“Though
we boast of being the world’s largest democracy and the Delhi being its
national capital, the sheer mention of the incidents of 1984 anti-Sikh riots
in general and the role played by Delhi Police and state machinery in
particular makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity.”
|
-Delhi High Court in its verdict on anti-Sikh riots related
case in 2009
Whatever happened during 31 October-3 November,1984 is a big
shame on the so-called democracy of India. What’s more shameful is direct
involvement of the government and administration in directly executing the
genocide of Sikhs. More to the disgust of the victims was the strange
justifications by Rajiv Gandhi and other senior leaders of Congress. A cover up
that has lasted 27 years, even after formation of 10 commissions, none of the
guilty has been punished.
Precisely 27 years ago, on
a day very much like this at about 1:30pm All India Radio declared the then Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi dead. Spotnews announce Mrs. Gandhi's assailants as two
Sikhs and one clean shaven Sikh. In the days that followed, Sikhs, for the
first time in independent India, felt like Jews in Nazi Germany, as mobs of
rioters ran riot, setting upon Sikhs, who, by their distinctive turbans and
beards, were easy targets. Sikhs were beaten and burnt alive all around Delhi
and many other places in the country. Women were gang raped. Even the children
were not spared. What was more, the congress shamelessly called this “planned
genocide of Sikhs” just riots. To further salt the wounds of the victims,
Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s elder son and the country’s next PM blatantly
justified the violence at a Boat Club rally 19-days after the assassination of
Indira Gandhi, as “Some riots took place in the country following the
murder of Indira ji. We know the people were very angry and for a few days it
seemed that India had been shaken. But, when a mighty tree falls, it is only
natural that the earth around it does shake a little.” And when that
tree did shook, it claimed lives of 2733 Sikhs in Delhi alone and much more in
the other parts of the country. According to the government, about 20,000 Sikhs
fled the city but to Rajiv Gandhi that was mere shaking of earth. Again in an
interview to the Sunday Magazine (March 16, 1985) he justified the massacre
saying that that "the violence was extensive only in those areas
where Sikhs distributed sweets". He even opposed a judicial
inquiry into the events. No wonder even today Sonia is totally silent and it
was left to her stooge PM Manmohan Singh to shed crocodile tears.
As about the statements by Rajiv Gandhi, a joint report by PUDR and PUCL says, “the attacks on members of the Sikh Community in Delhi and its suburbs during the period, far from being a spontaneous expression of "madness" and of popular "grief and anger" at Mrs. Gandhi's assassination as made out to be by the authorities, were the outcome of a well organized 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.”
Moreover, following the
affidavits filed by the victims as well as journalists a clearer picture has
emerged, that an organized pogrom was carried out, with all the state’s
apparatus at its disposal. Weapons such as iron rods, kerosene oil and special
combustible chemicals were widely in use. Delhi Municipal Corporation buses
were used to ferry the mobs around. The police on hand was to ensure the
massacre was an orderly affair. And then later a judiciary that was all too
willing to cover up the crime in order to save leading members of the ruling
party i.e. Congress (I) and senior police officers. A cover up that remains in
place, despite formation of 10 commissions over 27 years. Also, the much
hyped Nanavati Commission report has mostly served as an eye wash and even the
limited accusations have been dismissed by the Congress Action Taken Report
(ATR), tabled in the Parliament. And only when there was an outburst by the
Sikh community and fear of losing their power in Punjab and seats in many
Sikh-dominated constituencies, did they make the killers Jagdish Tytler and
Sajjan Kumar resign. That too, after making statements of their innocence. The
Nanavati Report concludes that the violence was "organised" and
"involved the backing and help of influential and resourceful
persons", but then goes on to state that there is "absolutely no
evidence" to show high-ranking Congress leaders were involved. Even on
those well known to have instigated the pogrom the Nanavati Commission is
vague, saying that they were "probably" involved. On the police that
openly collaborated with the rioters the Report says merely that they were negligent
and "probably" connived in the attack.
Events leading to the 1984 genocide:-
The
Indian media, controlled heavily by the government at that time, made out that
these were mere ‘communal’ riots. While the assassination of Indira Gandhi was said
to be the reason for the killing of Sikhs in Delhi and around, it is of grave
necessity to analyze the events that certainly were the causes of Indira
Gandhi’s death. The event that triggered the assassination of the Indian Prime Minister took place 5
months earlier. The operation by the Indian Army code-named Operation Bluestar,
began on 1st June, 1984. Up to 1,50,000 Indian Army troops were sent
to the state of Punjab, equipped with helicopter gunships and tanks. The army
went on to crush the separatist movement of Khalistan, leaving about 1592
civilians and separatists dead.
The question that
arouse is, Was the Operation Bluestar
carried out by the Indian Army was just an act to suppress the
separatist movement of Khalistan?
“The army went into
Darbar Sahib(Golden Temple) not to eliminate a political figure or a political
movement but to suppress the culture of the people, to attack their heart, to
strike a blow at their spirit and self-confidence.”
-
Joyce
J.M Pettigrew, The Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of State and Guerrilla
Violence(1995)
All separatist movements are result of the centralized structure of India:-
India being a multi-national, multi-lingual and multi-cultural country where different ethnicities have flourished, evolved and even assimilated into mainstream Indian culture yet always retained its identity owing to various geographical terrains and different forms of historical formations. Hence, it is vital that to respect this socio historic fact and maintain unity among various communities along with inherent dignity, India must adopt a genuine federal structure upholding the basic principle of democratic decentralization whereas, the Constitution of India mentions India as a union of states whereby the powers are distributed between centre and the state governments. India as mentioned by the eminent jurists is Quasi-federal i.e. neither unitary nor federal. A simple analysis of the Indian Constitution will make it ample clear to anyone that the Constitution provides the Central government with overarching powers and concentrates administrative and financial powers in its hands. With the centre having much more power in its hands, the states have always been treated as its sub-ordinates not equals. Thus, leading to discrimination with states by the central government. The dominance of Congress at centre and in the states till the late 60s has resulted in a drive towards centralization. The history of federalism and Centre-state relations in India is marked by intermittent struggle to fashion a more federal set-up. Yet such efforts have not resulted in any major constitutional changes towards a more federal orientation. There have been separatist movements in North-East(Nagaland, Manipur, Assam), Kashmir, Punjab and many other states only because of the repression on minorities and lack of genuine democratic decentralization.
In the 1967 general
elections the Congress party, for the
first time lost in nine states and non-Congress state governments came into
being. The demand for restructuring of
Centre-state relations picked up momentum.
The political response of the ruling party at the Centre under Mrs.
Gandhi’s leadership was a manoeuvre to regain the lost political ground and
pursue policies designed to centralize more powers at the Centre both political
and economic. The 70s and 80s, therefore, saw a tussle between the Congress and
fascist forces on the one hand and the regional and Left parties on the other
for greater power to the states. Due to these movements the states tried to
challenge the power of centre and as a result the centre too got aggressive.
Minority issue in India
has certainly a great political relevance. After the independence Sikhs are not
the only minority who has suffered rather all minorities be it the Muslims or
Christians or be it any minority based
on caste or linguistics. Neither of the political parties has got a clean hand
in this issue. The Sikh genocide at the hands of Congress in Delhi or the
massacre in Punjab during and before the Operation Blue Star or the Gujarat
genocide of Muslims by the Narendra Modi led BJP government or be it the riots
in Kandhamal, where it were the Christians on the receiving end, the
minorities had been mostly on the receiving end. The growth of fundamentalist
fascist forces has been a real threat to the Indian democracy. These fascist
forces should be isolated from the society.
Federal
Structure and the Punjab Movement:-
In
Punjab also due to the discrimination by the centre government, a movement for
federal reforms was going on, so as to give the state powers, which will make
it much more independent from the centre. The movement was first led by Akali
Dal which presented its document namely the Anandpur Resolution on the very
issue of the Centre-State relations. In the Anandpur Resolution provisions were
there so as to make India a federal state. The movement which gained momentum
due to the discriminatory policies of the centre was very much in the
Constitutional provisions. The movement gained popular support as it
supported a genuine cause, a people’s issue. The movement further strengthened
after the imposition of emergency as it was further a step by the Indira Gandhi
led central government towards state fascism. The movement gathered much
support from the peasants of the state as the peasantry was going through a
period of crisis. And because most of the peasantry in Punjab belong to Sikh
community, the movement sort of start attaining communal colours. As the
oppression from the state continued on, the separatists in Punjab started going
outside the constitutional provisions to attain their objectives. No doubt the
Sikhs always had a different identity and every minority has the very right to
preserve their identity and culture but religion alone could not form the basis
for a separate nation, while demanding the separate state, the Punjab
separatist movement should have recognized the Punjabi nationality as whole and
not only a Sikh nation which is historically incorrect. In conclusion it can
be said that the separatist movement in Punjab originated from the very fault
in the policy of the centre government, whose stress should had been on making
India more federal rather they tried to make it completely unitary, more
towards state fascism.
The separatist
movement which ended up leading to the genocide of Sikhs in Delhi, and further
10 dark years which the people of Punjab could never forget. Thousands of youth
lost their lives during those years(there is no official record) and thousands
went missing(or killed), the police on the name of countering separatists
killed innocent youth. The arrogance of Centre to have control over state has
taken lives of so many. It has killed lakhs, may it be the Kashmiris or the
people of North-East, or be it the killing of Sikhs during Bluestar or may it
be the people of Telangana suffering at the hands of centre. Even today the
drive to centralize the powers has not stopped, recently the Communal Violence
Bill introduced is also against the federal norms. The bill is being severely
criticized by the state governments and the demand for better federal structure
is in the air again. In the Indian federal system, the states are like the
servants of the centre not equals. There is desperate need to make the setup
more federal and give states enough powers so that they can live on their own.
The Anandpur Sahib Resolution, Sarkaria Commission were steps in this
direction. These documents have points which would bring the states at par with
the centre. Also, to protect the culture of states and the people it is very
necessary. So, it’s our demand that provisions should be brought into the
Indian constitution to make India a federal entity rather than just a union of
states. The Right to Self Determination which is recognized by the United
Nations Third Generational Human Rights should be given to the communities because if
we want to keep India as one it can’t be done by sheer force.
Justice for the victims of 1984 and all other communal violence:-
Names of many senior congress leaders and senior police officials has been given by the survivors in their affidavits to the Nanavati Commission. All those leaders (Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler etc.) and all others who incited the mob and themselves took part in planning and killing the Sikhs should be punished by law. Relief that should have been provided to the victims of ’84 has not been provided yet. As an aware and responsible citizen, we all must come forward to isolate such fascist forces from the society so as to have communal harmony between different communities and we must crush them ruthlessly in order to have a healthy democracy. At last but not least, we appeal the masses to organize, agitate and force the govt. to create a genuine federal structure on the lines of democratic decentralization. Only then other ‘84s can be prevented. Also, justice must prevail in all other cases of communal violence’s like Godhra, Kandhamal etc.
STUDENTS FOR SOCIETY
(SFS) IS ORGANIZING AN OPEN PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON THE SAME ISSUE. ALL ARE
INVITED TO PARTICIPATE.
DATE: 15
NOVEMBER,2011 TIME: 2:30 PM VENUE:
English Department Canteen, Panjab University
Contact us at: Amandeep 9463154024, 9779026124 www.studentsforsociety.co.in