Punjab Insurgency - Anti-Sikh Massacre

Anti-Sikh Massacre

The Operation Bluestar inflamed the Sikh community. Many saw it as an attack on their religion and beliefs.

On 31 October 1984, the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her two Sikh bodyguards. In the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination, rioting mobs allegedly led by Congress leaders, who are still facing the court cases, rampaged through the streets of Delhi and other parts of India over the next few days, killing several thousand Sikhs. The police "worked to destroy a lot of the evidence about who was involved with the killings by refusing to record First Information Reports" Hundreds more were refused because the victims wanted to name Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar, HKL Bhagat and Jagdish Tytler. Human Rights Watch reports "In the months following the killings, the government sought no prosecutions or indictments of any persons, including officials, accused in any case of murder, rape or arson." Hundreds of murders are yet to be even registered by police. The New Delhi Police was reported to be doing nothing to stop the rioting, as was the state and central government. It was only after three days of rioting in the capital of the country that army was called in to restore order. As violence rose, Punjabi Hindus were killed in retaliation and flee their home state Punjab.