Extrajudicial Execution In Punjab

In October of 1987 the "war without quarter" against the Sikh separatist threat began in Punjab. At that time the elected state government of Punjab was dismissed, ostensibly for its failure to safeguard Hindus from Sikh militant attacks, and Punjab was brought under President's Rule. The dismissal of the government was preceded by a significant public exchange between Finance Minister Balwant Singh and Mr. Julio Ribeiro, the Director General of Police of Punjab, during which the latter was accused of upholding an extrajudicial approach to tackling the separatist militancy. Ribeiro responded by alleging that the elected ministers and legislators were offering tacit support to separatist militants. The dismissal of the elected Punjab government and the adoption of an iron-fisted strategy against separatism marked the beginning of the erosion of democracy in Punjab in favour of a counterinsurgency that would infringe upon the human rights of all the Sikhs even though only a small proportion of them were involved in any way in the independence movement. Julio Ribeiro's tenure as DGP Punjab was followed by those of K.P.S. Gill and P.C. Dogra, who both chose to continue the "war without quarter" against militancy, whatever the repercussions in terms of civilian lives lost.

Ram Narayan Kumar had been personal witness to the atrocities committed against Sikhs in New Delhi during the orchestrated pogroms following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in November 1984. His outrage in the face of these pogroms, during which at least several thousand Sikhs were brutally massacred, led to his involvement in the organization of relief camps for survivors. As an eyewitness, he was also able to observe the radical disjunction between Indian government reports about the "riots" and the realities of the horrors that had been purposefully perpetrated against the Delhi Sikhs. Noting the increasing prejudice against the Sikhs, who form a 2% minority in India, he despaired of justice being done in the matter of the anti-Sikh pogroms, and he determined to find out for himself what was happening in the state of Punjab and why some of the Sikhs had turned to militancy.

When reports of police atrocities amidst the escalation of Sikh separatist violence became a regular part of the news from Punjab by about 1988, Kumar began to travel around the state to investigate. During those travels, he came into close contact with many who had suffered illegal detention, interrogation under torture, custodial rape, and other atrocities. He also met the relatives of individuals who had been eliminated in police custody and the relatives of others who were simply whisked away from their homes and workplaces, never to reappear. Because the right to life is the basic human right from which all others derive, Kumar felt that the increasing number of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances in Punjab was a key indicator of the status of democracy there. Everyone knew that these executions and disappearances were becoming a common part of life by the late 1980's, but documented evidence of them was hard to come by. In the absence of this evidence, it was very difficult to bring charges against the Indian state or to highlight the problem internationally. The Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab, as well as other human rights groups, tried to publicize what was going on in Punjab, but it suffered a crisis of legitimacy because many of the allegations were difficult to substantiate and because India as a whole appeared to be committed to the notion of "war without quarter", in the interests of national security - however contrary to the founding principles of the Indian nation. Cries of foul play in Punjab fell on deaf ears.

Meanwhile Cynthia Mahmood was in the process of interviewing survivors of torture, custodial rape and other abuses who had fled as refugees to the West. Many were granted political asylum as governments of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries recognized the pattern of abuse that in India itself was heavily muted.

When estimates of extra judicially executed or disappeared Sikhs started reaching into the thousands or even tens of thousands, and as reputable international human rights organizations reported the prevalence of torture and illegal detention in Punjab, an attempt was made to suggest that these atrocities were primarily due to local police who remained outside of the effective control of the government. Allegations of police corruption and ill-treatment of citizens have always been a part of life in India and the chaotic quality of the criminal justice system certainly played a key role in the development of the pattern of extensive abuse that formed in Punjab. As Kumar and other human rights workers tried to collect what evidence they could about atrocities, however, the response of the Indian state itself gave lie to the suggestion that all would be well in India if only the police forces could be brought under control. The law in India in fact accommodated to, buttressed, and furthered the pattern of atrocities against Sikh citizens that had evolved in Punjab. Minimal human rights were being abrogated in "the world's largest democracy."

We now briefly consider legal developments in India that, rather than constraining abuses, exacerbated them.