Several victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and their lawyers released a video series in Delhi on Saturday, chronicling the 40-year journey of the survivors. The riots took place following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, which left thousands of people, mostly Sikhs, dead across India.
The series titled ‘1984 Genocide Unending Quest for Justice’, put together by senior advocate H.S. Phoolka and his team, comprises 20 episodes, twelve of which were released on Saturday.
The remaining episodes will be released in Chandigarh on November 9.
“The events of 1984 marked not only the murder of countless citizens but also the death of justice itself. The entire legal system collapsed. The blindfolded statue of lady justice reflected the blindness of judges who failed to see the atrocities around them — in the courtrooms and their own neighbourhoods,” said Mr. Phoolka.
He added, “Judicial activism within the Supreme Court seemed to vanish when it came to the genocide of Sikhs.”
The victims, who were also present at the press conference, shared their ordeal.
‘Saw a mob barge in’
Darshan Kaur, one of the victims who used to live in Trilokpuri, said she was nursing two toddlers and an infant at the time of the riots. She recounted a mob barging inside her house and attacking her family members.
“We did not have a TV at the time, so we got to know about the murder of Indira Gandhi only the next day. By then, the rioters had already started running rampage. They came and threw bottles filled with chemicals at our home. My husband was taken away from me forever. My brother-in-law was killed in front of my eyes,” she said, adding that she is still waiting to get justice.
Mr. Phoolka, the co-author of the book ‘When A Tree Shook Delhi: The 1984 Carnage and Its Aftermath’, hailed former Chief Justice of India Deepak Misra, saying it wasn’t until 2017, 33 years after the carnage, that the Supreme Court began to take an active interest in punishing the perpetrators.
“It was Justice Deepak Misra who established a new Special Investigation Team to reopen the closed cases, signalling a long-overdue commitment to seek justice for the victims,” added the senior advocate.
Close to 400 people in 27 cases have been convicted in various cases pertaining to the anti-Sikh riots. Of them, about 50 people, which includes former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, have been convicted of murder.
In May 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a chargesheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler for his alleged role in the murder of three persons on November 1, 1984.
Published - November 03, 2024 01:11 am IST
