How did the state-sponsored Sikh Genocide happen in 1984?

“Almost as many Sikhs died in a few days in India in 1984 than all the deaths and disappearances in Chile during the 17-year military rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990,” wrote Barbara Crossette, New York Times.

In the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination on Oct 31, 1984, 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 in Delhi and an estimated eight thousand in other parts of the country. Around fifty thousand families were uprooted.

The streets of Delhi were echoing with “𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.” “𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.” “𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞.” Hundreds of dead bodies were cremated secretly.

“𝐍𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐠𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐧𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐠𝐢 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢”

was the motto.

Indira Gandhi was termed as Durga Maata and Sikhs were called traitors.

In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court was locked for four days while this blood bath was going on. Like the Gujarat pogrom, police tacitly approved the mass killings.

In Kotla Mubarak, a domestic help told the party workers of Gurchaan Singh Babbar that the police instigated the mob with statements like: “𝐖𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝟑𝟔 𝐡𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨? 𝐇𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥.”

The survivors in Kingsway Camp claimed that 70% of the loot from Sikh establishments could be found in the local police station. According to a report on Nanaksar relief camp, it is difficult to describe the brutality with which people were killed in 3 days. 150 Sikhs belonging to different families who took shelter in this camp were killed. There are 𝟕𝟐 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝟐𝟎–𝟒𝟓 from here alone.

There were three types of Congress workers who organised the massacre: 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐤𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥’ 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞.

School registers were searched to identify Sikh houses. Houses and other property were marked with alphabets X, D(D), and S in an operation akin to what Nazis did to establishments of Jews in Germany. Ration cards and voters’ lists were also obtained to identify houses.

Even more significant is the fact that in Trilokpuri, Mongolpuri, and Sultanpuri, local Congress party leaders led the killer mobs. These colonies were set up under the Congress party’s urbanisation programme, and the population here has since 1984 a solid support.