Writers And Journalists Summed Up "The Bloody 1984"

"On 4 June, a day of pilgrims for Sikhs when thousands had gathered at Golden Temple, army tanks moved in to the Temple Complex, smashing into the sanctum and shooting everyone in sight...Those left alive were then prevented from leaving the building, many wounded were left to bleed to death and when they begged for water, Army Jawans told them to drink the mixture of blood and urine on the floor...Some 3000 dead, including many who were only unconscious were piled high in trucks and removed. Four months later no list of casualties or missing persons had yet been issued....Then came the army occupation of Punjab with frequent humiliations, arrests and killing of Sikhs by soldiers. It caused a feeling voiced by many ordinary people who had never before been separatists that India was a Hindu government and the Sikhs could not be safe there."

"As for anti-Sikh feeling, the word 'Sikh' had 'terrorist' became almost synonymous in the government controlled media and in the speeches of politicians. The storming of the Golden at Amritsar was reported by most national papers and radio and television in a shamelessly biased fashion."

"...travelling by train was not safe for Sikhs in many states of India. They would be dragged out of compartments...by India Army soldiers, insulted, interrogated and sometimes beaten up."

Amrit Wilson. New Statesman, 16 November 1984

"Khushwant Singh, India's be told us....'This is the first uprising of Hindus against Sikhs. I can tell you, it's not a very nice feeling sitting here waiting for the mob'...In view of the murderous attacks by Hindu mobs on Sikh train passengers ...Travelling is too dangerous. Sikh drivers have been pulled from taxis, buses and lorries, and beaten up or killed. Sikh temples have been attacked and Sikh shops have been looted."

Robin Lusting, Shyam Bhatia. The Observer, 4 November 1984

"On the night that Mrs. Gandhi's death was announced, October 31, Congress Party workers spread out among the new colonies across the Jamuna severing, delivering a combination of drink and fiery anarchy, but they are also alleged to have included two or three of the MPs...as well as a member of Rajiv Gandhi's new cabinet...Trilopuri's Hindu say at least five lorries left the settlement piled high with bodies, while others were reduced to ashes on the spot."

Ian Jack, Talveen Singh. The Sunday Times, 11 November 1984

"By late in this week the death toll stood at more than 1,000 in Delhi alone, most of them Sikhs, with perhaps several thousand dead and injured in the country as a whole. Horror stories poured in from all over the nation."

Melinda Beck, Edward Behar. Newsweek, 12 November 1984

"While the police looked the other way, vigilante bandits attacked Sikhs, burned their beards, destroyed their homes or shops, then moved on to look for more...Indeed, the trains arriving in Delhi last week with battered bodies of murdered Sikhs were reminiscent of the "trains of death...."

Pico Lyre, Dean Breklis. Time, 21 November 1984