Source: SikhLens



1984 Anti-Sikh Pogroms took place in India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh guards acting in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar.

Over the next four days nearly 3000 Sikhs were massacred in systematic riots planned and led by Congress activists and sympathizers. The then Congress government was widely criticized for doing very little at the time, if not acting as a conspirator, especially since voting lists were used to identify Sikh families.

The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi allegedly made a statement emphasizing the importance of his mother, while discounting the death of thousands, “When a big tree falls, the earth is bound to shake” on the Sikh carnage. His widow, Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Congress Party, officially apologized in 1998 for the events of November, 1984.

The Devil Of evil on people

It is alleged that the anti-Sikh violence were conducted at the behest of the Congress party who actually instigated masses. Many ordinary Indians of different religious dispositions made significant efforts to hide and help Sikh families as outlined in affidavits of Sikh victims and have been active in seeking appropriate justice.

Incident

On November 1, 1984, a huge mob from the suburbs of Delhi descended on various localities where mainly Sikh were concentrated. They were armed with iron rods, knives, clubs and some carried combustible materials, including kerosene. They had voters’ lists of houses and business establishments belonging to Sikhs. The mobsters swarmed into Sikh homes brutally killing men, women and children. Their houses and shops were then ransacked and burned. The most affected regions were neighborhoods in Delhi, but in and out of Delhi, crazed mobs stopped buses and trains, pulling out Sikh passengers who were lynched or doused with kerosene and burned alive.

Timeline

9:20 AM: Indira Gandhi shot by two of her sikh security guards at her residence, No. 1 Safdarjung Road, and rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Around 10:50 AM: Indira Gandhi dies. [5][6]

11:00 AM: All India Radio listeners learn that two security guards who shot Indira Gandhi were Sikhs.

4:00 PM: Rajiv Gandhi returns from West Bengal and reaches AIIMS. Stray incidents of attacks in and around that area.

5:30 PM: The motorcade of President Zail Singh, who returned from a foreign visit, was stoned as it approached AIIMS. Late Evening and Night: Mobs fanned out in different directions from AIIMS. The violence against Sikhs spread, starting in the neighboring constituency of Congress Councillor Arjun Das. The violence included destruction of Sikh properties and takes place even in VIP areas such as in the vicinity of Prithviraj Road.

Shortly after Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in, senior advocate and opposition leader, Ram Jethmalani, met Home Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao and urged him to take immediate steps to save Sikhs from further attacks. Delhi’s Lt. Governor, P.G. Gavai and Police Commissioner, S.C. Tandon, visited some of the violence affected areas. But no precautionary follow -up action was initiated. It was also alleged that Rajiv Gandhi deliberately delayed in calling in the Army, a move which many believe could have saved the lives of many.

On the night of October 31st and morning of November 1st, several Congress leaders allegedly held meetings and mobilized support to launch a full scale assault against Delhi’s Sikhs.

Source Sikhi Wiki