October 1984

October 1984 was the day when humanity , brotherhood went for a six in a country which boasted of being the biggest democracy and even bigger in diversity.  Its been 27 years now to the day when the mobs were given free hand to do as they please in the wake of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the mob whose one target was to find a Sikh and kill.. neighbours became foes. People who were there with you, for you in thick and thin before that day, The ones who boasted of friendship.

That massacre raises a lot of SERIOUS questions about the autonomy of  law and order machinery,  It all went for a six in those three days. Human rights had no meaning.  Then came another Blow , that too from a chosen leader who supposedly was educated and intelligent , Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, He had the audacity to say in his first public meeting that such things happen or are caused  by the fall of a mighty tree ,  Instead of  condemning it all it seemed he likened the carnage.

In the Drama that has unfolded over the years, lots of govts. came and went , each promising justice but that has never come I mean barely 10-15 people have been convicted for murders committed , the official death toll was 2,733 .. Where is the logic behind all this. How can this be justified ? 

Does this not cast a poor reflection on the integrity of India’s criminal justice system ?

There has not even been a condolence motion to the victims of the 1984 carnage, the human rights in this country has suffered a terrible setback, Such is the disdain displayed by the highest institutions of India,  If such are the deals meted out to the people of this country what can we expect the country to do in case of foreign criminals doing the same to us in our own country.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself acknowledged in Parliament years ago that despite official inquiries into the 1984 carnage, “We all know that we still do not know the truth, and the search must go on.” 

How is it possible, No wonder the indian people are loosing faith in their own country .  When other countries commemorated the 25 years of the bloodshed, India was still quiet as they were too wary of the fact that if  any sort of Commemoration is done for the victims, it would be an insult to Indira Gandhi. 

Is her Murder bigger then the Murders of  (Official numbers) 2,733?

Even when we were under the RAJ, The british publicly condemned General Dyer for taking the action against the innocent in Jallianwala Bagh, , a Public committee called “HUNTER COMMITTEE” was created, it was endorsed by the house of commons in UK, and Dyer was removed from the army unceremoniously. But India as a country could not do so, HAS NOT DONE SO, in spite of 27 long years gone by. So much so that Independent India has FAILED To measure up to the benchmarks set even by the Raj.

All this has done is give the  communal parties a big thumbs up, well we all know that these are the parties that organised the killings of Muslims in Maharashtra in 1993 and Gujarat in 2002.

We talk of Equality but is there any equality, when there is so much Indifference towards the minorities, I mean if Sikhs can suffer this, imagine what would a Dalit in an obscure village feel.

What does that tell us about the mentality of  the citizens who are still voting for those tainted ministers , I remember the words used by our neighbour in Chandigarh, In those days when the elections took place, She came over to our house and categorically shouted “VOTE PAO HATH NU”.. as the hand was a symbol for congress then and this was the neighbours with whom we had lived since I was born. With whom we were closer than our relatives. Yet when it happened there was only one reality Hindu – Sikh .. all the Love was forgotten.

To this day there are places where more proof of genocide are being discovered, even in January 2011 a place Hondh-Chillar, where 32 Sikhs were killed on November 2, 1984, was discovered in northern Haryana, and in March 2011 another place near Pataudi, was discovered.  The official death toll is much higher than that. 

“The discovery of more Sikh massacre victims after nearly three decades shows the reluctance of successive Indian governments, despite numerous commissions of inquiry, to get to the truth and prosecute those responsible for the anti-Sikh violence,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

It is sad that there are cases being fought on foreign soil against the Congress Govt, Yet no one has batted an eyelid in the country itself.

The 2011 WikiLeaks cable leaks revealed that the United States was convinced about the complicity of Indian Government ruled by the Indian National Congress in the riots, and termed it as “opportunism” and “hatred” of the Congress government against Sikhs.

I wonder what is to become of this great nation, Will the culprits ever be charged for any crime or is it that only the common will have to suffer.

Batti Lal jadon langhe .. Saade maardi hai Dande            (when a car with red light atop comes, we get hit by canes)
Panj Sallan lai appan aape Beeje eh Kande                     (for five years we have Ourself sown these Thorns)
Dangiyaan ch Ujad gaye jihna de Suhaag                        (during the riots , women whose husbands are killed)
Sut dindiyaan ne Sandook Uhle Oh paraandiyaaan …   (they throw the signs of  being a Bride, behind the old cupboards )

DIL DARD KA TUKDA HAI … PATHAR KI DALI SI HAI…
Ik Andha kuan hai yaar .. Ik band gali si hai

Ik CHOTHA sa Lamha hai Jo khatam nahin hota ..
MAIN LAKH JALAATA HUN..
yeh Bhasm nahin hota.. Yeh bhasm nahin hota