Ghalughara 1984:
Massacre Of Sikhs & Indian Justice System

Dimpy Gurvinder Singh, Sikh Review, November 2003

Going by the dictionary meanings, what followed after the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31st Oct.,1984 was indeed a brutal and premeditated slaughter of the Sikhs. The incidents which followed were definitely “a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd.” In this case the mobs were Congress goons, in particular the scrum of the Hindu community. Even as the police stood by as mute (even bemused) witnesses and the government stubbornly refused to call the army, the mobs killed and burnt Sikh males and indulged in unspeakable orgy unhindered by the authority.

What followed the assassination could be described as ‘mayhem’ too, since there was “violent disorder” for some five days - until foreign dignitaries started arriving for the state funeral of the slain prime minister.

But reality is that what happened in 1984 was not just a riot, mayhem or of riotous nature but was much, much, much more than a mere riot or mayhem or being riotous!

Recall the partition days in 1947 which were of a purely riotous type and terming it as riots or the Partition Riots was appropriate. What normally happens in a riot……..crowds or groups of armed people attack each other, I repeat each other, in an offensive way and the one with more manpower and might and arms comes out alive. One group of people attacks the other group and clashes take place on both sides with casualties too on both the warring sides. Besides, there is looting, damage to properties, rape and arson observed in a riot.

Now coming to those Demonic Days starting from the evening of 31st October and culminating on 4th November, 1984 - the events which followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi - were attacks by only one side, i.e., by the Non-Sikh community, in particular the Hindus. So definitely labelling it as only a riot would not do justice and in fact would connote that even the Sikhs behaved in an equally frenzied manner like the Non-Sikh attackers. But this was not the case! It was only from the 4th or late of 3rd of Nov., especially in some Sikh dominated pockets of Delhi, that the Sikhs were able to fortify themselves to fight back and that also with the sole motive only to defend themselves or in saving their families lives. Besides, the Sikhs while defending their lives never resorted to looting, rapes or damage to properties. Whereas the attackers belonging to the majority community resorted to mass scale looting of houses and shops, rape of Sikh girls and women, arson and frenzied killing like for example, garlanding tyres on the necks of the Sikh males and pouring kerosene and lighting it. And with what precision the looters managed to reach the Sikh homes and business establishments, definitely a pre-planned scheme of the Congress leaders who worked in close co-ordination with the district and state and city level offices of the then Government in power.

Now the question arises, “If 1984 happenings in Oct-Nov in India were not solely riots or mayhem, then what were they?”

Was it a slaughter?

Innocent Sikh boys, men and elders were killed in large numbers in a cruel or violent way, going by the definition of slaughter as mentioned above. In fact the killings were so brutal that one can only describe the incidents as a ‘massacre’ going by its word meaning in the Dictionary as: “a brutal slaughter of a large number of people.”

Yes, indeed, 1984 was a massacre and since it was an organized massacre to a large extent, the appropriate term to describe the happenings would be a “POGROM”……… to coin it perfectly - so while describing or discussing anything to do with any related incidents like for example, the ongoing news being flashed by the media on:

“Victims of the 1984 riots….Five widows willing to immolate themselves…”

should in fact be discussed as ….”Victims of the 1984 Pogrom of Sikhs……..Five widows willing to immolate themselves…”

It is the press and the media which has been responsible for labelling it wrongly since November 1984…..was it upon the insistence of the Congress leaders then in power? Definitely the photographers and the reporters who were covering the brutal killings in Nov. 1984 must have seen the helplessness of the defending Sikhs and how could they do justice to their profession by terming it as riots when to the mute witnesses it was nothing short of an organized massacre or pogrom.

Furthermore, it was the media-hype which fuelled the massacre to unimaginable levels of butchery and savagery. And what to comment upon the immature and untimely words uttered by the elder son of the assassinated prime minister which flashed all over at periodical intervals in the T.V. news channels as well as printed in newspapers the next day by all the newspapers in India. This person, named Rajiv Gandhi, who took over the reins of India, in a hereditary fashion, uttered, “ When a great tree falls down, the earth is bound to tremble and havoc is created!” These very words further emboldened the ministers in power to resort to a Sikh man-hunt the type of which one had read in Sikh history books when the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb had issued a similar command only 300 years ago.

And it is due to this wrong labelling that even today the press even in Punjab is seen quoting the organized massacre or pogrom as a riot.

It was the duty of the leaders of Akal Takht, the S.G.P.C and the Akali Dal party to have spoken boldly on this issue but it seemed that they too were dumb-struck and filled with so much fear in their hearts that their “bolti band ho gayee” !

The purpose of raising this tragic heart-tearing or poignant topic of 1984 in the net after nearly 18 ½ years is four-fold:-

1. To give the correct label to it so that the reality be known to the present as well as to the future generations and the history books all over India be accordingly rectified.

2. A long gap of 18 ½ years tends to make one go to sleep and in this sleep one slackens and loosens the preparedness required to thwart such probable attempts in the future seeing the changing democratic colours of India into Hindutva politics by the B.J.P. backed R.S.S. ……..So the purpose is to awaken from slumber the Sikhs and check if their houses are in order.

3. Correct labelling of the incidents would bring not only the Sikh masses but also the Non-Sikh educated public into awareness and in this awareness one’s willingness and eagerness to help those affected by the ‘1984 Pogrom of the Sikhs’ would climax into actions and positive results.

4. To find out whether justice has been given to the massacred and the surviving widows and children and to the Sikh community in general in the sense that {a} have the culprits been arrested and put to trial {b} has compensation been given to the survivors? {c} has the Congress leadership, the present government in power and other political parties so connected then in Nov. 1984 apologized to the Sikh masses?

A newly born child before the ‘1984 Pogrom of the Sikhs’ or the growing child in the mother’s womb at that time would be now around 18 to 20 years old and the newly- wed Sikh mothers who survived the attacks would be in their late thirties or early forties.

Probable questions looming at large in each and every reader would be :

1. What is the present economic and social condition of those grown-up children and the widows?

2. Has the widow been able to provide reasonable education to her surviving children ?

3. Has the widow become self-reliant and economically independent?

4. Has the children of the widows been absorbed into some profession or business or calling?

The most prime question is : - “ After the ‘1984 Pogrom of the Sikhs’, was a list of those families affected prepared city and town and village wise by the Singh Sabhas under the S.G.P.C. and the local Gurdwara Committees?

Has a list of those massacred been put to record?

If such a list has already been prepared , then we Sikhs have the right to demand the list to be made public and whatever monetary compensations and help been provided to them in the aftermath be also revealed. This would help in providing transparency as to whether justice has been given to those affected and accordingly different Sikh organizations as well as the local Gurdwaras can chalk out necessary plans of action and help required further in this matter by those widows and their surviving children.

As far as the city of Kolkata and suburbs was concerned, there were 10 deaths reported but I am unaware as to the fact whether anything was done for those 10 affected families! At that time I was posted at Bombay and I considered myself to be one of those lucky ones to have come out unscathed in the aftermath of the assassination and that was all I thought at that time. But now after 18 ½ years of surviving what could have been my last days in November 1984, I realize God’s play in this since now I have woken up to the glaring phrase of “Better late than Never!

Is Chardi Kala a thing of the past?

Was fighting injustice only the prerogative of the Sikh Gurus only?

Is Sarbat da Bhala only to be read in the ardas?

Is the martial character of the Sikhs dying?

Does not the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji ring the music of ‘Human rights and Sacrifice’ in one’s ears?

Is there any organization of the Sikhs propagating Human Rights?

Remembering November 1984 and duly conducting its post-mortem, we Sikhs have to question ourselves, “What exactly are we looking for?”

We Sikhs have to wake up to the fact that not much is going to be done by the government in power because, at one time or the other, any leader now belonging to any political party once upon a time originally belonged to the Congress and changed parties and so naturally with the culprits being the Congress leaders at one time or the other, then to whom do we look for help or support? If anything has to be done it has to be with the collective efforts of the Sikh Diaspora all over the world and this is where each and every one of us has to work hand in hand.

Just remembering 1984 won’t do! While reminiscing the tragic deaths of our Sikh brothers, material losses incurred by their families and the psychological trauma the survivors have gone through, one’s compassionate powers should well up tremendously within one’s hearts to goad us to ponder over their welfare and thus resort to actions deemed necessary.

What course of action can be taken up by us :-

1. Those victimized children now adults, who are not economically well placed, be provided with Scholarships to pursue higher professional education whether in India or abroad.

2. Those victimized children, now adults, can be sponsored or maybe adopted by the various Sikh families who are well-off and economically better positioned so that they can be absorbed into some job or can be helped to settle down in some business or profession.

3. The victimized widows can be similarly given economic support to stand up on their own feet and become economically self-reliant so that they can live in peace and honor and self-respect for the rest of their lives.

4. Arranging for the re-marriage of the widows, if possible.

5. Mandatory Martial Arts & Self-defense Training cum gym exercising be imparted through the various Gurdwaras all over the world and all male and female Sikhs be encouraged to go through this. Besides keeping our generations physically fit, it would be a deterring life-risk factor to any probable attacker daring to touch any Sikh, whether male or female.
   
   Why I have chosen Gurdwaras is that Sikhs already have the infrastructure available in the shape that land and buildings are readily available and all we have to do is provide with the latest gym equipment and trained instructors in Martial Arts. This will attract all the youngsters to the Gurdwaras and indirectly attendance and involvement of all shall increase which is the urgent need of the hour.
   
   Besides, the Gurdwaras can also become centers of vocational training for the women in order to earn their livelihood which can cover point number 3 as mentioned above.
   
   Did not Guru Hargobind Ji start imparting fighting techniques to his followers ? …..And did not Guru Har Rai Ji encourage physical exercises by promoting wrestling or kushti as it is widely popular in India even today?…… Why so? ….In order that when the need or occasion arises , every Sikh should be physically fit to defend himself/herself as well as defend others. The only difference one finds in comparison today is that latest equipment which one finds in gyms and exercise centers were lacking in the times of the Gurus and were they available during our Gurus times, then do you think our Gurus would not have adopted them?

6. Guru Gobind Singh Ji had enjoined his Sikhs to compulsorily wear kirpans on their bodies in order to protect one’s own as well as that of others in times of injustice meted out by the oppressors as well as for defending the freedom to follow one’s own religious belief.

All those slaughtered or massacred during 1984……..were they wearing kirpans?

Kirpan is one of the Five K’s and is an article of the Sikh faith and considered as one of the precious gifts of our beloved Guru.

Did they know that it was not just an accessory of the Sikh but it was a weapon too which a Sikh can take the use of to defend one’s own life, if required? Definitely to use the kirpan as a weapon of defense, the said kirpan on the body of a Sikh should be of a reasonable size, sharp and razor-like and not blunt making it useless! This means that Sikhs have to regularly sharpen their kirpans and know the art of using it and not just keep on wearing it as a matter of habit.

It is a mockery to our Tenth Guru by those Sikh ladies and gents who keep an ornamental tiny-sized kirpan by attaching it to their joora { knot of hair tied on top/back of head } or putting it around their necks as an amulet of charm, convenience and display.

Besides, were the three foot kirpans, which one normally finds in the prayer-rooms of the Sikhs where our Sri Guru Granth Sahib is kept, in sufficient numbers in every Sikh house-hold in the sense that was one for every elder member in the Sikh family readily available?

Now the most important question is:

“How can the above first four points of action as mentioned above be arranged and provided for?”

It is very unlikely that a corpus has been created by the S.G.P.C. and the local Gurdwaras for those affected by the ‘November 1984 Pogrom of the Sikhs’!

If not, then a corpus, say under the name of “1984 Pogrom of Sikhs Survivors’ Rehabilitation Foundation”, be created with proper guidelines framed and accordingly, upon receiving applications from those desirous to receive aid be granted the same upon proper scrutiny and verifying the authenticity of the applicant. The same can be disbursed through agencies created in the main metropolitan cities of India working in close co-ordination with the active local Sikh organizations and the local Gurdwara Committees.