By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |
A Sacramento university genocide conference, which discussed the history of genocide in Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia, and Armenia, for the first time trained their eyes on the human rights violations by the Indian state, recognising the little known India’s 1984 Sikh Genocide.
The three-day Sacramento State University (SSU) conference, which ended on Nov 16, heard that no justice ever occurred for the 1984 Genocide victims, despite the Indian government putting up ten commissions to investigate the horrific events.
“As we all know, justice delayed is justice denied,” Colonel G.B Singh said during a panel discussion entitled ‘Remembering 1984: Voices from the Diasporic Sikh Community‘. He was joined by Dr. Amrik Singh from Sacremento’s California State University and Dr Gurinder Singh Grewal.
The 6th International Conference on Genocide was organised by the Department Of Ethnic Studies & The Model UN Program at SSU.
Kanika Singh, the director of Centre for Writing and Communication at India-based Ashoka University, made an online presentation entitled “Sikh Memorials for Atrocities: Remembering 1984 in India”, according to the programme published here.
The three-day Sacramento State University conference, which ended on Nov 16, also featured former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who declared that “the cry of ‘never again’ must be upheld by future generations,” something he sees happening in Indonesia.
SBY, as he is populary known, served as president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. Indonesia experiecned large-scale killings and civil unrest primarily targeting members and supposed sympathisers of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) from 1965 to 1966.
In a report published at its website, the conference promoters noted that the event paid particular attention to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and included sessions discussing California’s dark genocidal past against Native Americans.
Most significantly, they recognised India’s 1984 Sikh Genocide, an atrocity of which most historians know very little, it added.
In a special Saturday morning session, it noted that Dr. Amrik, Dr. Gurinder and Colonel Dr. G.B. traced the history of the targeted persecution of Sikhs in India. They explained how, since its birth in the 1500s, Sikhism has stood against India’s caste system and fought to create safe spaces for people of all races, religions, and social standing. More often than not, this has conflicted with the beliefs of the ruling powers, who have, in turn, tried to prevent Sikh communities from thriving. On multiple occasions, this has led to all-out genocide.
Dr. Grewal traced, in painful detail, the events directly leading up to the 1984 Sikh Genocide. He blamed Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India at the time. “She orchestrated the plan, and she carried out the plan ruthlessly without any regard to human life. Sikhs were killed only because they were Sikhs.” He explained how Indira Gandhi created conflict between Sikhs and Hindus in an attempt to turn India’s Hindu population against the Sikhs. She “created an enemy” in Sant Jarnail Singh Bhinderwale, a Sikh activist who pushed for stronger state’s rights in Punjab, where the majority Sikh population often experienced persecution from India’s Central Government.
On June 1, 1984, Indira Gandhi ordered the execution of Operation Blue Star, authorizing India’s military to storm the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, where she believed Bhinderwale was hiding from authorities. She intentionally chose this date, knowing that over 10,000 Sikh pilgrims would be visiting the Golden Temple at that time. When the siege ended, the Indian Army refused to allow the Red Cross access so they could tend to the wounded and assess the carnage. Indira Gandhi wanted to make sure the Indian Government controlled the narrative. Official Government reports listed 493 dead. Eyewitness accounts, however, go as high as 8000 killed. Bhinderwale, who had no criminal record and against whom no arrest warrants had been issued, was among those killed.
See full report here.
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1984: A dark chapter in Sikh history (Asia Samachar, 11 Nov 2024)
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