NEW DELHI & NEARBY AREAS :
There
are so many tragedies and personal accounts affected peoples as seen by
bystanders, daily commuters, nearby residents, neighbours of sikh of
Delhi localities that all accounts are so tragic heartening. Still, I
tried to make it concise as far as possible and most are quoted here
from various sources & references-
1- Story of Sikh-doctor at AIIMS hospital - AIIMs
hospital is where PM Indira Gandhi was bought, after she was shot at
and it the place where I think sikh nearby faced the first backlash of
Hindu-mobs. Young Swarnpreet Singh aged about 27-28 yrs. was a newly
appointed doctor-surgeon working in that day-shift of AIIMS, slowly as
time ticked away, the assassination details come out and everybody in
AIIMS hospital now have the knowledge that 2 sikh bodyguards of PM shot
her dead. Every well-wisher advised Swarnpreet to leave this place. So
he well passed the main gate and outside the hordes of people are slowly
turned abusive towards him and started shouting against the sikh and
some tried remove his turban but Swarnpreet. Somehow he manages to run
away from the mob and saved himself. It is the indication of things to
come to Sikh people in New delhi. By late in the night, organised
violence against the Sikhs has spread to different parts of the city.
2. Attacks at Gurdwara Rakabganj (near Parliament House) and Gurdwara Sisganj (chandni-chowk)- It
is reported that real tragedy at this historic gurdwara took place,
when number of times the riot-mobs of 4000 peoples attacked in a single
day. These mobs headed by Congress leaders - Kamal Nath, HKL
Bhagat,Jagdish Tyler, Sajjan Kumar, Dharam Das Shastri and these leaders
are seen by many press reporters at that time. Two sikh (elderly father
already burning and his son who went to save his burning father) were
burnt in front of the gurdwara's door, all this happened in noon of
31/10/1984. When sikhs inside the Gurdwara Rakabganj defended well
against the crowd, the Delhi police fired towards the Gurdwara showing
their true intend. In fact, one Kanwarjit Singh (a sikh) slapped case
for murdering one rioter and this case went to make headlines. Later,
Rajiv Gandhi Government had withdrawn the said case.
At
the Sisganj Gurdwara, the rioter are gathering in large number on
chandi-chowk area, but the sikhs already prepare to defend and are on
road with swords. It is the Christian Officer- Maxwell Pereira who
controlled the situation there. He saved the sikhs by suggesting them to
go inside the gurdwara complex which they did. Finally, Hindu-mob
become restless and the Police took appropriate action to push them
back. Finally, situation controlled around Gurdwara complex.
3. Burning of injured sikh inside the Ram Vilas Paswan residence- Another
serious incident was the one which happened inside the bungalow of Shri
Ram Bilas Paswan (Witness No.135), on Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road. The
only witness regarding this incident is Shri Ram Bilas Paswan, who in
his affidavit and also while deposing before this Commission, has stated
that a violent mob set on fire a taxi stand near his house and one
Sardarji hiding there was beaten. That Sardarji fled from that place
and came inside the compound of his bungalow. The mob followed him but
it was stopped by his guards by closing the gate. Thereafter a group
of persons came near his house from Rai Sina Road side where office of
the Youth Congress (I) is situated. He, therefore, tried to contact the
Parliament Street Police Station but could not get any response. He
then rang up at the residence of the Home Minister at about 3 p.m. and
informed his Private Secretary about what was happening. He was assured
by the Private Secretary of the Home Minister that police would soon
come. However the police did not come. The mob attacked his house at
about 4 p.m. and surrounded it from all sides. The mob was shouting
anti Sikh slogans. Apprehending some serious trouble his bodyguard
fired a shot in the air to scare away the mob. The
mob, however, broke open the gate of his house and set on fire his
garage and one car, which was parked near the garage. The mob then
entered his house. Therefore, he and others who were in the house ran
away from the rear side of the house. The mob caught the Sardarji as he
was not able to escape from that place. The mob threw him alive in the
burning garage and thus he was killed. He has further stated that he
had seen one police van passing on the road many times while this
incident was happening but it did not stop and the police came to the
scene only at about 6.30 or 7 p.m. In his evidence before the
Commission he has stated that he had not seen what had happened before
as he had returned from outside some time before 3 p.m. He has further
stated that he was told by other persons who were in his house that some
Congress workers were in the mob. ( as reported in & stated at page 23 of Justice Nanvati Commission of Inquiry (2000), read this at www.mha.nic.in/hindi/sites/upload_files/.../files/.../Nanavati-I_eng.pdf )
4. "The butcher of Trilokpuri" - It
is estimated that entire Trilokpuri Block 32 sikh males about 400 were
killed by mobs in 2 days.(Block 36 also reported acts of violence). One
account highlights the horrors of these riots, that is the story of
tragady of Old age Sikh Mansa Singh & his family. The Known local
butcher, Kishori Lal & hindu mob killed three sons in front of eyes
of Mansa Singh. They were cut to pieces and beaten to death with iron
rods.Kishori Lal, who came to be known as “the butcher of Trilokpuri”,
is serving a life sentence in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
5. Worst afffected areas of Kalyanpuri Police station - Of
the total counted sikh killed in Delhi (about official count is 2733)
out of which 1234 killed in east Delhi itself, out of this 610 were
killed under areas of Kalyanpur P.S.
6. Transfer of Sikh Police officers- One
of his first administrative acts was the change of a number of police
officers belonging to the Sikh Community on 31.10.84. If the written
submissions by the Delhi Administration before the Misra Commission are
to be believed. While examining the police records of Subzi Mandi PS
the officers posted there were actually taking effective action to
control the situation,had rounded up 90 rioters in the main bazaar of
Subzi Mandi at 8.00 PM. On 31st October 1984 who were
subsequently not bailed out but sent to jail. In fact, this was one of
the few Police Stations where effective action was initiated in the
evening on 31st October 1984. They
were also seeking clear orders of their superior to ‘Shoot-at-sight’ to
control the situation as would be evident from a wireless message.
Instead of giving clear orders, these Sikh officers were removed from the scene. It
almost seems that they were removed as a punishment for making large
scale arrests of miscreant rather than for abandoning their posts or for
inefficiency and incompetence.
· Government Instituted Court of Inquiry (commissions) -
A
common thread runs through the reports of nine committees, and several
rights groups and NGOs, which probed the 1984 riots — all point to
police lapses, at times connivance, lack of an institutional response
and the dubious role of local Congress leaders in targeted attacks on Sikhs across Delhi.
1. One
of the nine committees, headed by R K Ahuja who was a Secretary in the
Ministry of Home Affairs, was tasked to find out the total number of
Sikhs killed in Delhi during the riots. The Ahuja committee put the
count of the dead in the Capital at 2,733.
2. Another
probe committee, headed by Additional Commissioner of Police Ved
Marwah, was asked to probe the role of the police during the carnage.
Accused officers moved court and Marwah was told by the Home Ministry in
1985 to wind up the probe.
Hard Facts admitted by many Judidcial Commission of incidents
between 31/10/1984 to 07/11/1984 :
1.
The
Delhi Police personnel 30,000 strong and at least 5000 Armymen at nearby
camps were available by October 31
midnight. (sources- Misra Commission reports).
2.
During
these riots large number of Sikhs were killed. The Government disclosure in
Parliament took the number of killings at Delhi to 2146 The First
Information Reports in regard to killings at Delhi put the figure at
1419.Deputy Commissioner of Delhi who had verified the claims has later
accepted the number of deaths to be 2307. The DSGMC (Delhi shiromani Gurdwara
Magagment Committee) has specified in written arguments names of 73 people who
were burnt alive & there is evidence that hundreds of charred bodies were
recovered. (sources- Misra Commission reports).
3.
According
to the finding of the Ahuja Committee 2733 Sikhs were killed in Delhi between
31-10-84 and 7-11-84.
4.
By
evening of 31/10/1984, every newspaper published evening special edition news
items of PM death by 2 sikhs. There were as many as 119 incidents took place on
October 31, 1984 evening itself, to which reference has been made before the
Misra Commission.
5.
The
President Gian Zail Singh's cavalcade appears to have been attacked by some
persons out of the angry mob still waiting at the AIIMS.
6.
From
the evidence produced, it appeared that 13 Gurdwara were attacked on 31st
October. The total number of Gurdwaras
affected by arson, looting and burning
to be 180. There is also a
disclosure that 11 sikh educational institutions,
each one founded and run by the
Sikh community, had been damaged . (sources- Misra
Commission reports). .
7.
One
of the greatest tragedies of the riot period took place in the Trilokpuri area.
Trilokpuri is part of Kalyanpuri Police Station. Block 32 of Trilokpuri was
being inhabited by Labana Sikhs mostly belonging to the poorer section of
society. About 400 all male-sikhs killed in this block. (sources-
Misra Commission reports).
8.
On
November 1, 1984, in several other areas of the city hundreds of crimes were
perpetrated by riotous mobs. Reference to 399 incidents of various categories
has been made in the affidavits and evidence placed before the Commission. This
was the worst day during the period of rioting. Three fourths of the persons
killed seem to have perished on this day alone in the hands of the rioters.
9.
Many
sikhs killed inside Raliway Trains, many Ralway station around Delhi city and
especially in Mathura city, Tughlakabad Railway Station, Nangloi station, (sources-
Misra Commission reports).
10. By evening of
November 2, 1984, the Army had moved into almost every area of Delhi.
11. There is assertion
that some incidents continued to happen even after the 3rd November but the
Misra commission is of the view that the riots had ended by that date and
whatever happened thereafter was of the stray type and could not be taken to be
a part of the riots. (sources- Misra Commission reports).
12. During the riots,
majority of Police remain mute spectator or assisted or remained ineffective in
such riots, but fact remains that many Delhi Police officers (including Sikhs
officer also) who acted promptly, performed their duty and arrested many
rioters and registered FIRs. Many such officers were prevented to act against the
rioters and were transferred on the evening of 31st October itself. (admitted
facts from the Commission of inquiries constituted by the Govt. of India).
13. There many
incidents, where many Hindu and other peoples belong to other religion who are
happened to be neighbours of affected sikh do helped and saved them in this
situation.
14. In all, the Delhi
police arrested 3,081 people from 650 FIRs, filed 363 chargesheets and got 442
convicted out of which - 49 were Life imprisoned, 3 for imprisoned for 10 years
or more, 5 imprisoned for 5- 10 years, 156 for 3-5 years, 67 for less than 3
years, 117 fined, 324 acquitted. Kishori Lal is one of 49 serving a life
sentence. He was among three sentenced to death. But the Supreme Court later
commuted it to a life sentence, citing long delays during the trial.
Ruling Congress party and Rajiv Gandhi 's Government never interested to start any inquiry or to investigate matter, whereas the culprits behind the whole carnage remained roaming scot-free in the streets of new-delhi.
An overall account of the role played by politicians came out for the first time on November 15,1984 when two human rights organisations, People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), published a joint report entitled, Who are the guilty?
Later, due public pressure and to save vote-banks on April 26, 1985, the Central Government announced in Parliament then in session, the appointment of a Commission to investigate the carnage in New delhi. Many subsequent commissions constituted and instances of riot-victims /witnesses were threatens not to give proper & true statements come to light. The Congress leaders / politicians played a treacherous role in threatening and buying off crucial eyewitnesses and victims of the Sikh massacre of 1984. With no. of Commission setup by Govt. of India from time to time is about 10 (Last one is headed by G. T. NANAVATI -CHAIRMAN of JUSTICE NANAVATI COMMISSION OF INQUIRY 1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS submiited final report on 09-02-2005).
The “insufferable” delays of the judicial system also affected the sentencing of the accused. Forty five, who were in jail for periods longer than the sentences that could have been imposed had they been held guilty, were allowed to walk free.
Fortunately, despite a lapse so many years since the sikh carnage, the decision to hold a fresh judicial inquiry has paid off. Hundreds of victims and witnesses responded enthusiastically by filing affidavits and adducing evidence in public hearings before the Nanavati Commission (2005).
Though it apparently took a while to locate the old records, the Vajpayee Government has been more forthcoming in disclosing documents related to the decisions taken by authorities during and after the carnage. In the process, a whole lot of new evidence has come to light thanks to the ongoing proceedings of the Nanavati Commission.
Current News- December,2014 -The Committee, headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retired) G. P. Mathur, will submit its report within three months, a home ministry official said. BJP had earlier demanded re-investigation into all cases related to the riots which had broken out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh body guards.
The Justice Nanavati Commission had recommended reopening of only four of 241 cases closed by police but BJP wanted the re-investigation of all the other 237 cases. Supreme Court lawyer H.S. Phoolka, who has been fighting the anti-Sikh riot cases, had written to former Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, demanding that an SIT be set up to probe the 1984 riot cases. Phoolka said that of the 241 related cases, only four were re-opened and re-investigated by CBI.
In two cases, CBI had filed a charge sheet and in one of the cases five persons, including a former MLA, were convicted. Phoolka said if the remaining 237 cases were reopened, it would result in more convictions. The committee will look into various grievances relating to the anti-Sikh riots. It was set up after the home ministry received a large number of complaints from various individuals and associations. The committee will also oversee the implementation of the payment of enhanced compensation of Rs 5 lakh per person killed during the riots, as approved by the Union Cabinet on December 10, 2014.
Police forces & Politicians role - REPORTS & FINDINGS by Government authorities-
(1) 147 cops indicted, no action against half
The Kusum Lata Mittal committee and Jain Aggarwal committee indicted 147 police officers for lapses during the riots. No departmental action could be taken against 42 because they had died or retired.
Of the remaining 105, the Home Ministry processed cases of eight officers. It exonerated five and penalised Additional Commissioner of Police H C Jatav with 30% cut in pension for five years. According to Nanavati commission, the inquiry against DCP Chandra Prakash was completed but the final order could not be served because of a restraint order, and the inquiry against DCP Sewa Dass was delayed till 1998 because of a stay order.
The Delhi government processed the cases of the remaining 97. No action could be taken against 29 because they had died, retired or action was time-barred. No action was initiated against 9 since inquiries were already on. The Delhi government also instituted 25 criminal cases against some of the 72 police officers.
(2) : Nanavati let off Bhagat, said probe Sajjan, Tytler roles
Not recommending “further action” against Congress leader H K L Bhagat “in view of his physical and mental condition”, the Nanavati commission wanted the government to probe the roles of his colleagues Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. This is what its report said:
* Jagdish Tytler: “Commission considers it safe to record a finding that there is credible evidence against Shri Jagdish Tytler to the effect that very probably he had a hand in organizing attacks on Sikhs.”
* Sajjan Kumar: “Commission is inclined to take the view that there is credible material against Shri Sajjan Kumar and Shri Balwan Khokhar for recording a finding that he and Shri Balwan Khokhar were probably involved as alleged by the witnesses.”
(3) Ten probe panels
* Marwah Commission: In November 1984, Additional Commissioner of Police Ved Marwah was asked to probe the role of the police during the riots. In 1985, he was told to wind up the probe.
* Misra Commission: In May 1985, a committee headed by Justice Ranganath Misra was appointed. In his report a year later, he said the terms of reference did not allow him to identify any individual. He asked for formation of three committees.
* Kapoor Mittal Committee: In February 1987, Justice (retired) Dilip Kapoor and Kusum Lata Mittal, a retired Secretary, were asked to probe the conduct of Delhi Police. The committee indicted 72 police officers.
* Jain Banerji Committee: A committee under Justice (retired) M L Jain and E N Renision, a retired IPS officer, was asked to examine riot cases. Renision was replaced by A K Banerji, another retired IPS officer. They could not make any progress because of an interim injunction granted by Delhi High Court. Later, the notification appointing the committee was quashed.
* Poti Rosha Committee: In March 1990, a committee comprising Justice (retired) P Subramanian Poti and retired IPS officer P A Rosha was asked to examine “cases of omission to register or properly investigate offences”. It was reconstituted after Rosha opted out and another retired IPS officer Aggarwal was brought in. Poti and Aggarwal relinquished office in September 1990.
* Jain Aggarwal Committee: Justice (retired) J D Jain and D K Aggarwal, who began their probe in December 1990, took into consideration 669 affidavits filed before the Misra Commission. It also received 415 affidavits from affected people. The committee found that in most cases, investigation carried out by the police was “absolutely casual, perfunctory and faulty”.
* Ahuja Committee: R K Ahuja, a Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, was told to find out the total number of Sikhs killed in Delhi. He put that number at 2,733.
* Dhillon Committee: A committee under G S Dhillon was asked in 1985 to recommend measures for rehabilitation of the riot victims.
* Narula Committee: In 1993, the BJP government in Delhi asked it to recommend measures for Central sanction to prosecute the guilty.
* The Nanavati Commission: In 2000, Justice (retired) G T Nanavati was asked to probe the cause of the riots, the sequence of events and “recommend measures which may be adopted to meet the ends of justice”.
The Nanavati commission, appointed in 2000 after dissatisfaction over the findings of earlier probes, highlighted the role of the police, local Congress leaders and “the backing and help of influential and resourceful persons” during the riots. This is what it concluded:
“The attacks were made in a systematic manner and without much fear of the police; almost suggesting that they were assured that they would not be harmed while committing those acts and even thereafter. Male members of the Sikh community were taken out of their houses. They were beaten first and then burnt alive in a systematic manner. In some cases, tyres were put around their necks and then they were set on fire by pouring kerosene or petrol over them. In some cases, white inflammable powder was thrown on them which immediately caught fire thereafter. This was a common pattern which was followed by the big mobs which had played havoc in certain areas. The shops were identified, looted and then burnt. Thus, what had initially started as an angry outburst became an organized carnage.”
“…Large number of affidavits indicate that local Congress(I) leaders and workers had either incited or helped the mobs in attacking the Sikhs. But for the backing and help of influential and resourceful persons, killing of Sikhs so swiftly and in large numbers could not have happened. In many places, the riotous mobs consisted of outsiders… Outsiders in large numbers could not have been brought by ordinary persons from the public. Bringing them from outside required an organized effort. Supplying them with weapons and inflammable material also required an organized effort. There is evidence to show that outsiders were shown the houses of the Sikhs. Obviously it would have been difficult for them to find out the houses and shops of Sikhs so quickly and easily.”
“…There is enough material on record to show that at many places the police had taken away their (Sikhs) arms or other articles with which they could have defended themselves against the attacks by mobs. After they were persuaded to go inside their houses on assurances that they would be well protected, attacks on them had started. All this could not have happened if it was merely a spontaneous reaction of the angry public. The systematic manner in which the Sikhs were thus killed indicate that the attacks on them were organized.”
“…Lack of the fear of the police force was also one of the causes for the happening of so many incidents within those 3 or 4 days. If the police had taken prompt and affective steps, very probably so many lives would not have been lost and so many properties would not have been looted, destroyed or burnt.”
“… There is absolutely no evidence suggesting that Shri Rajiv Gandhi or any other high ranking Congress(I) leader had suggested or organized attacks on Sikhs. Whatever acts were done, were done by the local Congress(I) leaders and workers, and they appear to have done so for their personal political reasons. They do not appear to have done so purely for personal reasons. If they were the acts of individuals only, then the killing of Sikhs and looting of properties of Sikhs would not have been on such a large scale. Therefore, what those local leaders appear to have done is to take the help of their followers and supporters in inciting or committing those acts.”
Yet the Nanavati commission said it is “not in a position to recommend any action against them except to the extent indicated earlier while assessing the evidence against them”.
On the role of the police, this is what it said: “…Commission agrees with the findings recorded earlier by Justice Misra Commission and by the committees which had looked into their conduct. The Commission has nothing further to add and, therefore, does not think it necessary to burden this report by referring to the evidence and instances which go to show that either they were negligent in performance of their duties or that they had directly or indirectly helped the mobs in their violent attacks on the Sikhs. As appropriate actions were initiated against them, the Commission has thought it fit not to recommend any further action against them.”
“However, the Commission would like to emphasise that as a result of not recording separate FIRs, not recording statements of witnesses as stated by them and not investigating the cases properly, it has now become difficult for the Commission to make any recommendation against many of the persons who have been named by the witnesses as the persons who had indulged in violent acts against them or their family members or had facilitated the same.”
Investigations by Civil Society & NGOs-
Numerous reports and investigations by civil society groups and eyewitness accounts have shown that such well-organized mass killings could not have happened without the complicity of the state. Shortly after the violence, a fact-finding team organized by two Indian human rights organizations, the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), published a report on its investigation into the cause of the Delhi riots, Who Are the Guilty? (click here) The groups concluded that the violence was the result 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.”
In January 1985, the nongovernmental organization Citizens for Democracy investigated the riots and concluded that the violence were not spontaneous but organized by members of the Congress Party. According to the report, (click here) the violence was “primarily meant to arouse passions of the majority community.”
In 2004, ENSAAF, a Sikh rights organization, released Twenty Years of Impunity, (click here) once again documenting how senior political leaders, most visibly of the Congress Party, “carefully orchestrated the violence, providing for details such as deployment of mobs, weapons, and kerosene, as well as for the larger support and participation of the police.” The Congress Party was also able to use state machinery to facilitate the massacres such as using government buses to transport the mobs to where Sikhs lived, the report said.
Sexual Violence against Women -
Most investigations conducted
into the violence have been largely silent on violence against women. Very few
affidavits submitted to the various government commissions discussed it in any
detail. In many cases, women preferred to use euphemisms such as “humiliation”
or “dishonor” because of social stigma. According to the PUCL-PUDR report,
inquiries conducted by a senior police official revealed that “at least four
women, their ages ranging from 14 to 50, were gang raped. Later seven cases of
rape from Trilokpuri were officially reported by the J.P. Narayan Hospital,
Delhi.”
Even the earliest commissions had received affidavits from victims alleging rape but failed to probe any further. Padmi Kaur of Sultanpuri area, in her affidavit submitted to the Misra Commission, described an incident that took place on November 1 and named several people in the mob, including Congress leader Brahmanand Gupta:
After
some time the mob arrived, broke open our door and came inside. They
caught hold of my daughter Maina Kaur forcibly and started tearing her
clothes….They broke the hands and feet of my daughter and kidnapped
her. They confined her in their home for three days. I know some of the
persons in the mob… Now my daughter Maina Kaur has fallen ill and has
become like a mad girl.
The most detailed accounts of sexual abuse were recorded by Madhu Kishwar, the publisher of women’s magazine Manushi. Kishwar recorded the testimonies of several women from Trilokpuri, in east Delhi, the city’s worst-affected neighborhood. Kishwar published the story of Gurdip Kaur, a 45-year-old woman who said that her husband and her three sons were brutally murdered in front of her:
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.”
Kaur said after raping her, the youth allegedly took her youngest son away and burned him alive. Kaur told Kishwar that most women in her neighborhood were raped including 9 and 10-year-old girls.
According to journalist Manoj Mitta, about 30 female Sikhs were abducted from Trilokpuri and held captive for over 24 hours at the nearby Chilla village. But there was no investigation and no victim received compensation.
Killing inside Trains -
The Nanavati
Commission had also received applications for summoning of records from
Ministry of Railways. During the 1984 riots, trains were stopped at many
places, Sikhs dragged out and killed. The Railway authorities stated that no
record was available because of the lapse of time. The Railway board further
stated, “it was not possible to furnish the required information in view of the
non availability of the full record”. The Commission instead of ferreting out
the truth relied on Railways’ reply and recorded: “after this material was
received, no one has made any grievance as regards the incidents at railway
stations or in trains”.
In an affidavit filed, before the Mishra
Commission, former Railways Minister Prof Madhu Dandvate who was travelling by
Rajdhani Express from Mumabi to Delhi on November 1, 1984 had siad, “When the
train reached the Tughlakabad station, on November 2 morning, a large number of
persons carrying iron rods shouted… no Sikh will be allowed to leave the train
alive… I found two Sikhs killed and thrown on the platform and then their dead
bodies were set on fire... The police standing on the platform made no efforts
to prevent either the killing or the burning of Sikhs. After sometime I found a
railway employee in blue uniform, who was a Sikh, came out of the station
master’s office. He was immediately surrounded by a crowd of outsiders on the
platform and was killed on the spot.” He further stated in his affidavit that
he discovered at least three more dead bodies of Sikhs lying in various
compartments.
Another FIR (355/84) states: “At about 12.30pm, Bombay Janta train
stationed at railway station Tughlakabad… like this gang of village youths set
fire to about 25/26 Sikh passengers by spraying kerosene oil on them. These
passengers expired due to manhandling and the spraying of kerosene oil on them,
whose half burnt dead bodies are lying here.” FIR No. 356 on the basis of a
memo stated: “Please, arrange to remove 12 dead bodies lying on platform at
Nangloi.” Further eight dead bodies were recovered from Bombay-Amritsar Deluxe.
The official record suggested that 46 trains were forced to make unauthorised
halts. The Mishra report stated that if the Railway Protection Force along with
local police had worked properly these events would not have happened. Justice
GT Nanavati was not available for comments. [ sources - Tehelka
september,2005]
Conclusions on part-1 - Tragically, after 35 years, justice is not done, it is denied bluntly. And there is a systematic pattern of gross miscarriage of justice by the successive Indian governments. In a riots like this, how the victims suppose to collect evidence against its rioters. The rule of law enshrined in the Constitution of India is subverted. The whole Government machinery apparatus is misused by then ruling party and legal process is undermined by various ways.
Those who died leaving behind hundreds of living victims never going to forget such events. These incidents suggest that the Indian society is still not progressed from its ancient primitive mindset. Blunt violence is used against the helpless innocent sikh peoples. The Indian society should take lesson from these tragic incidents and preventive measures should be introduced in future.
to Contd.. in Part-II
Account of tragic events of carnage and aftermath of riots against the Sikh peoples at various places in India
31st October,1984 to 10 November,1984.
edited from various sources - MANJIT SINGH CHAHAL Advocate
“when a mighty tree falls, it is only natural that the earth around it shakes a little”.
- on 19 November,1984 then new PM of India - Rajiv Gandhi made the infamous speech, telling in an election meeting.
Background - In 1984, Delhi had a sizeable population of Sikhs. According to the 1981 Census, the Sikh population of Delhi was 3,93,921, which worked out to 6.33% of the total population of New Delhi. New Delhi-the actual city where the PM of India- Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 31st October,1984 by her Sikh bodyguards. A few months before (on 1 June,1984) she ordered "Operation Blue Star" - the storming of the Holy shrine of Sikhs- Harmandir Sahib (Golden temple) in Amritsar along with 42 Gurdwara in other parts of Punjab to counter the Punjab insurgency. Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian army to enter the Golden Temple in order to subdue Bhindranwale and his followers. In the resulting "Operation Blue Star" on 1-7 June,1984, the Holy shrine complex of Golden temple, other Gurdwaras of Punjab were attacked, damaged and estimated 2000-4000 civilians (devotees and some armed sikhs),700 armymen were killed. There are accusations of highhandedness by the Indian Army,CRPF, BSF other security forces and allegations of human rights violations by security forces in Operation Blue Star and subsequent military operations in Punjab have been levelled against Indian Government.
PM Indira Gandhi was assassinated & declared dead by 2:30 pm on 31/10/1984 at AIIMS and cremated on 3 November near Raj Ghat. Her funeral was televised live on domestic and international stations, including the BBC. on 31/10/1984 incident of riots against the sikhs took place making millions of Sikhs displaced and nearly three-four thousand sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh riots. Thereafter (new elected PM) Rajiv Gandhi said in Public meeting and went on a live TV shown saying about the carnage, (dated 19/11/1984)- "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes."
New-delhi (capital of India) -
On 31/10/1984 - Whole new Delhi city looked normal in the morning of 31st October and every sikh of New-delhi completely unaware that within few hours, whole city will become a jungle, where they become "hunted" by Organized Mob-violence against them for next few days.
TRAGIC INCIDENTS/ACCOUNTS of NEW DELHI & NEARBY AREAS :
There are so many tragedies and personal accounts affected peoples as seen by bystanders, daily commuters, nearby residents, neighbours of sikh of Delhi localities that all accounts are so tragic heartening. Still, I tried to make it concise as far as possible and most are quoted here from various sources & references-
1- Story of Sikh-doctor at AIIMS hospital - AIIMs
hospital is where PM Indira Gandhi was bought, after she was shot at
and it the place where I think sikh nearby faced the first backlash of
Hindu-mobs. Young Swarnpreet Singh aged about 27-28 yrs. was a newly
appointed doctor-surgeon working in that day-shift of AIIMS, slowly as
time ticked away, the assassination details come out and everybody in
AIIMS hospital now have the knowledge that 2 sikh bodyguards of PM shot
her dead. Every well-wisher advised Swarnpreet to leave this place. So
he well passed the main gate and outside the hordes of people are slowly
turned abusive towards him and started shouting against the sikh and
some tried remove his turban but Swarnpreet. Somehow he manages to run
away from the mob and saved himself. It is the indication of things to
come to Sikh people in New delhi. By late in the night, organised
violence against the Sikhs has spread to different parts of the city.
2. Attacks at Gurdwara Rakabganj (near Parliament House) and Gurdwara Sisganj (chandni-chowk)- It
is reported that real tragedy at this historic gurdwara took place,
when number of times the riot-mobs of 4000 peoples attacked in a single
day. These mobs headed by Congress leaders - Kamal Nath, HKL
Bhagat,Jagdish Tyler, Sajjan Kumar, Dharam Das Shastri and these leaders
are seen by many press reporters at that time. Two sikh (elderly father
already burning and his son who went to save his burning father) were
burnt in front of the gurdwara's door, all this happened in noon of
31/10/1984. When sikhs inside the Gurdwara Rakabganj defended well
against the crowd, the Delhi police fired towards the Gurdwara showing
their true intend. In fact, one Kanwarjit Singh (a sikh) slapped case
for murdering one rioter and this case went to make headlines. Later,
Rajiv Gandhi Government had withdrawn the said case.
At
the Sisganj Gurdwara, the rioter are gathering in large number on
chandi-chowk area, but the sikhs already prepare to defend and are on
road with swords. It is the Christian Officer- Maxwell Pereira who
controlled the situation there. He saved the sikhs by suggesting them to
go inside the gurdwara complex which they did. Finally, Hindu-mob
become restless and the Police took appropriate action to push them
back. Finally, situation controlled around Gurdwara complex.
3. Burning of injured sikh inside the Ram Vilas Paswan residence- Another
serious incident was the one which happened inside the bungalow of Shri
Ram Bilas Paswan (Witness No.135), on Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road. The
only witness regarding this incident is Shri Ram Bilas Paswan, who in
his affidavit and also while deposing before this Commission, has stated
that a violent mob set on fire a taxi stand near his house and one
Sardarji hiding there was beaten. That Sardarji fled from that place
and came inside the compound of his bungalow. The mob followed him but
it was stopped by his guards by closing the gate. Thereafter a group
of persons came near his house from Rai Sina Road side where office of
the Youth Congress (I) is situated. He, therefore, tried to contact the
Parliament Street Police Station but could not get any response. He
then rang up at the residence of the Home Minister at about 3 p.m. and
informed his Private Secretary about what was happening. He was assured
by the Private Secretary of the Home Minister that police would soon
come. However the police did not come. The mob attacked his house at
about 4 p.m. and surrounded it from all sides. The mob was shouting
anti Sikh slogans. Apprehending some serious trouble his bodyguard
fired a shot in the air to scare away the mob. The
mob, however, broke open the gate of his house and set on fire his
garage and one car, which was parked near the garage. The mob then
entered his house. Therefore, he and others who were in the house ran
away from the rear side of the house. The mob caught the Sardarji as he
was not able to escape from that place. The mob threw him alive in the
burning garage and thus he was killed. He has further stated that he
had seen one police van passing on the road many times while this
incident was happening but it did not stop and the police came to the
scene only at about 6.30 or 7 p.m. In his evidence before the
Commission he has stated that he had not seen what had happened before
as he had returned from outside some time before 3 p.m. He has further
stated that he was told by other persons who were in his house that some
Congress workers were in the mob. ( as reported in & stated at page 23 of Justice Nanvati Commission of Inquiry (2000), read this at www.mha.nic.in/hindi/sites/upload_files/.../files/.../Nanavati-I_eng.pdf )
4. "The butcher of Trilokpuri" - It
is estimated that entire Trilokpuri Block 32 sikh males about 400 were
killed by mobs in 2 days.(Block 36 also reported acts of violence). One
account highlights the horrors of these riots, that is the story of
tragady of Old age Sikh Mansa Singh & his family. The Known local
butcher, Kishori Lal & hindu mob killed three sons in front of eyes
of Mansa Singh. They were cut to pieces and beaten to death with iron
rods.Kishori Lal, who came to be known as “the butcher of Trilokpuri”,
is serving a life sentence in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
5. Worst afffected areas of Kalyanpuri Police station - Of
the total counted sikh killed in Delhi (about official count is 2733)
out of which 1234 killed in east Delhi itself, out of this 610 were
killed under areas of Kalyanpur P.S.
6. Transfer of Sikh Police officers- One
of his first administrative acts was the change of a number of police
officers belonging to the Sikh Community on 31.10.84. If the written
submissions by the Delhi Administration before the Misra Commission are
to be believed. While examining the police records of Subzi Mandi PS
the officers posted there were actually taking effective action to
control the situation,had rounded up 90 rioters in the main bazaar of
Subzi Mandi at 8.00 PM. On 31st October 1984 who were
subsequently not bailed out but sent to jail. In fact, this was one of
the few Police Stations where effective action was initiated in the
evening on 31st October 1984. They
were also seeking clear orders of their superior to ‘Shoot-at-sight’ to
control the situation as would be evident from a wireless message.
Instead of giving clear orders, these Sikh officers were removed from the scene. It
almost seems that they were removed as a punishment for making large
scale arrests of miscreant rather than for abandoning their posts or for
inefficiency and incompetence.
· Government Instituted Court of Inquiry (commissions) -
A common thread runs through the reports of nine committees, and several rights groups and NGOs, which probed the 1984 riots — all point to police lapses, at times connivance, lack of an institutional response and the dubious role of local Congress leaders in targeted attacks on Sikhs across Delhi.
A common thread runs through the reports of nine committees, and several rights groups and NGOs, which probed the 1984 riots — all point to police lapses, at times connivance, lack of an institutional response and the dubious role of local Congress leaders in targeted attacks on Sikhs across Delhi.
1. One
of the nine committees, headed by R K Ahuja who was a Secretary in the
Ministry of Home Affairs, was tasked to find out the total number of
Sikhs killed in Delhi during the riots. The Ahuja committee put the
count of the dead in the Capital at 2,733.
2. Another
probe committee, headed by Additional Commissioner of Police Ved
Marwah, was asked to probe the role of the police during the carnage.
Accused officers moved court and Marwah was told by the Home Ministry in
1985 to wind up the probe.
Hard Facts admitted by many Judidcial Commission of incidents
between 31/10/1984 to 07/11/1984 :
1.
The
Delhi Police personnel 30,000 strong and at least 5000 Armymen at nearby
camps were available by October 31
midnight. (sources- Misra Commission reports).
2.
During
these riots large number of Sikhs were killed. The Government disclosure in
Parliament took the number of killings at Delhi to 2146 The First
Information Reports in regard to killings at Delhi put the figure at
1419.Deputy Commissioner of Delhi who had verified the claims has later
accepted the number of deaths to be 2307. The DSGMC (Delhi shiromani Gurdwara
Magagment Committee) has specified in written arguments names of 73 people who
were burnt alive & there is evidence that hundreds of charred bodies were
recovered. (sources- Misra Commission reports).
3.
According
to the finding of the Ahuja Committee 2733 Sikhs were killed in Delhi between
31-10-84 and 7-11-84.
4.
By
evening of 31/10/1984, every newspaper published evening special edition news
items of PM death by 2 sikhs. There were as many as 119 incidents took place on
October 31, 1984 evening itself, to which reference has been made before the
Misra Commission.
5.
The
President Gian Zail Singh's cavalcade appears to have been attacked by some
persons out of the angry mob still waiting at the AIIMS.
6.
From
the evidence produced, it appeared that 13 Gurdwara were attacked on 31st
October. The total number of Gurdwaras
affected by arson, looting and burning
to be 180. There is also a
disclosure that 11 sikh educational institutions,
each one founded and run by the
Sikh community, had been damaged . (sources- Misra
Commission reports). .
7.
One
of the greatest tragedies of the riot period took place in the Trilokpuri area.
Trilokpuri is part of Kalyanpuri Police Station. Block 32 of Trilokpuri was
being inhabited by Labana Sikhs mostly belonging to the poorer section of
society. About 400 all male-sikhs killed in this block. (sources-
Misra Commission reports).
8.
On
November 1, 1984, in several other areas of the city hundreds of crimes were
perpetrated by riotous mobs. Reference to 399 incidents of various categories
has been made in the affidavits and evidence placed before the Commission. This
was the worst day during the period of rioting. Three fourths of the persons
killed seem to have perished on this day alone in the hands of the rioters.
9.
Many
sikhs killed inside Raliway Trains, many Ralway station around Delhi city and
especially in Mathura city, Tughlakabad Railway Station, Nangloi station, (sources-
Misra Commission reports).
10. By evening of
November 2, 1984, the Army had moved into almost every area of Delhi.
11. There is assertion
that some incidents continued to happen even after the 3rd November but the
Misra commission is of the view that the riots had ended by that date and
whatever happened thereafter was of the stray type and could not be taken to be
a part of the riots. (sources- Misra Commission reports).
12. During the riots,
majority of Police remain mute spectator or assisted or remained ineffective in
such riots, but fact remains that many Delhi Police officers (including Sikhs
officer also) who acted promptly, performed their duty and arrested many
rioters and registered FIRs. Many such officers were prevented to act against the
rioters and were transferred on the evening of 31st October itself. (admitted
facts from the Commission of inquiries constituted by the Govt. of India).
13. There many
incidents, where many Hindu and other peoples belong to other religion who are
happened to be neighbours of affected sikh do helped and saved them in this
situation.
14. In all, the Delhi
police arrested 3,081 people from 650 FIRs, filed 363 chargesheets and got 442
convicted out of which - 49 were Life imprisoned, 3 for imprisoned for 10 years
or more, 5 imprisoned for 5- 10 years, 156 for 3-5 years, 67 for less than 3
years, 117 fined, 324 acquitted. Kishori Lal is one of 49 serving a life
sentence. He was among three sentenced to death. But the Supreme Court later
commuted it to a life sentence, citing long delays during the trial.
Ruling Congress party and Rajiv Gandhi 's Government never interested to start any inquiry or to investigate matter, whereas the culprits behind the whole carnage remained roaming scot-free in the streets of new-delhi.
An overall account of the role played by politicians came out for the first time on November 15,1984 when two human rights organisations, People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), published a joint report entitled, Who are the guilty?
Later, due public pressure and to save vote-banks on April 26, 1985, the Central Government announced in Parliament then in session, the appointment of a Commission to investigate the carnage in New delhi. Many subsequent commissions constituted and instances of riot-victims /witnesses were threatens not to give proper & true statements come to light. The Congress leaders / politicians played a treacherous role in threatening and buying off crucial eyewitnesses and victims of the Sikh massacre of 1984. With no. of Commission setup by Govt. of India from time to time is about 10 (Last one is headed by G. T. NANAVATI -CHAIRMAN of JUSTICE NANAVATI COMMISSION OF INQUIRY 1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS submiited final report on 09-02-2005).
The “insufferable” delays of the judicial system also affected the sentencing of the accused. Forty five, who were in jail for periods longer than the sentences that could have been imposed had they been held guilty, were allowed to walk free.
Fortunately, despite a lapse so many years since the sikh carnage, the decision to hold a fresh judicial inquiry has paid off. Hundreds of victims and witnesses responded enthusiastically by filing affidavits and adducing evidence in public hearings before the Nanavati Commission (2005).
Though it apparently took a while to locate the old records, the Vajpayee Government has been more forthcoming in disclosing documents related to the decisions taken by authorities during and after the carnage. In the process, a whole lot of new evidence has come to light thanks to the ongoing proceedings of the Nanavati Commission.
Current News- December,2014 -The Committee, headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retired) G. P. Mathur, will submit its report within three months, a home ministry official said. BJP had earlier demanded re-investigation into all cases related to the riots which had broken out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh body guards.
The Justice Nanavati Commission had recommended reopening of only four of 241 cases closed by police but BJP wanted the re-investigation of all the other 237 cases. Supreme Court lawyer H.S. Phoolka, who has been fighting the anti-Sikh riot cases, had written to former Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, demanding that an SIT be set up to probe the 1984 riot cases. Phoolka said that of the 241 related cases, only four were re-opened and re-investigated by CBI.
Police forces & Politicians role - REPORTS & FINDINGS by Government authorities-
(1) 147 cops indicted, no action against half
The Kusum Lata Mittal committee and Jain Aggarwal committee indicted 147 police officers for lapses during the riots. No departmental action could be taken against 42 because they had died or retired.
Of the remaining 105, the Home Ministry processed cases of eight officers. It exonerated five and penalised Additional Commissioner of Police H C Jatav with 30% cut in pension for five years. According to Nanavati commission, the inquiry against DCP Chandra Prakash was completed but the final order could not be served because of a restraint order, and the inquiry against DCP Sewa Dass was delayed till 1998 because of a stay order.
The Delhi government processed the cases of the remaining 97. No action could be taken against 29 because they had died, retired or action was time-barred. No action was initiated against 9 since inquiries were already on. The Delhi government also instituted 25 criminal cases against some of the 72 police officers.
(2) : Nanavati let off Bhagat, said probe Sajjan, Tytler roles
Not recommending “further action” against Congress leader H K L Bhagat “in view of his physical and mental condition”, the Nanavati commission wanted the government to probe the roles of his colleagues Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. This is what its report said:
* Jagdish Tytler: “Commission considers it safe to record a finding that there is credible evidence against Shri Jagdish Tytler to the effect that very probably he had a hand in organizing attacks on Sikhs.”
* Sajjan Kumar: “Commission is inclined to take the view that there is credible material against Shri Sajjan Kumar and Shri Balwan Khokhar for recording a finding that he and Shri Balwan Khokhar were probably involved as alleged by the witnesses.”
(3) Ten probe panels
* Marwah Commission: In November 1984, Additional Commissioner of Police Ved Marwah was asked to probe the role of the police during the riots. In 1985, he was told to wind up the probe.
* Misra Commission: In May 1985, a committee headed by Justice Ranganath Misra was appointed. In his report a year later, he said the terms of reference did not allow him to identify any individual. He asked for formation of three committees.
* Kapoor Mittal Committee: In February 1987, Justice (retired) Dilip Kapoor and Kusum Lata Mittal, a retired Secretary, were asked to probe the conduct of Delhi Police. The committee indicted 72 police officers.
* Jain Banerji Committee: A committee under Justice (retired) M L Jain and E N Renision, a retired IPS officer, was asked to examine riot cases. Renision was replaced by A K Banerji, another retired IPS officer. They could not make any progress because of an interim injunction granted by Delhi High Court. Later, the notification appointing the committee was quashed.
* Poti Rosha Committee: In March 1990, a committee comprising Justice (retired) P Subramanian Poti and retired IPS officer P A Rosha was asked to examine “cases of omission to register or properly investigate offences”. It was reconstituted after Rosha opted out and another retired IPS officer Aggarwal was brought in. Poti and Aggarwal relinquished office in September 1990.
* Jain Aggarwal Committee: Justice (retired) J D Jain and D K Aggarwal, who began their probe in December 1990, took into consideration 669 affidavits filed before the Misra Commission. It also received 415 affidavits from affected people. The committee found that in most cases, investigation carried out by the police was “absolutely casual, perfunctory and faulty”.
* Ahuja Committee: R K Ahuja, a Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, was told to find out the total number of Sikhs killed in Delhi. He put that number at 2,733.
* Dhillon Committee: A committee under G S Dhillon was asked in 1985 to recommend measures for rehabilitation of the riot victims.
* Narula Committee: In 1993, the BJP government in Delhi asked it to recommend measures for Central sanction to prosecute the guilty.
* The Nanavati Commission: In 2000, Justice (retired) G T Nanavati was asked to probe the cause of the riots, the sequence of events and “recommend measures which may be adopted to meet the ends of justice”.
The Kusum Lata Mittal committee and Jain Aggarwal committee indicted 147 police officers for lapses during the riots. No departmental action could be taken against 42 because they had died or retired.
Of the remaining 105, the Home Ministry processed cases of eight officers. It exonerated five and penalised Additional Commissioner of Police H C Jatav with 30% cut in pension for five years. According to Nanavati commission, the inquiry against DCP Chandra Prakash was completed but the final order could not be served because of a restraint order, and the inquiry against DCP Sewa Dass was delayed till 1998 because of a stay order.
The Delhi government processed the cases of the remaining 97. No action could be taken against 29 because they had died, retired or action was time-barred. No action was initiated against 9 since inquiries were already on. The Delhi government also instituted 25 criminal cases against some of the 72 police officers.
“The attacks were made in a systematic manner and without much fear of the police; almost suggesting that they were assured that they would not be harmed while committing those acts and even thereafter. Male members of the Sikh community were taken out of their houses. They were beaten first and then burnt alive in a systematic manner. In some cases, tyres were put around their necks and then they were set on fire by pouring kerosene or petrol over them. In some cases, white inflammable powder was thrown on them which immediately caught fire thereafter. This was a common pattern which was followed by the big mobs which had played havoc in certain areas. The shops were identified, looted and then burnt. Thus, what had initially started as an angry outburst became an organized carnage.”
“…Lack of the fear of the police force was also one of the causes for the happening of so many incidents within those 3 or 4 days. If the police had taken prompt and affective steps, very probably so many lives would not have been lost and so many properties would not have been looted, destroyed or burnt.”
Yet the Nanavati commission said it is “not in a position to recommend any action against them except to the extent indicated earlier while assessing the evidence against them”.
Investigations by Civil Society & NGOs-
Numerous reports and investigations by civil society groups and eyewitness accounts have shown that such well-organized mass killings could not have happened without the complicity of the state. Shortly after the violence, a fact-finding team organized by two Indian human rights organizations, the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), published a report on its investigation into the cause of the Delhi riots, Who Are the Guilty? (click here) The groups concluded that the violence was the result 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.”
In January 1985, the nongovernmental organization Citizens for Democracy investigated the riots and concluded that the violence were not spontaneous but organized by members of the Congress Party. According to the report, (click here) the violence was “primarily meant to arouse passions of the majority community.”
In January 1985, the nongovernmental organization Citizens for Democracy investigated the riots and concluded that the violence were not spontaneous but organized by members of the Congress Party. According to the report, (click here) the violence was “primarily meant to arouse passions of the majority community.”
In 2004, ENSAAF, a Sikh rights organization, released Twenty Years of Impunity, (click here) once again documenting how senior political leaders, most visibly of the Congress Party, “carefully orchestrated the violence, providing for details such as deployment of mobs, weapons, and kerosene, as well as for the larger support and participation of the police.” The Congress Party was also able to use state machinery to facilitate the massacres such as using government buses to transport the mobs to where Sikhs lived, the report said.
Sexual Violence against Women -
Most investigations conducted
into the violence have been largely silent on violence against women. Very few
affidavits submitted to the various government commissions discussed it in any
detail. In many cases, women preferred to use euphemisms such as “humiliation”
or “dishonor” because of social stigma. According to the PUCL-PUDR report,
inquiries conducted by a senior police official revealed that “at least four
women, their ages ranging from 14 to 50, were gang raped. Later seven cases of
rape from Trilokpuri were officially reported by the J.P. Narayan Hospital,
Delhi.”
Even the earliest commissions had received affidavits from victims alleging rape but failed to probe any further. Padmi Kaur of Sultanpuri area, in her affidavit submitted to the Misra Commission, described an incident that took place on November 1 and named several people in the mob, including Congress leader Brahmanand Gupta:
After some time the mob arrived, broke open our door and came inside. They caught hold of my daughter Maina Kaur forcibly and started tearing her clothes….They broke the hands and feet of my daughter and kidnapped her. They confined her in their home for three days. I know some of the persons in the mob… Now my daughter Maina Kaur has fallen ill and has become like a mad girl.
The most detailed accounts of sexual abuse were recorded by Madhu Kishwar, the publisher of women’s magazine Manushi. Kishwar recorded the testimonies of several women from Trilokpuri, in east Delhi, the city’s worst-affected neighborhood. Kishwar published the story of Gurdip Kaur, a 45-year-old woman who said that her husband and her three sons were brutally murdered in front of her:
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.”
According to journalist Manoj Mitta, about 30 female Sikhs were abducted from Trilokpuri and held captive for over 24 hours at the nearby Chilla village. But there was no investigation and no victim received compensation.
Killing inside Trains -
The Nanavati
Commission had also received applications for summoning of records from
Ministry of Railways. During the 1984 riots, trains were stopped at many
places, Sikhs dragged out and killed. The Railway authorities stated that no
record was available because of the lapse of time. The Railway board further
stated, “it was not possible to furnish the required information in view of the
non availability of the full record”. The Commission instead of ferreting out
the truth relied on Railways’ reply and recorded: “after this material was
received, no one has made any grievance as regards the incidents at railway
stations or in trains”.
In an affidavit filed, before the Mishra
Commission, former Railways Minister Prof Madhu Dandvate who was travelling by
Rajdhani Express from Mumabi to Delhi on November 1, 1984 had siad, “When the
train reached the Tughlakabad station, on November 2 morning, a large number of
persons carrying iron rods shouted… no Sikh will be allowed to leave the train
alive… I found two Sikhs killed and thrown on the platform and then their dead
bodies were set on fire... The police standing on the platform made no efforts
to prevent either the killing or the burning of Sikhs. After sometime I found a
railway employee in blue uniform, who was a Sikh, came out of the station
master’s office. He was immediately surrounded by a crowd of outsiders on the
platform and was killed on the spot.” He further stated in his affidavit that
he discovered at least three more dead bodies of Sikhs lying in various
compartments.
Another FIR (355/84) states: “At about 12.30pm, Bombay Janta train stationed at railway station Tughlakabad… like this gang of village youths set fire to about 25/26 Sikh passengers by spraying kerosene oil on them. These passengers expired due to manhandling and the spraying of kerosene oil on them, whose half burnt dead bodies are lying here.” FIR No. 356 on the basis of a memo stated: “Please, arrange to remove 12 dead bodies lying on platform at Nangloi.” Further eight dead bodies were recovered from Bombay-Amritsar Deluxe. The official record suggested that 46 trains were forced to make unauthorised halts. The Mishra report stated that if the Railway Protection Force along with local police had worked properly these events would not have happened. Justice GT Nanavati was not available for comments. [ sources - Tehelka september,2005]
Another FIR (355/84) states: “At about 12.30pm, Bombay Janta train stationed at railway station Tughlakabad… like this gang of village youths set fire to about 25/26 Sikh passengers by spraying kerosene oil on them. These passengers expired due to manhandling and the spraying of kerosene oil on them, whose half burnt dead bodies are lying here.” FIR No. 356 on the basis of a memo stated: “Please, arrange to remove 12 dead bodies lying on platform at Nangloi.” Further eight dead bodies were recovered from Bombay-Amritsar Deluxe. The official record suggested that 46 trains were forced to make unauthorised halts. The Mishra report stated that if the Railway Protection Force along with local police had worked properly these events would not have happened. Justice GT Nanavati was not available for comments. [ sources - Tehelka september,2005]
Conclusions on part-1 - Tragically, after 35 years, justice is not done, it is denied bluntly. And there is a systematic pattern of gross miscarriage of justice by the successive Indian governments. In a riots like this, how the victims suppose to collect evidence against its rioters. The rule of law enshrined in the Constitution of India is subverted. The whole Government machinery apparatus is misused by then ruling party and legal process is undermined by various ways.
Those who died leaving behind hundreds of living victims never going to forget such events. These incidents suggest that the Indian society is still not progressed from its ancient primitive mindset. Blunt violence is used against the helpless innocent sikh peoples. The Indian society should take lesson from these tragic incidents and preventive measures should be introduced in future.
to Contd.. in Part-II
It was October 31, 1984. Walking to his house in Trilokpuri Block 32, Mansa Singh noticed the local butcher, Kishori Lal, skinning a lamb that hung from his shop’s ceiling. He thought nothing of it then. A day later, he watched the butcher using the same knife to chop off his son Darshan’s arms. Singh hid helplessly, paralysed behind a clothes line. He saw his sons dragged out of the house by Kishori Lal, who was leading a mob, saw them attacked with knives and iron rods. “I lost three sons in front of my eyes. They were cut to pieces and beaten to death with iron rods. I could not save my children. I don’t know why God has kept me alive. I don’t wish this on my worst enemies,” says 74-year-old Singh, sitting in a two-room flat in Tilak Vihar. Photographs of his three sons, his brother Kripal Singh and eldest daughter-in-law Amarti Kaur adorn the otherwise barren walls of the house - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/express-5-3081-cases-registered-in-1984-riots-only-49-were-handed-life-term-cm-fadnaviss-maiden-move-is-anti-graft/#sthash.YrMMWYBu.dpufDemocracy in India has got soaked in blood many times. Class violence apart, there have been cases of group/mob violence before 1984 and after. Assam’s Nellie massacre in 1983 was worse than the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. Post-Babri Masjid demolition, there was group violence in Mumbai in 1992, about which we have a report by the Srikrishna Commission of Inquiry. Then, in 2002, came the Gujarat pogrom, the cases related to which are still under investigation. Six years on, Orissa was the scene of murderous attacks on members of the Christian community. In all these incidents, mobs were successful in committing unspeakable atrocities on hapless victims. Worse, most culprits (very few actually convicted & many got acquitted due to lack evidence) including Members of parliament, MLAs, Local Political leaders are roaming free, with impunity.
