1984 Anti-Sikh Riots

1984 Anti-Sikh Riots

The 1984 Sikh Genocide or the 1984 Sikh Massacre was a pogrom directed against Sikhs in northern India, by Congress led mobs, in response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, there were more than 3,000 deaths. CBI is of the opinion that the acts of violence were well organized with support from the then Delhi police officials and the central government headed by Indira Gandhi's son, Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv, who was sworn in as the Prime Minister after his mother's death, when asked about the riots said "when a big tree falls, the earth shakes".

In the 1970s, during the Indian Emergency imposed by Indira, thousands of Sikhs campaigning for autonomous government were imprisoned. The sporadic violence continued as a result of an armed Sikh separatist group which was designated as a terrorist entity by the government of India. In June 1984, during Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to secure the Golden Temple and eliminate any insurgents, as it had been occupied by Sikh Separatists who were stockpiling weapons. Later operations by Indian paramilitary forces were initiated to clear the separatists from the countryside of Punjab. Even today many Sikhs perceive the actions as an assault on their religion and rights.

The violence in Delhi was triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Prime-minister of India, on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards in response to her actions authorising the military operation. The Government of India reported 2,700 deaths in the ensuing chaos. In the aftermath of the pogrom, the Government of India reported 20,000 had fled the city, however the PUCL reported "at least" 1,000 displaced persons. The most affected regions were the Sikh neighbourhoods in Delhi. Human rights organisations and newspapers across India believe the massacre was organised. The collusion of political officials in the massacres and the Judiciary's failure to penalize the killers alienated normal Sikhs and increased support for the Khalistan movement. The Akal Takht, the governing religious body of Sikhism, considers the killings to be a genocide.

In 2011, Human Rights Watch reported the Government of India had "yet to prosecute those responsible for the mass killings". The 2011 WikiLeaks cable leaks revealed that the United States was convinced about the complicity of Indian Government ruled by the Indian National Congress in the pogrom, and termed it as "opportunism" and "hatred" of the Congress government against Sikhs. Also in 2011, a new set of mass graves were discovered in Haryana, and Human Rights Watch reported that "Widespread anti-Sikh attacks in Haryana were part of broader revenge attacks" in India.