How Congress Engineered
the 1984 Pogrom
 |
Gurdeep Kaur
riots victim
(Her story given below) |
In the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s
assassination in 1984 by two Sikh security guards, North India witnessed the
most gruesome anti Sikh massacre.
The following report entitled "Gangster
Rule: Massacre of the Sikhs in 1984" was written on the basis of
my first hand exposure and interviews with the survivors of and
witnesses to the anti Sikh pogrom that engulfed Delhi and large parts of North
India starting 31st October 1984-- the very morning that Indira Gandhi was
assassinated. This report was published in issue no 25 of MANUSHI.
The mayhem lasted till the 3rd of November
1984. Over 10,000 Sikhs were allgedly put to death in gruesome ways in different
towns and cities of North India. In Delhi alone, over 3000 Sikhs were burnt
alive and numerous women sexually brutalized, though at the time, the
Government claimed only 600 had
died.
At the time, the media had projected the
killings in North India as fallout of Hindu Sikh “riots”. However, Manushi
challenged this description and argued that a riot presupposes two
or more communities attacking each other. There was no retaliatory
violence on the part of Sikhs because they were altogether unprepared for the
onslaught. Since the killings were one way, it could only be called a
“massacre”.
Gangster Rule: Massacre of the Sikhs in 1984
THE communal violence that followed Indira
Gandhi’s tragic death on October 31 were like the sudden eruption of a gigantic
volcano. The ferocity of the explosion took by surprise both the victimised
community and the community in whose name the ferocious campaign of looting,
arson, killing, burning, rape and molestation took place.
Most observers agree that the violence began
as random attacks on individual Sikh men who were pounced upon in public
places, on public transport and on the streets on October 31. The events of
this day may have been passed of as a spontaneous outburst of anger at the
assassination of Indira Gandhi by two Sikh members of her security guard.
But what happened over the next three days makes it impossible to dismiss those
events as spontaneous expressions of outrage.
The series of attacks on Sikh homes,
gurudwaras and commercial establishments which began on November 1 seems to
have been the work of organised hoodlums who collected large mobs for the
looting and killing spree. Very broadly speaking, the attacks can be placed in
three categories,
- Looting and killing in middle and upper
middle class localities, such as Lajpat Nagar, Jangpura, Defence Colony,
Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh, Patel Nagar, Safdarjung Enclave and Punjabi
Bagh. Here, houses, gurudwaras and shops were looted and burnt, and
a large number of vehicles, including buses, trucks, cars and
scooters were set ablaze. Some people were injured and others killed.But, on
the whole, relatively fewer lives were lost in middle class colonies.
- The systematic slaughter and rape that accompanied
looting, arson and burning in the resettlement colonies, slums and villages
around the city. Most of the death occurred in areas like Trilokpuri,
Kalyanpuri, Mangolpuri, Sultanpuri, Nand Nagri, Palam village, Shakurpur,
Gamri. Rows of houses and huts were burnt down and hundreds of men and young
boys were beaten, stabbed and burnt to death while many women were abducted and
raped. A large number of persons are still reported missing by their families.
Houses and gurudwaras were looted and burnt down.
- Sikh men and boys were attacked in the streets, trains,
buses, markets and workplaces, and many of them brutally murdered, some of them
burnt alive or thrown out of trains. Others escaped with injuries, more or less
serious. This kind of attacking seems to have been done at random -any man who
looked visibly Sikh was made a target.
Most of the observations in this article are
based on several taperecorded interviews with men and women from some
trans-Yamuna colonies, especially Trilokpuri. These were among the worst hit
areas in Delhi. Some other observations are based on what I saw happening in
our neighbourhood, Lajpat Nagar, and on conversations with our neighbours as
well as with friends living in different middle class colonies in the city. The
pattern of murder and arson was similar in most parts of Delhi, in as farflung
places as Palam village, Mangolpuri, Kalyanpuri, and Bhogal. However, the
intensity of violence was far more severe in poorer resettlement colonies than
in middle class areas.
Among the
Worst Hit
Trilokpuri is one of those resettlement
colonies which were brought into existence during the emergency, when Sanjay
Gandhi spearheaded slum clearance drives in Delhi. Thousands of families were
forcibly evicted from slums and unauthorised colonies in the city. They were
transported to areas several miles away from the city proper, and were
resettled there. Each evicted family was supposed to be given a small plot
measuring 25 square yards, and in some cases also a loan to build a house. Thus
were founded these colonies of the city poor who had been evicted from the
slums and pavement dwellings where they earlier lived.
Even though, at that time, many people saw
the evictions as cruelty inflicted on the city poor, the Congress (I) was able
to convert the resettlement colonies into solid support bases and vote banks,
because the evicted families slowly began to feel that their status had been
considerably boosted since each of them now owned a piece of land and a pukka
house, instead of living as formerly in unauthorised structures in slums. Many
of the riot victims interviewed, who were amongst the original recipients of
land, mentioned that they were very grateful to Indira Gandhi and to her party
for this favour. However, many of those who were given plots of land sold them
off, because the resettlement colonies are very far away from the city proper,
where most poor people have to come daily to earn a living. Many lower middle
class families bought plots of land from the original allottees. Thus, today,
the social composition of these colonies provides a rich mixture. For instance,
in Trilokpuri, one finds North Indians and South Indians, Hindus, Christians
and Sikhs all living cheek by jowl.
The occupations range from petty shopkeeping
to business to domestic service to low level government employment to rickshaw
pulling, scooter driving, peddling and artisanry. In normal times, there seems
to be a good amount of intermingling and friendly feeling between neighbours of
different communities, even among those who speak different languages. Yet the
feelings about high and low status are also pronounced.
Among Trilokpuri Sikhs, too, there are
significant variations. A large number of them, especially those most severely
affected by the riots, are known as Labana Sikhs. These are not Punjabi Sikhs.
They are migrants from Sikligarh in Sind, now part of Pakistan. They speak
either Hindi or their own dialect, which is distinctly different from Punjabi.
The traditional occupation of the community is weaving string cots and pounding
rice. Few of the men still perform these jobs. Most of them have switched over
to other occupations. A number of them drive scooters and pull rickshaws. Some
work as porters at different railway stations. Others have taken to working as
mechanics, carpenters and construction workers. A few have been to Gulf countries
as skilled labourers.
Even though they do not call themselves
Mazhabi Sikhs, they are considered low caste by other Sikhs. Makhan Bai of
Trilokpuri summed up the distinction aptly. Referring to urban based Sikhs,
most of whom are involved in commerce, she said : “Punjabi Sikhs are Seths. We
Labana Sikhs are labourers. Traditionally, we are charpai makers.”
 |
Systematic selective destruction—Sikh houses &
vehicles destroyed and burnt |
Differences are visible even
amongst the Labana Sikhs in this colony. Those who have entered some of the
newer occupations such as scooter driving or mechanical repair work are
relatively belter off. They have pukka houses and their own plots of land. They
are an upwardly mobile community. Many of them own television sets,
taperecorders and other such consumer items. However, those who were not able
to move into these new occupations are much poorer. Some of them live in huts
constructed illegally in open spaces which are meant to be parks.
Labana Sikhs live together in
clusters in blocks 30 and 32 of Trilokpuri. There are also some families
scattered in other blocks.Labana Sikhs have a separate small gurudwara of their
own. There is also a big gurudwara adjoining the main road in Trilokpuri. The
Labana Sikh community seems to have very little connection with Punjab
politics. Many of them are traditional Congress (I) supporters. That is one
reason why they, like most Sikhs in Delhi, were taken totally unawares by the
attack.
Far more than
400 people were murdered in Trilokpuri alone. The largest number of deaths has
so far been reported from the two blocks of Trilokpuri where the Labana Sikhs
were concentrated. This is how Gubar Singh, a resident of block 30, Trilokpuri,
describes the events of November 1 : “My house was the first to be burnt in
Trilokpuri. I work for a tailor’s shop. I bring the material from the shop
every morning and stitch the garments at home. On the 31st, when I was on my
way back from the shop, I heard rumours that Indira Gandhi had died. But no one
stopped me or tried to hurt me. I never imagined that such a thing could happen
to me. None of us was really prepared for what happened the next day.
“At about 10 a.m. on November 1,
we heard a lot of noise and shouting. We climbed on the roofs of our houses to
see what was happening. We saw smoke rising from Noida colony and then we smelt
human flesh burning. In the meantime, we heard people say that the mob, having
set fire to the main gurudwara, was now coming to burn our Labana Sikh
gurudwara. So we rushed and got together whatever weapons we had, and tried to
save the gurudwara. But even when the gurudwara was attacked, we thought there
would be fighting for a short while, and then the police would come and stop it.
We never thought things would go so far. There has been no atmosphere of
conflict between Hindus and Sikhs in Trilokpuri.
“Several men from our block went
and hid in other lanes nearby. So we were not more than 500 men left to defend
the whole block as well as the gurudwara. About 50 of us stood on each side of
the streets in our block. The attackers came in a mob about 4,000 strong, and
began an attack on the gurudwara. They were armed with lathis. They began
throwing bricks and stones at us. We also stoned them. See, my fingers are cut
with throwing bricks. Many of us got hurt. Heads were split open. The attackers
far outnumbered us. Gradually, we had to give up. They advanced and we began to
retreat into our houses. They set fire to the gurudwara.
“Then they began to attack our
houses. We ran from one house to another, trying to save ourselves. They broke
into each house and carried away all our possessions on
thelas. There were about four policemen watching this looting campaign. They told us to put down our swords and
not to worry. They said: ‘Nothing will happen to you.’ Then they went away and
left us to be killed.
” Sajan Singh from block 32 adds
that the attackers had three guns. The police kept telling the Sikhs to go into
their houses and assuring them that peace would be restored. “We believed the
police and we went in. That is how they got us killed.” He accuses the SHO of
the area, one Tyagi, of having actively encouraged the attackers. Many others
of the area also testify that they heard Tyagi tell the attackers: “You have
three days to kill them. Do your job well. Do not leave a single man alive,
otherwise I will have to suffer.”
Once the attempt at group defence
was broken down, they were in a much more vulnerable position. Each man ran
desperately to find for himself a hiding place from
the mob. Gulzar Singh continued his narrative:”By the evening of the 1st, some
peace was restored. The attackers left. They threatened that they would return
the next day and would take away the women. Several men died on the 1st. About
half a dozen died in my presence. The attackers hit them wilh lathis and
khurpis. They also managed to snatch some of our kirpans and stabbed some of us
with them. When they were looting and burning my house, they laid hands on me.
They burnt part of my hair and cut part of it before I managed to break free.
“I saved myself by hiding in my brother’s
house which is in a Hindu street. For one day and two nights, my brother and I
hid under a double bed. On the 2nd, a group of men came and began to search
each house for Sardars. My wife says three men were caught and killed in the
neighbouring house. The attackers turned everyone out of the house and searched
it. We were hiding behind boxes and bags under the bed. They kicked the boxes
and thought there was no one there. Another minute and we would have been
finished.
 |
Some of the widowed women at
Shivpuri police station camp |
“On the 3rd, the military
came and my wife told them to rescue us. That is how we reached the relief
camp. One of my brothers was found by the attackers and killed on the 2nd. They
threw him down from the roof of his house and broke his spine. Then they burnt
him alive. Many women were molested and abducted. I saw a jeepload of women
being carried away to village Chilla in the presence of their families.”
Most others who survived
had been through similar experiences. The attackers would kill every Sikh male
in sight, would leave for a while, but would return again to search Sikh houses
and neighbours’ houses to finish off those men who were still in hiding.
Sajan Singh, who works as
a porter at Nizamuddin railway station, and lives in block 32, Trilokpuri, was
also a victim of the clashes. He saved himself by hiding in his house, in a
small aperture where cowdung cakes used to be stored for fuel. The attackers
came in repeated waves into his house and looted everything they could find. He
says he had Rs 12,000 in cash, a television set, a radio, a taperecorder,
utensils, eight quilts, blankets and other household goods, many of which were
being stored up as dowries for his four daughters. At night, the attackers came
with torches to search for men who were still hiding. Sajan got his children to
bring him a pair of scissors and a stick. He cut off his long hair and beard
while he was hiding under the cowdung cakes. Then, he says : “When the next
wave came, I picked up a stick and mingled with the mob. All night, I shouted
anti Sikh slogans like ‘Kill the Sardars.’ That is how I saved myself. At 6
a.m., I somehow managed to slip away and came to Nizamuddin railway station.
There, the other porters gave me shelter and consoled me. I did not know what
had befallen my family. On the 6th, I came to Farash Bazar relief camp and
found them there. My sister has been raped. The other women and children are
safe.”
Many of these one sided
battles continued for hours on end. The woman neighbour of a victimised family
in Shakurpur described the attack : “The mob came here on 31st night, and the
fighting continued till the 2nd. The terror began on the 31st. The attackers
began by stopping vehicles to check if there were Sikhs in them. Electricity
failed in this area, in the houses as well as on the streets. The extreme
darkness at night heightened the terror. The attacks on houses and gurudwaras
started around 9.30 a.m. on the 1st. They came and started stoning the house of
our neighbour, Santokh Singh. The family stayed quiet inside the house. The
crowd wanted to enter the house but was hesitant, afraid of possible
resistance. People are generally afraid of Sikhs, you know. Finally, one of the
men tried to break into the house. The men of the family hit him with a sword
and his hand got slightly cut. This frightened the crowd and they retreated for
a while. Then they slowly collected more men and returned. Now they were about
a 1,000 men. They dragged some furniture and wood that was lying in Santokh
Singh’s courtyard, piled it up around the house, and set the house on fire.
Then, the four men of the family came out with swords in their hands The
attackers immediately ran away. They did not want to take any risk. They were
armed only with lathis and kerosene. But they soon advanced again and started
stoning the house from all sides. The house was now burning. The four men of
the family ran for their lives. One went to the house of a neighbour who cut
his hair, gave him shelter and later smuggled him out of the colony. The
youngest son was pounced upon on the road, hit with lathis and burnt to death.
Another son is missing. Most probably, he was murdered by the same group. We do
not know what happened to him. After some time the police came and took away
the old father and the women to a camp. They have not yet arrested anyone.”
So murderous were the
attacks throughout the city that most of the men who fell into the hands of the
mob did not survive. The number of injured men was very small in comparison to
the numbers killed. Many others were less fortunate. One old man, Gurcharan
Singh, also from block 32, lost all the three young men of his family. He had
only one son, aged about 17, and two nephews, aged 20 and 22. All four men
stayed in hiding for two days and one night. Finally, the door of the house was
broken open. The four men had already clipped their beards and cut off their
long hair. They came out and pleaded to be spared now that they were like
Hindus. But the rioters caught hold of the three young men, threw them on their
own string beds, covered them with mattresses and quilts, then poured kerosene
over them and set them on fire in Gurcharan Singh’s presence. Gurcharan Singh
was beaten up. He and his aged wife, who is a TB patient, are in the relief
camp, despairing over the loss of their three sons, and destitute.
Deliberate, Unhurried Murder Squads
Most people in Trilokpuri
said though their immediate neighbours were not amongst the attackers, a fair
number of rioters were from other parts of the same colony. They identified
these men as chamars, sansis, Musalmans and gujjars. The last named had been
specially brought in for the attack that morning from Chilla, an adjoining
village, they said.
Many eyewitnesses confirm
that the attackers were not so much a frenzied mob as a set of men who had a
task to perform and went about it in an unhurried manner, as if certain that
they need not fear intervention by the police or anyone else. When their
initial attacks were repulsed, they retired temporarily but returned again and
again in waves until they had done exactly what they meant to do -killed the
men and boys, raped women, looted property and burnt houses.
This is noteworthy because
in ordinary, more spontaneous riots, the number of people injured is usually
observed to be far higher than the number killed. The nature of the attack
confirms that there was a deliberale plan to kill as many Sikh men as possible,
hence nothing was left to chance. That also explains why in almost all cases,
after hitting or stabbing, the victims were doused with kerosene or petrol and
burnt, so as to leave no possibility of their surviving. Between October 31 and
November 4, more than 2,500 men were murdered in different parts of Delhi,
according to several careful unofficial estimates.
There have been very few
cases of women being killed except when they got trapped in houses which were
set on fire. Almost all the women interviewed described how men and young boys
were special targets. They were dragged out of the houses, attacked with stones
and rods, and set on fire. In Trilokpuri, many women said that once the attack
on individual homes started, the attackers did not allow any women to remain
inside their own homes. The attackers wanted to prevent the women from helping
the men to hide or providing assistance to those who were in hiding. Throughout
this period, many of the women were on the streets.
When women tried to
protect the men of their families, they were given a few, blows and forcibly
separated from, the men. Even when they clung to men, trying to save them, they
were hardly ever attacked the way men were. I have not yet heard of a case of a
woman being assaulted and then burnt to death by the mob. However, many women
were injured when they tried to intervene and protect the men, or in the course
of molestation and rape. A number of women and girls also died when the gangs
burnt down their houses while they remained inside.
This is somewhat unusual.
For instance, when dalits in villages are burnt and attacked, women are
prominent among the victims. When I asked why the killing was so selective, I
got a uniform answer from most people interviewed : “They wanted to wipe out
the men so that families would be left without earning members. Also, now they
need not fear retaliation even if we have to go back and live in the same
colony.” Though this may not provide a complete explanation, the effect has
been exactly that which the women describe.
In many cases, families
tried to save adolescent and little boys by dressing them up as girls and tying
their hair in loose hanging plaits. Sometimes, neighbours pointed out these
disguised boys to the attackers. When such boys were caught, they were, pounced
upon by the crowd and set on fire. However, a few, especially very young ones,
did manage to escape death by assuming this guise.
 |
| Sukhpal Singh |
Sukhpal Singh is one of
the few older boys of Trilokpuri who was able to escape by dressing as a girl
even though he is 15 years old. His family lives in block 19 but on that
fateful morning, his parents sent him to his sister’s house in block 30 because
they felt he would be safer in the latter area where Sikhs lived together in a
large cluster. Sukhpal’s brother-in-law sought shelter in a Sikh house but he
was turned out. The mob caught him on the second floor of a house, threw him
down and burnt him alive. Sukhpal Singh’s sister dressed him up in girl’s
clothes and braided his long hair like that of a girl. Somehow, he managed to
escape attention and discovery.
In most camps, there is a
disproportionately large number of women and children. Among boys, most of
those who managed to escape were little ones. According to figures collected by
Nagrik Ekta Manch volunteer Jaya Jaitley, out of about 539 families housed in
Farash Bazar camp, there are 210 widows. Families which have lost all adult
male members are the ones most afraid of going back to the colonies where they
formerly lived. Most do not want to go back even to claim their plots of land,
and would rather be settled elsewhere.
Even though most women
were not brutally murdered as were men, they were subjected to other forms of
torture, terror and humiliation. This part of the story also makes familiar
reading for anyone who has gone through accounts of riots, communal clashes and
wars.
Gurdip Kaur, a 45 year old
woman from block 32, Trilokpuri, told a typical story. Her husband and three
SONS were brutally murdered in front of her. Her husband used to run a small
shop in the locality. Her eldest son, Bhajan Singh, worked in the railway
station, the second in a radio repair shop and the third as a scooter driver.
She says : “On the morning of November 1, when Indira Mata’s body was brought to
Tin Murti, everyone was watching the television. Since 8 a.m., they were
showing the homage being paid to her dead body. At about noon, my children
said: ‘Mother, please make some food. We are hungry.’ I had not cooked that day
and I told them : ‘Son, everyone is mourning. She was our mother, too. She
helped us to settle here. So I don’t feel like lighting the fire today.’ SOON
after this, the attack started. Three of the men ran out and were set on fire.
My youngest son stayed in the house with me. He shaved off his beard and cut
his hair. But they came into the house. Those young boys, 14 and 16 year olds,
began to drag my son out even though he was hiding behind me. They tore my
clothes and stripped me naked in front of my son. When these young boys began
to rape me, my son began to cry and said: ‘Elder brothers, don’t do this. She
is like your mother just as she is my mother.’ But they raped me right there,
in front of my son, in my own house. They were young boys, maybe eight of them.
When one of them raped me, I said : ‘My child, never mind. Do what you like.
But remember, I have given birth to children. This child came into the world by
this same path.’
“After they had taken my
honour, they left. I took my son out with me and made him sit among the women
but they came and dragged him away. They took him to the street corner, hit him
with lathis, sprinkled kerosene over him, and burnt him alive.I tried to save
him but they struck me with knives and broke my arm. At that time, I was
completely naked, I had managed to get hold of an old sheet which I had wrapped
around myself. If I had had even one piece of clothing on my body, I would have
gone and thrown myself over my son and tried to save him. I would have done
anything to save at least one young man of my family. Not one of the four is
left.”
According to her, hardly
any woman in her neighbourhood was spared the humiliation she underwent. She
said even nine to 10 year old girls were raped. She was an eyewitness to many
such rapes. The attackers first emptied the houses of men who were burnt alive.
After that, they dragged the women inside the ransacked houses and gang raped
them.Not many women would openly admit this fact because, as Gurdip Kaur says :
“The unmarried girls will have to stay unmarried all their lives if they admit
that they have been dishonoured. No one would marry such a girl.” Therefore,
most families do not openly acknowledge the fact.
This led me to ask Gurdip
Kaur why she had come forward to narrate her experience. I also asked whether
she wanted me to publish her statement. She categorically said she wanted her
statement to be published : “Those women in whose homes there is one or more
surviving men cannot make a public statement because they will be dishonouring
those men. I have no one left (meaning no male member). My daughter has also
been widowed. She has two children. My daughter-in-law, who has three children,
has also been widowed.Another daughter-in-law was married only one and a half
months ago and has also been widowed. I have nothing left. That is why I want
to give my statement.”
In fact, many other
families whose adult men had all been killed similarly felt that there was “no
one left in the family.” At times, when people said that all their children
(bachey) had been killed, they were actually referring only to their sons. I
had to specifically enquire about surviving daughters, whose lives were not
counted in the same way.
Indra Bai narrates : “At
about 4 p.m., after they had murdered all the Sikh men they could get hold of
in our block, they asked the women to come out of the houses. They said : ‘Now
your men are dead. Come out and sit together or else we will kill you too.’
“We women all huddled
together and they offered us some water. As we were drinking water, they began
dragging off whichever girl they liked. Each girl was taken away by a gang of
10 or 12 boys, many of them in their teens. They would take her to the nearby
masjid, gang rape her, and send her back after a few hours. Some never
returned. Those who returned were in a pitiable condition and without a stitch
of clothing. One young girl said 15 men had climbed on her.”
Gurdip Kaur and many other
women from Trilokpuri whom I interviewed at Balasaheb gurudwara and at Farash
Bazar camp also talked about several women who had been abducted by gangsters
and taken to Chilla village which is dominated by gujjars, some of whom are
alleged to have led the attacking gangs. On November 3, the military brought
some of these women back from Chilla. But many of them were untraceable at the
time I interviewed these families. They were very worried that these women had
either been murdered or were still being held captive.
Rajjo Bai, another old
woman from the same neighbourhood, who had sought shelter in Balasabeb
gurudwara in Ashram, had a similar tale to tell. Two of her sons were killed in
her presence. One who was hiding in a hut is still missing. All three sons were
rickshaw pullers. She got separated from her two daughters-in-law who were
probably abducted. The daughters-in-law were found much later at the Farash
Bazar camp but Rajjo’s 24 year old daughter, who had had to be left behind in
the house because she was disabled, could not be traced.
Nanki Bai, also from
Trilokpuri was distraught when she asked us to look for her daughter, Koshala
Bai, who had been snatched away from her. She says : “All night, the attacks
continued. My husband was hiding in a trunk. They dragged him out and cut him
to pieces. Another 16 year old boy was killed in front of my eyes. He was
carrying a small child in his arms. They killed the child too.
“We women were forced to
come out of our houses and sit in a group outside. I was trying to hide my
daughter. I put a child in her lap and dishevelled her hair so that she would
look older. But finally one of our own neighbours pointed her out to these men.
They began to drag her away. We tried to save her. I pleaded with them. My son
came in the way and they hit him with a sword. He lost his finger. I could not
even look at his hand. I just wrapped it IN my veil.
“They took Koshala to the
masjid. I don’t know what happened to her. At about 4 a.m., when we were driven
out of the colony, she called out to me from the roof of the masjid. She was
screaming to me : ‘Mummy, mujhe le chal, mujhe le chal, Mummy.’ (take me with
you). But how could Mummy take her ? They beat her because she called to me. I
don’t know where she is now.”
Later, I met Koshala in
the Farash Bazar camp and told her that her mother was in Balasaheb gurudwara.
She confirmed her mother’s account and added that her father’s eyes had been
gouged out before he was killed. But she did not say that she had been raped.
She merely said : “They slapped me and beat me and struck me with a knife. They
tore up my clothes.”
The rapists made no
distinction between old and young women. In Nand Nagri, an 80 year old women
informed a social worker that she had been raped. In Trilokpuri, several cases
were reported of old women who were gang raped in front of their family
members. As in all such situations, the major purpose of these rapes seems to
have been to inflict humiliation and to destroy the victims’ morale even more
completely.
 |
| Babybai |
Manchi Devi, about 55,
says she was gang raped. Four men of her family, including her son-in-law and
her nephew, were murdered. “When I tried to intervene to save the children,
several of those men grabbed me. Some tore my clothes, some climbed on top of
me. What can I tell you, sister ? Some raped me, some bit me all over my body,
and some tore off my clothes. All this happened around 11p.m. in my own house.
I don’t know how many men there were. The whole house was full of them. About a
dozen raped me. After that, they caught hold of some young girls outside. My
old husband and one nine year old son are the only ones left in my family. Whom
shall I depend on in my old age ? What can this nine year old do?” Most of these rapes took
place while the bodies of the husbands, sons or brothers of these women were
still smouldering in their presence,and their homes had thus been converted
into cremation grounds. Baby Bai, a young bride, aged around 20, was also gang
raped. She was married barely a year ago. Her husband was a rickshaw puller,
and sometimes worked as a scooter driver.
She says : “There were six
members in our family. The three men, my husband and my two brothers-in-law,
were murdered. Now only three women are left. Our house was attacked at about 4
p.m. and the fighting continued until next morning. My husband was first beaten
and then burnt to death, I was sitting and crying when a big group of men came
and dragged me away. They took me to the nearby huts in front of block 32, and
raped me. They tore off all my clothes. They bit and scratched me. They took me
at 10 p.m. and released me at about 3 a.m. When I came back, I was absolutely
naked, just as one is when one comes out of the mother’s womb. They took away
all my jewellery-ear rings, a gold chain, bangles, nose ring and anklets. They
left without giving me anything to cover myself. On the road, I found someone’s
old sheet. I wrapped myself in it and walked up to Chilla village. There, I
borrowed some clothes from my relatives.”
 |
| Pyari Bai with her daughters-in-law |
Pyari Bai, aged about 70,
has also lost all the male members of her family-three sons, a grandson, two
sons-in-law and two nephews. Most of the men in her family used to weave string
beds for a living and one was a rickshaw puller. Her daughter-in-law, who is
several months’ pregnant, was dragged inside the house and raped. Pyari Bai too
says that not even old women or little girls were spared.
Even though it was widely
known that these attacks had been going on unabated since November 1, the
government neither provided the victims with any physical protection nor made
any arrangements for them to be evacuated until much after the worst was over.
Most of the women,
especially those who had some surviving male members in their family, were not
willing to say they had been raped although most of them did talk about women
in general having been abducted and raped. They were pressured into staying
silent about their personal experience not merely by the threat of social
ostracism within their own community such as being abandoned by husbands or not
finding husbands if unmarried; other outside pressures played an important
role, too.
Gurdip Kaur narrated how
the raped
women in
Farash Bazar camp were prevented from even getting a routine medical
examination and registering a complaint. A few women did come forward to get
cases registered. Some of the doctors of the medical relief team
also confirmed that several such women had come to them, but since rape cases
are considered medico-legal cases for which special evidentiary procedures have
to be followed, the women had to be referred to a hospital by the government
administration doctor who was posted at the camp. This, however, did not
happen.
 |
A Sikh family in Paharganj whose house is being stoned by
themob taking refuge on the rooftop while some neighbours watch |
Gurdip Kaur said: “Most of
the women who went to register a case were young, unmarried women. Four of them
were sent into the doctor’s room. I was asked to wait outside. The women who
went inside were intimidated by those in charge and were warned not to undergo
the medical examination. They were told that hands would be shoved up their
vaginas and much else would be done to them. They, being young, inexperienced
women, got frightened,and did not insist on a medical examination.” Gurdip Kaur
regrets that she was not allowed to be with them and encourage them. Hence no
case was registered.
Gurdip Kaur says she heard
that H.K.L. Bhagat was coming to Farash Bazar camp. She tried to give him her
statement but she could not meet him. The physical violence that these women
experienced is going to be buried in their hearts as their own “shame.” Several
men of their community who were living in the camp talked to me of these “dishonoured”
women, who had been forced to do a “wrong action” and whose lives were now
worthless. Thus, it seems to me very unlikely that they will be treated even by
their own community with any measure of the sympathy and understanding that the
male victims of violence received.
Women Left Destitute
In Trilokpuri, very few
Sikh women work for a wage. Thus, the families are left with no male members
and are also without wage earners. Widowed women constitute the most vulnerable
group amongst the surviving victims of the carnage. Many of them are illiterate
or barely literate. Few have any skills at all. Very few have ever worked
outside the house. Most of the women have several young children so that going
out of the house for long hours to
earn a living may not be feasible.
Thakari Bai, who is in her
early twenties, is typical of such women. Her husband worked as a coolie at the railway
station and
earned more than
Rs 50 a day. She has three daughters, aged seven years, three years, and two
months. One of them is disabled and retarded. In tears, she told us that her
three brothers-in-law, who managed to survive by cutting their hair and hiding,
now do not wish to support her. Already, they and their families have begun to
ill treat her and quarrel with her, because they fear that she and her
daughters will become a burden on them. She says her widowed mother, who lives
in a Rajasthan village, is very poor. Her mother works as a labourer and often
has not enough to eat. So Thakari Bai does not know where she will go if the
relief camp forces her out without some means of livelihood and accommodation
being provided to her.
Several relief workers
reported that fierce tensions had sprung up between daughters-in-law and
mothers-in-law over the question of who should receive the Rs l0,000 promised
by government as compensation for a dead man who was the son of one woman and
husband of the other. Given the fact that neither wives nor mothers have any
independent sources of income and all can only look forward to destitution, the
conflict appears to be inevitable.
Much has been made of the
so called provocation offered by Sikhs who came out with swords and kirpans, as
at the Trilokpuri gurudwara. But all available eyewitness accounts confirm that
swords, if used at all, were used as a desperate measure of self defence, when
no other help was available. Either the police was not present or if it was
present it was playing the role of passive onlooker or active abettor.
We would also do well to
remember that the Indian Penal Code gives citizens the right to use weapons in
private self defence of their lives and property against illegal attack, and
specifically lays down that if in the course of such defence, even innocent
people happen to get killed, the persons engaged in self defence are not
culpable for the deaths.
Moreover, in many places,
no defence whatsoever was offered, yet gurudwaras and homes did not escape
destruction. For instance, Vasan Singh of East Vinod Nagar, another trans
Yamuna colony, described how his neighbourhood was attacked. He said that on
November 1, at about 10 a.m., truckloads of men from nearby villages were on
their way to Delhi. They were shouting anti Sikh slogans. Some of them came
down the highway and burnt the gurudwara which is near the main road. None of
the Sikhs in the colony dared go to the defence of the gurudwara. The police
was present at this time, but remained inactive. The mob next went to the house
of Niranjan Singh, a postmaster. They beat up the family, burnt the house, and
burnt several members of the family including children.
Vasan Singh goes on : “We
went and hid in the house of a Hindu neighbour. Every Sikh ran and sought
shelter in Hindu homes but very few could save their lives.”
Despite all the rumours
that have been set afloat, ever since Bhindranwale’s terrorist squads shot into
prominence, about the “enormous supplies” of arms that have been accumulated by
the Sikh community, the facts that came to light from the accounts of the four
days of violence are quite contrary to most popular prejudices. Very few Sikhs
had any arms to speak of. Even the major gurudwaras in Delhi which were
strongly suspected of being arsenals, had to give in to the attackers without
much of a fight. There were hardly any non Sikhs among those killed.
How and Why Did it Happen ?
An explanation frequently
offered for the massacres is that anger and resentment against the Sikhs had
been brewing ever since Bhindranwale’s gang began the indiscriminate murder of
Hindus in Punjab, in pursuance of their demand for Khalistan, a separate nation
state for Sikhs, which might involve a forcible mass exodus of Hindus from
Punjab, similar to that which took place from various areas when Pakistan came
into existence.
There is no denying that
the manner in which the demand for Khalistan was being pursued in the last two
years or so had created a good deal of resentment against Bhindranwale among
Hindus both in Punjab and outside. But the fact that one small gang of
terrorists who happened to be Sikhs killed some Hindus and Sikhs in Punjab is
no reason for thousands of Sikhs all over India who had nothing to do with the
Punjab killings to be massacred.
Today, there seems to be a
widespread belief, based on the desire to justify the recent riots, that
Bhindranwale and his men killed Hindus only. But the fact which is, and ought
to be, well known, is that Bhindranwale’s men killed Sikhs who opposed them
with even greater fervour than they did Hindus. In fact, Bhindranwale began, as
do most terrorist groups, by hitting out at those members of his own community
who opposed him. This was done with the intention of terrorising his own
community into silent submission. Yet this fact is meticulously ignored because
it does not help fan the fires of communalism.
Further, the sudden
eruption of violence against Sikhs seems quite out of proportion to and
inexplicable by the extent of anger amongst Hindus. It is noteworthy that
throughout the period when Sikhs, Nirankaris and Hindus were being killed in
Punjab, there had been no retaliation whatsoever against Sikhs in Delhi or in
other states. Even when some sections of the Akalis organised fairly aggressive
processions in Delhi, no political group or set of Hindu militants reacted with
violence or even as much as tried to obstruct the processions and rallies. The
only clashes that occurred were with the police and the administrative
machinery. There were no attacks on gurudwaras or even on the homes of prominent
Sikh or Akali leaders. It is even more noteworthy that in Punjab, apart from
select killings by small organised gangs of terrorists, there were no communal
riots throughout the Bhindranwale period.
 |
Note grief but goondaism. Arson and looting of Sikh
shops on Deshpandhu Gupta Marg |
Hindus and Sikhs do not have a long history or tradition of conflict. The two communities not
only share a common past and, a common culture but even today, most Sikh
families have Hindu relatives because it used to be a common practice for some
Hindu parents in certain areas of Punjab to dedicate one son to the guru as a
Sikh.
Even today, marriages between
Sikhs and Hindus are considered a normal practice. Many Hindus routinely visit
gurudwaras and read the Granth Saheb with much devotion. The fact that all
Punjabis use the word mona to indicate either a Hindu or a clean shaven Sikh
shows that no rigid distinctions have been set up by the people of the two communities
between themselves.
Many have tried to justify the violence by asserting that
Sikhs “provoked” an attack on themselves by celebrating Indira Gandhi’s death. They are supposed to have distributed sweets
at home and champagne abroad as soon
as they got the news.
During these days, I have met hundreds of people who talk
authoritatively about the distribution of sweets by Sikhs in celebration of
Indira Gandhi’s death, but when questioned, not one of them could say that he
or she saw this happen.
However, the most important point we need to remember is
what Dharma Kumar said in her article in the Times of India : “If all the
sweets in India had been distributed -that would not have justified the burning
alive of one single Sikh.”
Nevertheless, there is very little evidence that, barring
a few stray cases, Sikhs in general “rejoiced” at Mrs Gandhi’s death. For
instance, the reality behind the rumour that Sikh students of Khalsa college,
Delhi university, danced the bhangra is a fairly typical example of how facts
are distorted beyond recognition in an attempt to provide some kind of
justification for the terror and killings. These students had been practising
bhangra every day on their college lawn for over a month prior to Mrs Gandhi’s
death. They were preparing the dance as an item for the forthcoming winter festivals
that are held in every college. On October 31, they were practising as usual
and stopped as soon as they got the news.
A friend tried to investigate the source of another rumour that a wealthy Sikh
family in Janakpuri had distributed sweets and dry fruit soon after Mrs
Gandhi’s death. They discovered that there had indeed been some distribution of
sweets. This was done in honour of the coming Gurpurab. Traditionally, about 10
days before Guru Nanak’s birthday, which fell on November 8 this year, prabhat
pheris are organised in each area, and it is customary for families to
entertain the pheri participants with sweets and other refreshments.
Surely, it was not only Sikhs who could be accused of not
cancelling a routine ritual celebration such as this one after they heard of
Mrs Gandhi’s death. The night of the 31st, when I was walking down the main
road in our locality, I saw a wedding procession marching
along in full pomp and show, complete with band music, dancing and lights.
Nobody showed any concern that this Hindu wedding procession was going through
the normal ritual.
In our own neighbourhood, where at least half the
families are Sikh, I saw no sign of celebration or distribution of sweets. In
fact, even on the morning of the 31st, when the news of the assassination came,
I was really surprised to see everyone, both Hindu and Sikh, going about their
business without any apparent sign of grief or frenzy. No one I talked to cried
or broke down when discussing the news even though most people felt sad that her
life had ended so tragically.
Other rumour mongers point to the fact that many Sikhs
did not celebrate Diwali this year because they were mourning the army
operation and the killing of Bhindranwale and other Sikhs in the golden temple
in June. This is cited as proof that they are “antinational” and hence it is
assumed that they must have rejoiced at Mrs Gandhi’s death.
First, it is not true that no Sikh celebrated Diwali.
Some of the victims mentioned that new clothes and utensils bought by them for
Diwali were destroyed in the attacks on their homes. Further, the argument
itself is based on bizarre logic of the kind that our government very often
uses. It is made out that anyone who does not support every action and policy
of the government automatically becomes an enemy of the nation. This way of
thinking is based on authoritarian ideology which seeks to deny the people the
right to differ with the rulers and the light to mourn the tragic consequences
of the rulers actions.
Another thing
that is held against the Sikhs is that they felt outraged at the entry of the
army into the Golden Temple. To say that all those who felt grieved at the
desecration of the Temple were desirous of Indira Gandhi’s assassination is a
bizarre falsehood. Many of those who were attacked, beaten and murdered were
longstanding supporters of the Congress (I). Many men in relief camps talked
about how they had worked for the Congress (I) party in previous elections. In
some of the burnt down houses, I saw pictures of Indira Gandhi still hanging on
the walls. Her pictures also adorn the walls of many Sikh homes in our
neighbourhood, and continue to do so even after the riots.
More important is
the fact that the group of Sikhs who bore the main brunt of violence were those
living in resettlement colonies. This group had very little connection with
Punjab extremist politics. In fact, many of them have no connection at all with
Punjab.
The most popular
of all justifications offered is that the violence was the result of mob fury at
the brutal assassination of India’s foremost leader at the hands of two Sikhs.
As far as the
theory of people’s frenzied outrage at Indira Gandhi’s death is concerned, one
would have been compelled to take it seriously had the riots remained sporadic,
unorganised and spontaneous. From the information so far available in Delhi,
one is left in no doubt that the whole affair was masterminded and well
organised, and that the killers and looters seemed to be pretty confident that
no harm would come to them. They seemed to be in no hurry. They came, went
back, came again and again. Each time, they returned with reinforcements.
Those who saw the
mobs did not get the impression of a group of people angry or in anguish but of
a bunch of hoodlums who seemed to be having a good time, fun and games. On
November 1, I confronted one mob in Lajpat Nagar. Around noon, when we heard
that the local gurudwara had been set on fire, three of us women rushed to the
spot and tried to persuade the neighbours to help extinguish the fire. At once,
we were surrounded by hostile men while women jeered at and abused us from a
distance. One or two women even came up and called us names for being so
shameless as to argue with men on the streets. At the same time, a crowd of
about 200 men came, shouting slogans about revenge. Looking at them laughing,
jeering, catcalling, one did not get the impression of any grief whatsoever.
All one saw was a hoodlum’s delight in demonstrating his power. The jeering mob
told us that if we did not keep quiet and get lost, they would throw us into
the fire.
The fact that all
over the city the attacks started simultaneously and the pattern of violence
was identical indicates that this was no spontaneous outburst. Victims from
different parts of the city say that the first organised attacks in residential
areas began between 9 and 10a.m. on November 1. Almost everywhere, the
attackers came armed with lathis, a few knives and kerosene. There seem to have
been few instances of the use of revolvers to kill. Almost everywhere, males
were singled out and slaughtered. A fairly standard method of killing was
adopted all over the city and in fact, in almost all the towns where riots took
place. The victim would be stunned with lathi blows or stabbed. Kerosene or
petrol or diesel would then be poured over him and he would be set on fire
while he was still alive. Very few of the burn victims seem to have survived.
An eyewitness
account of some of the happenings outside AIIMS gives us a clue about the
genesis of the murderous slogan : “Khun ka badla khun se Ienge” (We will avenge
blood with blood) that was chanted by the groups of killers throughout Delhi,
beginning on October 31 : “I was outside AIIMS between 1.30 and 5 p.m. on
October 31. There was a large crowd gathered there but it had no resemblance to
a frenzied mob. At about 2 p.m., two truck loads of men from neighbouring
villages were brought to AIIMS. They dismounted from the trucks in a calm and
orderly fashion. They behaved like soldiers waiting for orders.
“The trucks were
followed by a tempo full of lathis and iron rods. There were no men in the
tempo besides the driver. At about 3 p.m., a Congress corporator from the trans
Yamuna area addressed the gathering. Later information has confirmed that he is
one of those who masterminded the riots in the trans Yamuna area. He gave a
fiery speech. There was a lot of drama and slogan shouting during his speech.
He was the first to raise the slogan : khun ka badla khun se lenge.’ From that
moment, it became a popular chant. The first victim of their wrath was a Sikh
SHO from Vinay Nagar police station who came to the hospital on his motor bike.
He was attacked with rods and was rescued with difficulty by senior police
officers. This, in my view, was the first attack on a Sikh in Delhi, and it was
instigated when the mob took their cue from the Congress leader. From the AIIMS
this gang soon went in different directions-towards Naoroji Nagar, INA market,
Yusuf Sarai and South Extension. They began to stop all vehicles driven by
Sikhs. They beat up the Sikhs and burnt the vehicles. Some Sikhs were burnt to
death. Sikh shops in these areas were looted and burnt.”
.jpg) |
| A widow with her baby in Farash Bazar camp |
A vast number of investigative reports
in newspapers and victims’ accounts have pointed out that high officials of the
Congress (I) masterminded the whole operation. They rounded up antisocial
elements from their constituencies. These elements routinely receive Congress
(I) patronage. On this occasion, they were incited to kill, rape, loot and
burn, and were assured that no one would interfere with them.
The populous resettlement colonies and
the UP and Haryana villages around Delhi have been meticulously cultivated as
vote banks and political bases by the Congress (I) throughout the last decade.
It is from these areas that truckloads of men are routinely mobilised for
Congress (I) rallies and processions. These professional processionists have
become habituated to hiring out their services to the ruling party. The gang
leaders are on the regular payroll of the party. That is how Congress (I)
leaders could, in a matter of hours, mobilise thousands of hoodlums for the
orgy of violence which they organised. Among the most active participants in
the gangs were young boys, many in their early teens, who can easily be
mobilised.
It is significant that reports confirm
that jats, gujjars, scheduled caste men and poor Muslims constituted the bulk
of the attacking mobs. This identical pattern has been reported from areas of
Delhi that are many kilometres apart. Many victims have alleged that Congress
(I) men used voters’ lists and ration shop records to supply the attackers with
addresses of Sikh families in each locality. So preplanned was the whole
operation that the attackers not only had prior knowledge of which houses and
shops belonged to Sikhs but also seem to have known which Sikh houseowners had
Hindu tenants and which’ Hindu house-owners had Sikh tenants. Such houses were
handled differently from those inhabited by Sikhs only. Instead of the whole
house being burnt, only the Sikhs were killed and their possessions looted so
that the Hindus in the house were left unscathed.
Many prominent leaders have been named
in several newspapers as having instigated riots. The PUCL-PUDR investigative
report “Who Are The Guilty” mentions H K.L. Bhagat, Minister of State for
Information and Broadcasting; Sajjan Kumar,Congress (I) MP from Monpolpuri, who
is reported to have paid Rs 100 and a bottle of liquor to each man involved in
the killings; Lalit Maken, Congress (I) trade union leader and metropolitan
councillor, who is also alleged to have paid Rs 100 and a bottle of liquor to
rioters, and who was seen actively instigating arsonists; Dharam Das Shastri,
Congress (I) MP from Karol Bagh; Jagdish Tytler,Congress (I) MP; Dr.Ashok
Kumar, member of the municipal corporation, Kalyanpuri; Jagdish Chandra Tokas,
member of the municipal corporation; Ishwar Singh, corporator; Faiz Mohammad,
Youth Congress (I) leader; Satbir Sirgh of the Youth Congress (I), and many
others, along with the lower level local Congress (I) ruffians and hoodlums, as
having led many of the mobs.
In Naoroji Nagar market, an eyewitness
saw the Youth Congress (I) office bearer, Pravin Sharma, stand in front of a
Sikh shop and personally direct the looting operation. Young boys from the
nearby hutments were invited to take whatever they wanted from the shop. This
distribution continued for at least an hour. Perhaps this is the Congress (I)
way of implementing their version of socialism. In fact, some Trilokpuri
residents reported that they were invited to join the looting operations which
were christened the “Garibi Hatao” campaign.
The way party stalwarts chose to pay
tribute to Mrs Gandhi and mourn her death during those four days brought out
blatantly what the ruling party has been reduced to. Many of the leaders
behaved as though they were leaders of a gang rather than prominent members of
a national political party. It was as though their chief gang
leader had been killed and they wanted to terrorise those who they imagined
constituted a threatening rival gang. Since there was really no rival gang at
hand, they substituted for it all Sikhs with long hair and beards. These men, they
decided, were a threat to their being considered the top gangsters, so
terrorising the former would show who still had real power. A popular explanation of prominent
Congressmen’s involvement that we heard was “Takat ajma rahe thay” (They were
testing out and proving their strength).
Neighbourhood Help and Defence Efforts
One of the most positive things that
happened during those dark days in Delhi was the spontaneous emergence
of defence and peace committees in most colonies and marketplaces. Hindus, Muslims,
Sikhs and other communities jointly organised to defend their neighbourhoods
from attack by outsiders. In many colonies, potential trouble makers were
chased away and active resistance was offered to the mobs who tried to enter
the areas. Men barricaded the streets and patrolled the neighbourhoods all
night.
During the days and nights when the
government machinery voluntarily chose to become defunct, people organised
themselves irrespective of caste or religion. These committees seem to have
beenmore effective in areas inhabited by
relatively better off and more organised communities who had more resources at
their command. In the very poor areas, where people have been dumped together
in appalling conditions, and the communities are not as well organised
internally, people could not organise effective self defence.
In all areas, however, there were
numerous instances of immediate neighbours, who were non Sikhs, sheltering
Sikhs. For instance, Surinder Kaur of Trilokpuri described how her family was
saved by a Hindu neighbour. She locked her son inside the house and came out
with her daughter. The attackers threw hundreds of bricks at her house and
broke everything. The neighbours came and saved them even under such risky
circumstances. One neighbour stood in front of the door to prevent the house
being broken open.
In most places where the residents
were predominantly non Sikhs with a small sprinkling of Sikh houses, after the
initial surprise attack on the first day,
Hindus and Muslims did organise to protect the Sikhs. Many families narrated
how they were given shelter by neighbours who took great risks in doing so.
Even in Trilokpuri, the damage to Sikh life and property was much greater where
they were concentrated together, as in blocks 30 and 32, than where they lived
interspersed with people of other communities. Shan Kaur of Shahdara was given
shelter by Musalmans who escorted her and her children to a place of safety. A
Hindu family in Shakurpur saved three families by hiding them, masking their identity
and helping them to run away in rickshaws. In many cases, after Sikh men were
killed or forced to flee to save their lives, women and children continued to
stay with their neighbours.
A Sikh family which had recently
shifted to a middle class colony, Dilshad Garden, beyond the
Yamuna, said that even though there were many killings, burnings and lootings
all around, they were kept in a protective cocoon by their neighbours who
brought them everything they needed so as to save them from having to step out
of the house. When the city was facing severe shortage of milk, they had more
than enough. Many Hindu families also kept in safe custody the valuables such
as cars, jewellery, cash, videos and other expensive items belonging to their
Sikh friends and neighbours.
Mahinder Kaur narrates how some of the
Muslim neighbours from her mother’s locality came to rescue her and her
brother’s family from another colony. She herself lives in Nand Nagri with her
husband and three children but had gone to visit her brother at Yamuna Vihar.
There were three men, two women and five children in the house on the 1st when,
at about 9 a.m., a mob of about 500 came and began to stone the house. The
family locked themselves in, and hid. Their neighbours, in an attempt to save
them, told the mob that the house was empty since the Sikh family had escaped
the previous night. The mob went ahead and burnt the nearby gurudwara as well
as dozens of Sikh homes in the locality. Some of their neighbours then came to
talk to them and advised them to escape since the mob had gone away for a
while. They were afraid to travel along the roads while the mob was still on
the rampage. But the neighbours clearly told them that they would not shelter
the Sikh men. So they decided to stay hidden together in their house. At 3
a.m., however, a group of Muslim men came to their house to rescue them. These
were neighbours of Mahinder Kaur’s mother who lives in Jafrabad, a trans Yamuna
village which has a predominantly Muslim population. These men had brought
several burkahs with them. The three Sikh men and the two boys were dressed in
women’s clothes, covered with burkahs and taken to Jafrabad where they remained
safely till the relief camps came into existence. Had they not been rescued at
that juncture it would have meant certain death because the mob returned at 5
p.m., broke open the door and searched the house to see if anyone was hiding.
They looted some of the stuff but were dissuaded by the neighbours from setting
fire to the house. Mahinder Kaur says the Muslims of that locality had
similarly rescued dozens of Sikh men and kept them in their houses for several
days.
The Help Offered was not Enough
However, in many cases, the neighbours
were not willing to take the risk involved. In many cases, the families
initially gave shelter, but as soon as the mob began to approach, the Sikhs,
especially the men, were asked to leave on the plea that the sheltering family
would otherwise be placed in danger. This amounted to handing over these men
for murder to the mobs because once they came out, with the mob all around,
there was no possibility of escape.
After attacking and killing all the
Sikh men they could lay their hands on, the mob left and came back again in
hordes and insisted on searching every house, including those of people of
other communities, to see if any Sikhs had taken refuge there. Anyone they
found hiding was slaughtered. Sometimes, they broke down the roofs of victims’
houses to ensure that people hiding inside would be crushed to death.
The fact that people of different communities did come to the rescue of Sikh
neighbours was perhaps the only hopeful sign in an otherwise nightmarish
situation. Yet the help offered was not enough. While many helped neighbours to
hide and escape surreptitiously, not enough Hindus or others came forward in an
organised way and openly resisted mob fury.
There is evidence that wherever even a
small number of determined individuals came forward, they were able to stop
even big mobs from running amok. For instance, in Yusuf Sarai market, which is
only about a furlong away from AIIMS, from where the killing spread on the
3lst, the local shopkeepers organised very brave resistance. A mob came and set
fire to the gurmlwara. They were about to attack Sikh shops next. The Hindu
shopkeepers came and lay down in front of the shops and told the mob they would
have to burn them before they burnt the shops. Not a single shop was burnt or
looted in this area, then or afterwards.
Similarly, a friend went and rescued a
Sikh colleague from his house in a riot affected neighbourhood in broad
daylight on November 1, and brought him to his own house on his motorbike. Some
of the neighbours threw stones at them but did not proceed to further violence
when this failed to intimidate the rescuer.Even in a highly disturbed area like
Punjabi Bagh, an old woman and a 60 year old man successfully prevented a mob
from setting fire to a house. A couple of rioters threw petrol balls into the
house but the rescuers mobilised help from the locality to extinguish the fire,
and persuaded the mob to leave.
In rare cases, those non
Sikhs who tried to come forward and remonstrate with the mob did get beaten up,
some few were even killed. But on the whole, those who stood their ground were
able to save that particular situation.
Many neighbours allowed
Sikh women to seek refuge but refused to shelter men. Somti Bai of Trilokpuri
says she and her family hid in the house of a local political leader. While he
kept assuring her that her three sons were safe in the house, he subsequently
turned them out of the house, which was as good as handing them over to the
mob, which was on the rampage all around. All three sons were killed. Somti’s
sister-in-law was raped. Her two sisters were kidnapped and released only after
three days had passed.
Another horrible but typical example of callous cowardliness of neighbours was
reported by an eyewitness in Shankar Garden, a middle class colony newly
established in West Delhi. A mob attacked a Sikh house, pulled out an old man
and set his clothes on fire. He ran into the house of a neighbour who helped
him get off the clothes and extinguish the fire. But the mob soon began to pelt
this house with stones. The family there folded their hands before the elderly
Sikh and asked him to leave by the back door because they were not ready to
risk further attack. As soon as the Sikh emerged, the mob encircled him. They
seemed to be in no hurry for they spent about 20 minutes collecting stones.
They then formed a circle round him and began stoning him to death. At this,
his young son came running out of the house to save his father, who was by then
half dead. The mob immediately pounced on the son, tied his arms and legs,
poured kerosene on him and burnt him to death.
This entire incident, from
beginning to end, was watched by hundreds of neighbours standing in their
courtyards or on roof tops, yet no one had the courage or humanity to
intervene. The old man was crying for water but no one came forward even to
meet this need because the attackers stood around in threatening postures.
Several such instances
have been reported where determined intervention by neighbours and onlookers
could have averted killings. Not only did people fail to intervene. They seem
to have watched with the same mixture of fascination and repulsion with which
viewers watch violence on the cinema screen.
All for the Glory and Unity of the Nation
Unfortunately, an
overwhelming majority of people in Delhi seem to feel that all the killings and
arson were, in some way, justifiable. They believe this not just because they
are possessed by the desire for revenge for the murder of Indira Gandhi but
because they have been convinced by years of vicious chauvinist propaganda that
a purging operation was necessary in order to “save the nation” and “keep the
nation united.” The ruling party has made itself the arch symbol of a so called
united nation. Its opponents are invariably accused of “weakening the nation”
in the face of the dangers of the “foreign hand.”
Once such a chauvinist,
nationalist fever infects the brains of people there is little hope that
rationality or humanity or logic will prevail. The vision of the nation begins
to act as a monster devouring its own people.
The amazing thing is that
many of those who witnessed with their own eyes such senseless murders, who may
feel sorry about their neighbours’ and friends’ deaths, who may even have
helped and sheltered Sikhs, in fact a majority of the people of Delhi, still
continue to assert with unabated vigour that the Sikhs had to be “taught a
lesson.” The bizarre logic or rather illogic behind this sentiment is most
difficult to challenge. As long as people thought in concrete terms of Sikhs
they knew personally, they felt that these individuals should be protected and
that attacks on them were regrettable. But the moment they began to think of
themselves as members of the Hindu community or as nationalist and patriotic
Indians (these two were usually seen as synonymous), their ability to see Sikhs
as fellow human beings seemed to vanish. The transition from “Santokh Singh,
our neighbour and friend” to “those Sikhs” was remarkably sudden, drastic and
violent. Sikhs as Sikhs were “they” pilled against “us.” Sikhs became another
species altogether, who needed to be sternly dealt with, perhaps even exterminated,
for their “otherness.”
Amongst the majority of
Hindus, who did not join in the violence, there unfortunately seems to be a
distinct feeling of pride that Hindus have finally put fear in the hearts of a
supposedly aggressive community. At the same time, nobody wants to face the
responsibility for the horrific deeds that were done in the name of teaching
this lesson. This is especially so amongst middle class people. After asserting
that the Sikhs had to be given a fitting reply, people at once seek shelter
behind the comforting reflection that it was “these lower caste” poor people
who did it, conveniently forgetting that the leaders who incited the mobs are
from their own class. They are also quick to cite instances of how, in their
own way, they tried to help their neighbours. Thus they betray a curious blend of
pride in the mob actions which were done in the name of avenging Hindus, and
shrinking from taking individual responsibility for the carnage.
The Complex Quality of Concern
Also, in middle class
colonies, other factors than mere undiluted concern for neighbours seem to have
been at work to get them to offer help to some of their close neighbours. In
the colonies of well off people, almost none of the local residents were key
participants in mob activity. Almost always, the attackers descended from
outside of the colony and were perceived as belonging to the lower castes and
classes, who were making use of the opportunity to loot and plunder. Many
people perceived it as some sort of class war.
Those middle and upper
class colonies which adjoined villages and resettlement colonies seem to have
been worst affected. The residents, therefore, fell prey to the fear that the selective
looting of Sikh houses could spread to other houses. I heard residents of some
of the affluent colonies say that the “nich jatis” had been eyeing the growing
prosperity of the rich with increasing resentment and had grabbed this occasion
to acquire consumer items that they could not otherwise hope to get throughout
their lives.
The fear that if an
adjoining house was burnt, the fire might spread or that the attackers might
lose their sense of discrimination and loot non Sikh houses as well, seems to
have spurred many more people into organising mutual defence.
Sadly, there are also
reported cases of neighbours having helped the attacking mob to identify Sikh
homes. A woman from Babarpur alleges that “a local ration shop owner brought
the attackers to our house. We know him very well. We always had good relations
with him. But he and his brother betrayed us. The killers were men from the interior
alleys of our locality. They came around noon on the 1st. My son had been told
to cut off his hair and had done so the night before. He had kept vigil all
night with the other men of the neighbourhood. But the ration shop owner
recognised him though his hair was cut and pointed him out, saying : ‘He is a
Sardar. Kill him.’ The killers poured kerosene on him and on my husband and
burnt them both to death.”
Yet it remains true that
in most areas, immediate neighbours, on the whole, offered help, or at the very
least, did not join the attackers. When local men joined the mob, or rejoiced
with it, they were usually not immediate neighbours of the victims but were
residents of a nearby block or street in the same locality.
Even while people helped
their neighbours and friends, ferocious rumours were set afloat to discourage
people from offering such help. In Trilokpuri, as well as in other areas,
several families who had given shelter to Sikh women told me obnoxious and
unbelievable stories about Sikhs who were given shelter in Hindu homes having
butchered their benefactors. There was also the absurd story of a barber who
cut the hair of a Sikh at the latter’s request but received sword blows on his
ears and in his stomach as a parting gift. Such rumours were and are rife in
every locality, from the affluent to the poverty stricken.
Unfortunately, this kind
of rumourmongering goes on unabated even after the Sikhs have been subjected to
such violence and terrorisation. During and after the carnage, there have been
several rumours of how Sikhs have retaliated or are planning to retaliate, in
and outside Punjab. The stories about water poisoning and trainloads of
massacred Hindus, which ran like wild fire through the city, have been proved
utterly baseless. But stories of how Sikhs are planning to reavenge themselves
are still doing incalculable damage. For instance, a domestic servant in our
locality told us that the army had to be called into her colony because the
residents were convinced that the Hindus were in imminent danger of an attack
by the Sikhs who had sought shelter in Balasaheb gurudwara nearby. It was
rumoured that 9,000 Sikhs, equipped with all kinds of arms, had gathered in the
gurudwara and were ready to retaliate. However, the reality was that about
1,500 people, most of them women and children, in a pitiable condition, were
living in the gurudwara relief camp. The rumour also gave rise to a disgusting
demand that the relief camp in the gurudwara be disbanded because Sikhs were
congregated in large numbers there.
Thus these rumours have
become not only a way of justifying the monstrous happenings which have no real
justification, but also a weapon that is used with telling effect against the
victims.
Women Excluded from Defence Efforts
All the killing, looting
and burning was organised by men. In some cases, after the initial attack was
over, women and children also joined in picking up whatever they could lay
hands on by way of loot. At Punjabi Bagh, for instance, men, women and children
from J. J. Colony, Madipur, came in swarms to claim their share of booty from
the gurudwara and from some houses. But the attacking mob was exclusively
composed of men.
The organised efforts at
defence and peacekeeping were also confined almost exclusively to men. Women
were meticulously kept out of these efforts in most areas. Men, as usual, ran
the whole show by themselves. On television, when residents were interviewed,
some women said the role they played was that of serving tea to the men who
kept vigil all night.
 |
| Outside her wrecked home |
In our neighbourhood,
Lajpat
Nagar, the first initiative to call a meeting of the
residents was taken by the Residents’ Association of the block, which is not a
very active body in normal times. In this association, as in all such bodies,
women are never approached to become even nominal members if there are any men
in the household. A widow without grown sons may be asked to pay a
membership fee in
her own name, but will not be expected to attend meetings or to take an active
interest in the doings or nondoings of the association. Since I happen to be
one of the few women who has no male “head of the household”, I was enrolled as
a member in my own right.
Yet, though I approached
the office bearers to find out if a meeting was being called and to ensure that
I was informed so that I could attend, neither I nor any other woman was
allowed to be part of the neighbourhood meetings and deliberations. Men took
for granted that it was their job to defend the area. Women were expected to
run inside their homes if an attack occurred.
At night, young men
patrolled the streets, and made rather aggressive enquiries of any women they
saw walking around at a late hour. They were on the ready with lathis, iron
bars and other weapons. The way they went about their business, it was
difficult to distinguish these night patrollers from trouble makers. In fact,
in a few places, including parts of Lajpat Nagar, different patrolling parties
clashed with each other, mistaking each other for hoodlums.
For many young men, this
seemed an exciting opportunity to prove their filmi heroism. Some of them
seemed to have a good time creating false alarms, spreading rumours, running
around with sticks and rods at the slightest provocation-real or imagined.
Observing the aggressive behaviour of some of the young men in our locality, I
had the uneasy feeling that their very presence on the road was likely to spark
off a clash, with or without reason.
Women in our locality and
in most other areas of the city, acted merely as carriers of rumours that their
sons, husbands and brothers brought in from outside. None of the men thought it
necessary to involve women in the effort at self defence nor were there any
instances of women taking the initiative to organise their own meetings to
discuss what they should do in case of an emergency. At the same time, in many
Sikh households, because of the danger to men’s lives, most of the outside
chores had to be performed by women. Within most homes, of course, women did
participate in discussions as to what the family should do if something went
wrong. But this was not allowed to happen at the community level.
Women were, however,
active in relief work. Students and teachers of women’s colleges in Delhi have
been particularly active in organising relief teams. Even here, however,
authorities in some colleges have tried to put hurdles in the students’ way.
For instance, in Miranda House and University Hostel for Women, rules regarding
visitors’ entry into the premises and residents’ comings and goings have been
made more stringent.
Thus, women students have even less freedom than in ordinary times to go out of
the premises and this restricts their ability to be active in relief work.
Girls have been repeatedly warned against the supposed dangers of relief work.
Residents of the University Hostel were even forbidden to join the Delhi
University peace marches on the campus.
The experience of these
days again confirmed the fact that people’s preconceptions seem to determine
and influence their thinking much more than the reality of the situation and of
their experience. For instance, whenever communities were attacked, men seemed
quite incapable of defending their homes all by themselves. In most cases,
women did come forward to protect not only their homes and children but also
the lives of men. Most of the men seem to have been forced to flee to save
their lives, leaving women to take care of the children, the old and the home.
This has been the standard experience everywhere-in Assam, in Bihar tribal
movements, during the partition, during various riots and so on. Yet the myth
holds powerful sway that men alone
are defenders of the community and that women are incapable of performing this
task.
The powerful hold of this
myth prevents women from acquiring any say in key decision
makingprocesses, even in those which affect their lives as
profoundly as they do those of men.
The Role of Government Machinery
In one sense, this was not
an unusual period. The entire government machinery seems to have lived up to
its usual motto : “Do not move or do anything until there is a push and a kick
from above.If you do something you are more likely to annoy someone in power than
if you do not do anything.”
 |
| Policemejnt act as disinterested spectators |
This is summed up very
aptly by N.K. Saxena, a senior
police officer quoted
in the November 25 issue of Express Magazine : “I have no doubt that a good few
police officers make dangerous compromises because, according to their
calculations, the risk of their dismissal for failure is not more than one
percent, while their being disgraced for doing their duty seriously is over 50
percent.”
A striking example of this
safe nondoing was the way All India Radio handled the news of Mrs Gandhi’s death.
They were the last to announce her death, and kept playing their routine jazz
and film music
hours after BBC and several other foreign radio
stations had announced the news and had started broadcasting condolence
messages from different world leaders. It was a typical display of mindless
servility and slavish self censorship, characteristic of the government
owned media
in India.
While the city burned,
many senior politicians, bureaucrats and police officers seem to have spent
most of their time dancing attendance at Teen Murti house where Mrs Gandhi’s
body lay, or preparing to receive foreign dignitaries for the grand funeral. Others
were busy helping to coordinate the murder, rape and plunder.
Almost everywhere in the
city, the police too seem to have performed a well rehearsed role. Either they
were absent from the scene and failed to make their appearance despite repeated
appeals from affected and concerned citizens or, if they were present, they
behaved at best like amused spectators. In many cases, they actively abetted
the criminal acts, and in some cases, even participated in them.
A friend who witnessed the
burning of Yusuf Sarai gurudwara described the role of the police: “Between 3
and 4 p.m., on November 1, a local hoodlum came to the policeman on duty and
said : ‘Please go away from here, we want to burn the gurudwara.’ The policeman
good humouredly replied : Wait for a while till I go off duty. Then you can
burn it. In fact, you should burn it.’ He assured him that between his going
off duty and the next man’s coming to replace him, there would be an interval
of at least 15 minutes, in which the job could be done. However, the ‘leader’
was not convinced and said: ‘Look, we have the men now. We can’t wait. Besides,
we know you. Who knows who the next fellow maybe?’ So saying, he put his arm
around the policeman and walked him down the road for a few hundred yards,
during which time the rest of the miscreants set ‘ the gurudwara ablaze.”
The PUCL-PUDR report
describes similar experiences : “On November 1, when we toured the Lajpat Nagar
area, we found the police conspicuous by their absence, while Sikh shops were
being set on fire and looted. Young people armed with swords, dappers, spears,
steel trishuls and iron rods were ruling the roads. The only sign of police
presence was a police jeep, which obstructed a peace procession brought out by
a few concerned citizens. When the procession was on its way to the Lajpat
Nagar main market, a police inspector from the van stopped the procession and
warned it not to proceed, reminding its members that the city was under curfew
and Section 144. When leaders of the procession wanted to know why the
arsonists and rioters were not heing dispersed if curfew was on, he gave no
reply and warned instead that the processionists could go to Lajpat Nagar
market at their own risk.”
Even in our own locality,
after the gurudwara was set on fire, the policemen looked on with amusement as
though it were a tamasha and did nothing to stop the hoodlums. When we tried to
persuade local residents that we should try to put out the fire, the policemen
accused us of creating a “disturbance” and tried to push us away. Elsewhere,
too, the same story is told.
Even for those who wish to
believe that there were no explicit orders to this effect from high up police
bosses, the role that the policemen at the lower levels played would still need
to be explained. The least one would have to say is that since the policemen
knew that several Congress (I) men were fomenting the riots, they did not want
to take the responsibility of stopping it lest they incur the wrath of their
senior officers and the ruling party bosses. Hence they may have decided to
adopt a safer course and do nothing obstructive.
However, since
traditionally there is a close link up between the politician cum ruffian and
the local police, even if there were no explicit orders from above to this
effect, the two are likely to have acted in unison. And since there was promise
of loot and plunder, the arsonists found ready allies among the police.Several
people have alleged that a substantial portion of the looted property was
cornered by policemen.
Sardar Santokh Singh, who
lives in Shivpuri Extension, says : “No police came to our rescue when we were
attacked on November 2, even though the place where we live is a stone’s throw
from the police station.” No first information report (F.I.R) had been
registered even though they, along with many others, came and sought shelter in
the police station after it was converted into a relief camp by the government.
Several of the families I
interviewed had been denied protection and shelter when they somehow managed to
reach a police station. For instance, Shan Kaur and her daughter managed to
reach the Seelampur police station after the male members of their family were
murdered. But she says that the police threw them out and they then sought
refuge in the house of Hindu relatives. She says that in her colony some
murders took place right in front of the police station.
Sardar Mahinder Singh of
Shanker Nagar, who works as a granthi in a gurudwara, describes how his family
fared ; “On November 3, at about 4.30 p.m., the military came and asked if
people wanted to be taken to relief camps. So all those who were in hiding came
out. One truckload left for the camp. Just as the others were preparing to get
into the next truck, the military drove it away empty, saying : ‘We have some
urgent work nearby, so we will come back for you.’ No sooner had the military
left than the mob fired on the families who were now standing exposed on the
street. One Sardar died. There was a stampede, with people rushing to hide and being
pursued. My brother-in-law and my young son ran into the house and tried to
hide. The attackers pursued them and broke down the door. The two of then
climbed on the roof of a Hindu neighbour’s house but they were dragged down and
hit with lathis and bricks. Immediately, petrol was poured on them and they
were burnt alive. My wife tried to save them and got badly burnt. Everything in
our house was looted though the neighbours somehow managed to save the house
from being burnt.”
In Krishna Nagar, 12 members
of a family were burnt alive in their own house without any intervention by the
police even though the police station is a few yards away. One of the men tried
to escape but he was hit with iron rods and thrown back into the burning house.
A woman too tried to escape but was already so badly burnt that she died, soon
after, in hospital.
There were instances,
however, of the police coming to disarm Sikhs who tried to resist attackers,
using whatever arms they had. Thus police deprived them of their legal right to
private self defence.Those actions to disarm Sikhs were among the very few
active interventions by the police, ostensibly to preserve law and order. More
Sikhs died as a consequence of this type of police intervention than would
have, had the police just kept away.
Bindo from Kalyanpuri says
that the SHO of the area ordered the police to loot Sikh houses. Those who
resisted were arrested. Police raided Sikh houses instead of protecting them.
In other blocks in this colony, people alleged that the SHO had accompanied the
attacking mob and provided them with diesel from police jeeps for burning Sikh
men alive.
Several cases have been
reported of Hindus who had sheltered Sikhs having gone to seek help from the
police and having been told to hand over the Sikhs to the mobs. An eyewitness
in Shakurpur says a Sikh man who was being pursued by a mob attempted to save
his life by climbing into a police jeep. He was thrown by the police to the mob
who killed him on the spot.
An additional reason for
police inaction in this instance is believed to be that Sikh policemen were
deliberately immobilised. One version is that the Delhi police were officially
informed of Mrs. Gandhi’s death only at 5 p.m. even though she had died much
before noon. The two DIGs spent the whole night disarming that large proportion
of the Delhi police force who are Sikhs. They were taken off duty. Even in the
army, some Sikh Soldiers are said to have been disarmed.
Thus, not only was
precious time lost which should have been spent keeping the criminals in check,
but also, Sikh policemen, who could have helped keep the situation somewhat
under control, were gotten rid of. Thus, in many respects the murderers,
looters and arsonists had a free hand and could act with greater assurance that
no one would block their way.
It seems we are fast
reaching a state of gangster police combined rule. After the assassination and
riots, the government made several announcements about its plans to overhaul
the prime minister’s security force and also to open many more police stations
in the city, and strengthen and expand the police force. This seems like
rubbing salt into our wounds.
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| A family arriving at Shahdara relief camp |
It is a well known fact
that not only during these riots but in almost all other similar situations the
police have cither actively assisted criminals or at the least, have turned a
blind eye to their activities. One of the reasons for this is that the
political bosses who control the police are also the ones who extend patronage
to ruffians and criminals. Most people argue that what we need is a smaller but
honest police force and non interference by political leaders. How this can be
achieved nobody yet knows. At least, I have never heard anything but pious
sermons on this issue, to which neither police nor politicians feel the need to
pay heed.
Expanding the police force
by adding 8,000 or more to the existing 32,000 in the city, as the government
has announced, without reorganising it and making it responsible to the people
residing in the local communities it is suppose to protect, is like adding to
the problem rather than solving it. It amounts to injecting more poison into
the social life of the country.
Though the press, All
India Radio and Doordarshan reported that shoot at sight orders had been issued
and the army had been called in to enforce the curfew on November 1, following
large scale violence, the troops in the field were not given firm and clear
instructions to move independently to put down the riots. The police and the
civil administration failed to provide accurate information to the troops
deployed in the city, especially during the crucial first few days.
There were hardly any
instances during the few days of the riots of the army having fired on mobs of
attackers or having come to the rescue of victims while they were under attack.
Many officers in the field seemed unsure of their orders and were reluctant to
order their troops into action without the concurrence of the police and civil
authorities, both of whom seemed reluctant to cede authority to act to the
military. There seems to have been a deliberate plan to keep the army
ineffective until the murderers and arsonists had done their job.
The coming of the army to
maintain law and order in the city was welcomed by almost everyone. Many even
openly declared that they wanted military rule. This is indeed a sad comment on
the state of our society. People themselves are demanding more and more
military interventions in the mistaken hope that the army is “above politics”
and hence will clean up the corrupt administration.
The conduct of our
politicians and bureaucrats is such that democracy has unfortunately become
synonymous with corruption and ruffianism. Hence, too frequently, the desire
for a well ordered society seeks expression, tragically, in the desire for army
rule.
Is this because people see
army rule as rule by a caste apart from the rest of the people? Are they really
as incorruptible as some of us hope?
We have the examples of
Pakistan and Bangladesh, close neighbours. Both countries have had long spells
of army rule, and in matters of corruption and disorder, are perhaps worse off.
Yet the myth persists that the army can best perform the people’s task because
we have not had as much exposure to army rule as we have had to our police and
politicians, except for a few days in times of crisis. Another face of army
rule is visible in certain border areas in India, where, for a long time, the
army has been doing exactly what the police is notorious for doing in most
parts of the country.
The Nature of Government Relief
Even though it is well
known that key members of the Congress (I) party led and
instigated the riots and much of the governmental machinery slavishly
collaborated with the rioters, the same crew have now entrusted themselves with
the task of doing relief and rehabilitation work. The attitude displayed is
that of pious bountifulness vis a vis the poor helpless victims, as though some
natural disaster had befallen them.
 |
| In the Farash Bazar relief camp |
It is tragic
indeed that
several petitions and memoranda have to be submitted by concerned citizens and
organisations to the very same authorities who are directly or indirectly
responsible for the massacre. For instance, a letter signed by several
organisations was sent to Rajiv Gandhi asking that special reliefs be made
available for widows, and women who have lost all the male members of their
families. There have been similar requests for enhancing the compensation money
for each death. The whole tone of the letter is one of asking a favour.
Whenever there have been
discussions between voluntary organisations involved
in relief and the government representatives, the latter behave as though they
are bestowing charity on a group of people who have no rightful claim on
government. This attitude is evident
also in the half hearted and haphazard way relief camps were started by the
government. From November 4 onwards, as things began to calm down, the army was
assigned the task of keeping peace in the city. People who had been rendered
houseless or felt too insecure in their own neighbourhoods moved into relief
camps set up in different parts of the city, some by government but mostly by
gurudwara. As usual, government was slow and callous in meeting with the
demands of the situation.
In the early days, even
though people were dumped in police stations, colleges and school buildings
that had been hastily converted into relief centres, food was not provided by
government, not to mention medical or other relief, such as blankets and
clothing, For the first few days, people from neighbouring areas, both Hindus
and Sikhs, brought food for the victims. For instance, in Farash Bazar camp,
people from Jhilmil Colony organised a langar for the victim families because
the government had not made any food arrangements and many of the victims had
not eaten for the days they had been in hiding.
Even when the government
did begin to send in food and other supplies, it sent them only to the 10 camps
which the Delhi administration chose to “recognise.” About 20 other camps, most
of them set up in gurudwaras were not recognised by government and therefore
received scarcely any material help from government.
The Sikh community, with
help from voluntary organisations, arranged food and other supplies for these
camps.Even in the 10 recognised camps, however, government food
supplies are
so poorly distributed and frequently inadequate so that voluntary organisations
have had to continue supplying food, clothing and other necessities such as
blankets, soap, utensils, buckets, on a regular basis.
Several voluntary
organisations such as the Nagrik Ekta Manch, which was formed in response to
the situation, tried their best to fill the gap. They collected donations, food
supplies, old clothes, medicines and other items. A few doctors joined
these relief teams. In some camps, government machinery began to put obstacles
in the path of voluntary organisations and insisted on issuing identity cards
to people before letting them enter the camps. However, this plan could not be
implemented.
As the voluntary
organisations began to assess and grasp the magnitude of the problem,
government announced its plans to fold up the camps on the plea that the
situation had returned to “normal.” Government insisted that people return to
their “homes” so that the process of rehabilitation could be expedited.
Many people whose houses had been completely
destroyed were similarly packed on to buses and sent off. Mahinder Kaur, whose
flat in Nand Nagri had been completely looted and damaged, and who was left
with no source of income since her husband’s teashop and her knitting machine
were both destroyed, was forced out of the camp in Shyamlal College, Shahdara.
On November 11, a day before the university opened, she says, inmates of this
camp, which was one of the largest in Delhi, were forced out. When they
manifested reluctance, they were told : “If you do not go you will be thrown
out” (dhakke mar ke nikalenge). In Kalyanpuri and Shakurpur people are living
in the open near their wrecked homes. It was around November 6 that government
declared its intention of winding up the camps. This was the time when people
were still coming into the camps and most of those who were there categorically
stated that they would rather die than return to the areas where they had seen
their relatives slaughtered and where degradation had been heaped upon them.
The common feeling is: ‘That place has become a cremation ground for us.” Those
who lived in somewhat safer localities returned on their own without any
prodding from government. It is primarily the poorer families from resettlement
colonies where even local people and some neighbours had joined in the looting
and killing, who are not prepared to go back.
In order to preempt any
government move to throw out vulnerable and shelterless people on to the
streets, Nagrik Ekta Manch was forced to approach the High Court and demand
that government be disallowed from closing down the camps until satisfactory
arrangements were made for the safety of the affected families. The High Court
granted a stay order on November 16, and on November 19 made the government
give an assurance that no further evacuation would take place against the will
of the evacuees. However, by then, almost all the government run camps had been
emptied, except for the Farash Bazar camp.
The political
considerations behind the desire to evacuate people are obvious. First, as long
as people stay together in the camps, they remain visible as victims of riots
and of the collusion and failure of government machinery during this period.
This is obviously too big an embarrassment with the elections round the corner.
Second, as long as people live together, they inevitably have a certain measure
of solidarity. This gives them a relatively stronger bargaining position in
demanding compensation and relief. Third, as long as they live together, it is
easier for voluntary agencies and concerned individuals to monitor the
compensation process and to make sure that the money actually
reaches those for whom it is meant and is not misappropriated by the
disbursement agents or local leaders and hoodlums. Those families who were made
to go back when the camps folded are now scattered and more completely at the
mercy of callous governmental machinery and of the Congress hoodlums who are
playing an active role in distributing compensation money.
Fourth, those families who
were compelled to go back will be forced to make their homes habitable by
removing the wreckage and thus will be made to destroy the evidence of the
carnage and loot. Government has not yet taken the trouble to begin collecting
evidence on a systematic basis or even assessing the total economic damage
caused to individual families. Nor is there any hope of such a process
commencing.
Fifth, once people are
back in their colonies, they are likely to be intimidated into silence so that
they do not follow up criminal charges or give witness against the attackers.
The problem is most acute for the relatively poorer set of victims from
resettlement colonies. The bulk of people who stayed in refugee camps for more
than a few days came from these colonies. Most better off people took shelter
with friends, relatives, or in privately arranged places. Had there been any
attempt by government to record the statements of the victims while they were
still in camps, it would have been far easier to get testimony, as these people
have been freely talking to press reporters and other investigators. When I
interviewed people in the camps, except for some women who had been gang raped,
not one person showed any unwillingness to tell his or her story. They were
willing to be taperecorded, photographed, and also openly to identify all those
whom they knew to be abettors and perpetrators of crimes, however high up or
powerful these people were. Once forced to go back to the areas where murderers
and ruffians still roam around freely, the victims are not likely to be able to
testify openly. Not that any effort to record statements is likely to be made
by government at any point since the carnage was mostly government’s own doing.
Very little has been done
to curb the elements which were behind the riots. It has been reported that
even when police have been forced to make some show of arrests and recovery of
looted properly, most of the arrests were made on petty charges which do not
carry any serious penalty. A majority of arrests were made under section 107 of
the penal code. A person apprehended under this section can at most be ordered
to execute a bond for keeping the peace and public trarquility for a period not
exceeding one year.
Moreover, since Congress
(I) leaders are known to have instigated the rioters, the hoodlums are assured
of political protection. In some cases, Congrcss (I) leaders have actually gone
to police stations and insisted on their followers being immediately released.
The best known example is that of Congress (I) leader, Dharam Das Shastri, who
was reported to have openly intimidated the SHO who had ordered the arrest of
some criminal rioters. Many of the leaders are known to be doing the same, some
of them through less visible pressures. Even the few rioters who were arrested
have been released on bail within a day or two and are known to be openly
intimidating the victimised families in their areas.
Despite pressure from large sections of the public, government has not ordered
a full enquiry into the origin of the riots. In fact, government is making a
shameless attempt to dismiss the violence as an it inevitable outburst of
people’s natural frustration, grief and anger. The Congress (I) party has come
back to fight the next election, posing as the arch defender of national unity.
This has led several prominent citizens to appoint an independent enquiry
commission to go into the causes of the riots. But the question is how does a
commission lacking any enforcement authority put the government and the ruling
party on public trial for its criminal conduct.
The amount of relief and
compensation promised is so low as to be absurd. The government has announced a
Rs 10,000 compensation for each person killed. Since most of those killed were
main breadwinners of their families, the
money promised is ridiculously inadequate. When people have tried
to point out the inadequacy, government representatives declare that any larger
amount would set a “bad precedent,” since victims of floods and other natural
disasters are given much smaller amounts. The procedures for getting even this meagre
sum are so cumbersome that most people, particularly the illiterate and the
poor, have no hope of ever obtaining it. The most problematic procedure is that
a death has to be “proved.” Considering the circumstances under which people
were murdered, burnt to ashes and their remains lost amidst the wreckage, this
is a cruel demand indeed.
 |
Vidya, a widow, with her three children, and the fourth,
a baby born on November 8 in the relief camp |
The official figure for
deaths in Delhi is set at about 600 whereas the actual number of deaths is
likely to be much over 2, 500. Government is trying its utmost not to have to
pay for all the deaths because if it acknowledges more claims this amounts to
admitting the extent of the tragedy and of its own hypocrisy. For damages to a
house, the government is paying about Rs 1,000. The upper limit of compensation
for property is Rs10,000.Even those who had every single item they owned burnt
and their house and vehicles destroyed cannot get more than this. Even this
meagre payment is being made in the most dishonest manner and many of the
disbursement agents are taking bribes. Very, very few of those who filled out
claim forms have been given the full amount of Rs 10,000.
For instance, in Farash
Bazar camp, where people from Trilokpuri, who were among the worst sufferers in
Delhi, had sought shelter, there were 243 death claims, 515 house and property
claims and 113 injury claims. On November 19, government officials brought only
31 cheques to be disbursed. Out of these, one was for Rs 10,000, one for Rs 5,
000 and 29 were for Rs 1,000 each. The people were so angry that no one
accepted the cheques and the officer was asked to go back. Similar or worse
things have been happening in other areas.
In despair at government
inactivity, some voluntary organisations and private business houses were
impelled to undertake the task of repairing and rebuilding houses in some of
the poorer areas, a task which government should have undertaken as a priority.
When people were made to
leave the camps, they were supposed to be given Rs 50 and a week’s rations per
family. Many did not get even this paltry amount. In some cases, people were so
angry with the government for its role in instigating the riots that when they
reached the camps they refused to eat food supplied by the government or the
ruling party. They would only accept help from gurudwaras, voluntary agencies
or local residents who had spontaneously organised relief.
Thus, even though on paper
several lakhs of rupees will be shown to have been spent in providing relief
and rehabilitation, very little of even this amount is likely to reach the
people whom it should reach.This will provide another opportunity to the
bureaucracy and the Congress party to bungle and misappropriate funds.
Ever since relief camps
have been disbanded, voluntary agencies have found it more difficult to provide
support and relief because the victims are scattered now. Relief workers have
found that because the colonies where most of the victims live are places where
the city poor are concentrated, the job of relief becomes more difficult. Many
poor families flock to the volunteers and ask for help, even though they are
not riot victims. If they are denied what they ask, fresh grounds for
resentment and hostility against the survivors are created.
Most people feel that the
little that is being done or promised by way of relief and rehabilitation by
the government is essentially a way of creating a favourable atmosphere for the
ruling party in the forthcoming elections, and that as soon as the elections
are over, all aid to the victimised families will terminate. Considering the
government’s past record, this apprehension is by no means unjustified.
One’s first response to
the enormity of what has happened is to feel a sense of absolute loss and
despair. Even though the political instigation from within the ruling party
played a very crucial role we cannot escape facing the fact that the poison
that erupted flows in the very bloodstream of our social and political life.
This has frightful implications. The most significant is that we are being
ruled by a deadly alliance of ruffians and politicians, and all other groups
have abdicated responsibility. Equally frightening is the passivity with which
even the supposedly most enlightened and educated of our citizens have accepted
the massacre as a minor aberration in normal life. As the election fever
heightens, those terrible events are fast receding from everyone’s awareness.
However, if we do not
learn and act on a few of the basic lessons that emerge so clearly from these
tragic events, we will not be able to avert still larger catastrophes.
 |
Victims at Kalyanpuri cooking collectively in an
open space near their wrecked homes |
We must realise that what was done to the Sikhs can at
any moment be done to any group of people. All it needs is a bunch of powerful
politicians who, for some vested interest or other, decide to make a
scapegoat of any identifiable group in the country. This has been done to
Muslims for decades.
Lower caste and so called untouchable people have
repeatedly been made victims of mass murder, rape, arson, in rural areas.
The pace of such attacks has escalated in recent years. Such attacks by upper
caste landlords and their hoodlums, with the complicity of police, have not
aroused much public outrage. Violence seems to have become so much a part of
“normal” life that people’s sensibilities have been benumbed towards it.
Similarly, there is an old history of dubbing
every radical opposition to the government as “Naxalite” or “antinational” and
thus justifying extermination drives against political opponents by the state
machinery and its hired hoodlums. This time, the Sikhs came to be chosen as
special targets. Next, it could be virtually anyone.
- All those who are responsible for the carnage be dealt with appropriately.
The Congress (I) party and its chief office bearers who fomented violence and
led the killings should be put on open trial and appropriately punished.
Additionally, they should be made to pay reparations both from the party funds
and from their individual wealth, for the heavy looting and damage to homes and
other property of Sikh families. They should also pay heavy punitive fines for
their criminal conduct, though of course no fines can ever be a recompense for
murder, rape, maiming and the other forms of terror that they unleashed.
- A pension of Rs 500 a month should be given by the government to each widow
and mother of deceased men. Along with this each child and dependent family
member should be given Rs 100 per month till such time as the child reaches the
age of 18.
- The functioning of the various arms of the state
machinery which actively connived with the arsonists or by their criminal
neglect let the arsonists have a free hand for more than four days should also
be subject to an independent inquest.. This includes the police and the civil
administration.
 |
| People living in the open in Kalyanpuri, after their huts were destroyed |
- Equally important is the long term need to devise ways
whereby the police and the administration can be made accountable directly to
each local community for what they do or fail to do.
- Apart from curbing the arbitrary powers of the police and
administration, in which abuse is inherent, we need to learn from the strength
that lies in each community organising itself for its own defence and self
determination. It has been widely acknowledged that more than the police or the
army, it was the citizens’ self defence efforts which sprang up during those
days of crisis which succeeded in preventing the violence from spreading on a
still larger scale. In many neighbourhoods, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs patrolled
together and kept hoodlums at bay, even at the height of the incitements to
communal massacre. We need to have the courage to learn the appropriate lesson
from this experience namely, that this form of self organisation has a much
greater potential for giving genuine protection to citizens than the police has
ever had. We need to
recognise the urgent need for the people to take back for the community the
power that has been appropriated by the ruffian-politician combine. We need to
rebuild the institution of local self government. It is futile to expect
protection from the “higher” authorities because this only ends up rendering us
powerless and servile. We need to
evolve newer forms of local self government at every level so that we do not
have to live with a crippling sense of dependence on a highly corrupt,
authoritarian and centralised state machinery. It is equally
important that women be actively involved in this process in substantial
numbers. The active presence of women in the community life has several
advantages, one being that because of their relatively lesser capacity for and
lack of a tradition of committing organised violence, the active presence of
women on such comittees will make the atmosphere far less conducive to
violence.
- These riots have highlighted with great urgency the role
that wrong, bad and dishonest information plays in breeding hatred, violence
and injustice. This has been true not only for these but for all communal
riots. In the absence of good honest information, people are vulnerable to
believing anything that is said with vigour and authority and repeated a hundred
times.
Thus it
becomes crucial to make honest information easily available and accessible on a
very large scale. This task cannot be left to the
government. It has to be undertaken by those who feel the need to build a more humane society. Prejudices feed on ignorance. We have
to make a much greater and more concerted effort to collect systematically
accurate and honest information, and to distribute it effectively in times of
crisis and on a day to day basis.
- These and other murderous campaigns such as anti Muslim riots in
many parts of India, the ongoing repression in areas such as Assam and
Nagaland, the chronic massacres and terrorisation of harijans, also highlight
the inherent dangers in the kind of thinking that puts abstractisms above human
life. The killing of Sikhs has been justified in the name of national unity
just as Bhindranwale justified killing of people —Sikhs and Hindus —in the name
of Sikhism or Sikh nationhood. Any ism, whether it is socialism, Gandhism,
nationalism, Hinduism, or feminism, if it teaches us to kill, terrorise and
subjugite human beings for some larger cause is a virtual death trap for
people. It also shows the danger
of abstractions which hide human reality. People are often willing to stand by
their neighbours because they see them as individual human beings but
the moment people are seen as Sikhs or Muslims or Hindus, stereotypic
prejudices about communities take over and destroy the possibility of human
relationships.
- We need to combat the authoritarian thinking which permeates every aspect
of our social and political life- from the family to the government. Any
differences of opinion are seen as signs of rebellion and are sought to be put
down with a heavy hand. We need to build a culture of tolerance and respect for
differences of opinion, and an institutional framework wherein mutual
cooperation is produced by common interests rather than by military and police
coercion or appeals to a mystic idol called the nation. A key aspect of relying
on authoritarian thinking is the desire for simplistic, dogmatic solutions to
all social problems. For example, there is a demand for more and more police
and army intervention as one violent episode follows another. We need to
remember that at no time in history and in no part of the world has the police
or the army ever been able to inculcate a sense of fellow feeling or respect
for other members of society. Wherever the police play a very active, dominant
role and have relatively unlimited powers, they operate as upholders of rulers
who are more authoritarian and unjust. Therefore, we need to find other non authoritarian
ways of dealing with violence, crime and differences of opinion amongst our
people.
- Even the hired murderous gangs were aware that if Hindus put themselves in
their way in a determined manner and said : “We won’t allow you to go ahead
with it”, they would have had to stop. Many Hindus did resist the murderers
even at tremendous personal risk. By doing this they not only saved Sikh lives
but also saved and asserted their own humanity.
This desire to be at
peace with one’s own neighbours and feel a sense of responsibility for their
well being and feel called upon to extend some help is one of the most hopeful
things that has happened and we need further to strengthen and build upon it.
This is something that does not happen uniformly in every society.
However, at the height of
the massacres, this impulse remained largely limited to some neighbours and
immediate friends of the attacked minority, acting as individuals or as a
family. This impulse has to be spread so that our concern does not remain
confined to our neighbourhood, family and friends. It has to gather strength
from a common purpose and effort to see to it that these massacres are not
repeated.
