Aug
17
Commentators Discuss Failure of Indian State to Provide Justice
August 17, 2005 | Comments Off on Commentators Discuss Failure of Indian State to Provide Justice
In Moral Indifference as the form of modern evil, Siddharth Varadarajan discusses the indifference of then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi towards the massacres, and how such indifference has led to an entrenched and institutionalized “riot system” that “any ruling party anywhere in the country can use [] with impunity.” Varadarajan criticizes the Nanavati report for describing the effects of the organized […]
Aug
17
Misra Responds to Nanavati Report
August 17, 2005 | Comments Off on Misra Responds to Nanavati Report
Retired Supreme Court justice Ranganath Misra headed the first Commission of Inquiry into the November 1984 massacres of Sikhs. He was appointed in April 1985. Misra held a closed door inquiry, prohibiting news coverage of his proceedings. In a recent interview with an Indian Express reporter, Misra defends his whitewashing of the massacres and criticizes Nanavati […]
Aug
15
Government Forms 2 Committees; Sikhs in Jamshedpur and Ranchi Protest
August 15, 2005 | Comments Off on Government Forms 2 Committees; Sikhs in Jamshedpur and Ranchi Protest
The government has constituted two committees to inquire into issues relating to relief and rehabilitation for the survivors of the November 1984 massacres of Sikhs. One Committee, led by Special Secretary in the Home Ministry KP Singh, will inquire into the “adequacy and uniformity” of compensation. It includes the Secretaries in charge of relief in […]
Aug
12
Indian PM Apologizes; Sikhs continue to demand justice
August 12, 2005 | Comments Off on Indian PM Apologizes; Sikhs continue to demand justice
In an ironic turn of events, a Sikh Prime Minister apologized to the Sikh community for the 1984 massacres of Sikhs. In his speech, however, he still maintained that the massacres were not organized by senior political and police officials, terming them “riots,” impying violence on both sides. The Prime Minister alternatively referred to the […]
Aug
11
Police Train Water Cannons on Protestors; Indian Minister Resigns
August 11, 2005 | 1 Comment
As survivors of the 1984 Sikh massacres continued to protest against the Nanavati Commission report and the government’s Action Taken Report, the police attacked protestors in ways reminiscent of police attacks on civil rights activists in the US in the 1950s and 1960s. Associated Press Photographer Saurabh Das captured several pictures of Sikhs struggling under […]
Aug
9
Victims Protest Nanavati and Government Reports; Parliament Shuts Down
August 9, 2005 | Comments Off on Victims Protest Nanavati and Government Reports; Parliament Shuts Down
After the opposition threatened to disrupt legislative proceedings in reaction to the Nanavati report and the Government’s Action Taken Report (ATR), both houses of Parliament shut down for the day. 300 families of victims of the 1984 massacres protested outside of Parliament. Their chants highlighted their 21-year agonizing quest for justice, in the face of […]
Aug
8
Nanavati Report Tabled in Parliament
August 8, 2005 | Comments Off on Nanavati Report Tabled in Parliament
One day before the deadline expired, the Indian government tabled the 339-page final report of the Nanavati Commission established to investigate the 1984 pogroms of Sikhs. The government also tabled its Action Taken Report, in which it culled and responded to ten recommendations from the Commission’s report. 21 years after the brutal massacres of Sikhs, […]
Jul
1
Charges Framed against 5 in 1984 Pogroms Case
July 1, 2005 | 3 Comments
A sessions court in New Delhi framed charges against Harprasad Bhardwaj, Kamlesh, Suraj Giri, RP Tiwari and Jagdish Giri for the murder of three people, rioting, and mischief by fire: [T]he accused allegedly stabbed and lynched a constable, his son and another relative at the Shahdara railway station.The prosecution told the court that Bhardwaj allegedly […]
Jun
7
Court orders compensation for 1984 victims
June 7, 2005 | 1 Comment
The Delhi High Court has ordered the Centre to pay Rs 1.23 lakh in compensation to each person who was injured during the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms. “It is the bounden duty and responsibility of the state to secure and safeguard the life and liberty of an individual from mob violence,” Justice Gita Mittal said in her landmark […]
Jun
7
Delhi Court Sentences 5 to Life Imprisonment for 1984 Murder
June 7, 2005 | Comments Off on Delhi Court Sentences 5 to Life Imprisonment for 1984 Murder
Over twenty years after the November 1984 pogroms, a Delhi Court sentenced five men to life imprisonment for the murder of Baba Singh: Additional Sessions Judge N K Kaushik, found Rajinder, Pyarelal, Dharam Pal, Rajbir and Barumal guilty under Section 302 of IPC (murder) for killing one Baba Singh by setting him ablaze after pouring […]