1984 Delhi Sikh Genocide - Press Reports

Censorship of the Press

The administration actively censored the national and international press to prevent reporting on the violence. James Markham of the New York Times described Lt. Gov. Wali's justifications for seizing material from foreign reporters:

Mr. Wali acknowledged that the police had seized film from foreign television journalists at Palam Airport, and he justified the measure by saying that inflammable material could excite passions in the country. "You have your right," he said to the journalists seated around him, "but if you are doing something that is sensitive, we have a right to prevent it."

Markham further noted that American television correspondents had stated that their satellite transmission facilities were "broken," preventing them from sending any images abroad. The administration also banned Indian and foreign journalists from entering refugee camps run by the Government. Under the orders of its Home Department, the Delhi Administration removed all of the copies of Surya magazine the day it appeared on the stands. The cover of Surya had pictured the burned bodies of three Sikh men.

In Punjab, strict censorship prevented coverage of the massacres of Sikhs throughout India. On November 12, the state government banned periodicals, newspapers, or leaflets carrying any reporting of the massacres of Sikhs. On the same day, Rajiv Gandhi made his first address to the Nation after the massacres and did not mention them once.

When Canadian reporter Jonathan Mann attempted to travel to Punjab, he was arrested because foreigners could not enter without special permission from the Home Ministry. They seized Mann's tape recorder, camera and equipment, stating that he was "indulging in objectionable activities near the Golden Temple." Mann had been interviewing residents about the June 1984 Army attack and their views on greater autonomy for Punjab. The authorities charged Mann with traveling in Punjab without required travel documents, punishable with a fine and maximum five-year prison sentence.

Government-run television and radio stations carried no news on the pogroms. Local newspapers in Bombay, for example, did not report on the massacres of Sikhs. Sikh families learned about the carnage from phone calls and word of mouth. While censoring independent coverage, the government embarked on its own disinformation campaign. On the evening of November 1, after a day of coordinated killing resulting in hundreds of deaths and calls for the Army in at least nine cities in India, Home Secretary M.M.K. Wali held a meeting with news representatives.

Wali maintained that most of the violence consisted of arson, and that few personal attacks occurred. He also stated that only two people were confirmed killed, contradicting reports by wire agencies. As railway officials and news agencies confirmed reports of Hindu mobs killing Sikhs on Delhi-bound trains, the state-run Indian television rejected these statements as false "rumors." In contrast, the United News of India gave a breakdown of 55 deaths on trains bound for Delhi; and Delhi Railway Station officials confirmed the arrival of tens of dead bodies of Sikhs.

The Attack

On 3rd June 1984 a 15,000 strong contingent of the Indian armed forces attacked the Golden Temple complex with heavy artillery and tanks. The attack was not only illegal and unconstitutional, but was timed to coincide with the celebration of an important event in the Sikh calendar, when it was common knowledge that thousands of pilgrims would be inside the precinct of the Golden Temple.

"No prayers stir the silence under golden dome of the Golden Temple. There are no priests left to intone them. They are all dead or missing. The musical instruments which at all times drummed out the tones and rhythms of worship are quiet for the first time in centuries. There are no visitors, only soldiers. The Sikhs Holy Bible is closed, covered by a blue cloth. There is no one to read its scriptures. It is like the Vatican without a Pope. At the other end of the causeway that links the Temple to the Akhal Takhat, the second most sacred shrine in Sikhdom, the quiet is more permanent." - Ross Benson of the Daily Express on 19 June 1984.

"In the Akal Takhat built by Guru Hargobind and the supreme seat of the Sikhs, the Stench of death still lingered. It seemed inconceivable that this was the holiest shrine of a major religion – the equivalent to the Sikhs of the Vatican and Canterbury Cathedral." - David Graves, The Telegraph 20 June 1984.

"Eye-witness accounts to the Amritsar massacre talk of women and children being shot in cold blood, and the Sikh prisoners being tied with their own turbans and then shot in the head." - The Guardian, 18 June 1984.

"Hospital medical staff said today Indian soldiers have threatened to shoot them if they gave food or water to Sikh pilgrims injured last week in the Golden Temple." - New Strait Times (Malaysia), 18 June 1984.

The Army invasion of the Golden Temple left 8-10,000 pilgrims dead, 500 buildings destroyed and 30,000 people homeless. - The Guardian, 25 June 1984.

The attack was simultaneously carried out on 74 other Sikh Gurdwaras, leaving thousands of innocent Sikhs dead.

Massacres of Sikhs – 1984

In November 1984 following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, mobs lead by Congress leaders committed murder, loot, arson and rape, across India for over a week, however the worst effected area was the capital of India Delhi.

Due to the large span of area the actual number of those dead is unknown, official figures of those who died are over 5000 and 60,000 were rendered homeless in Delhi alone, these figures to not incorporate those "missing".

"India is ablaze with hate and anger. In city after city from one corner of the country to the other enraged mobs have gone and are going about systematically burning and looting Sikh properties and assaulting Sikhs without discrimination." - The Times of India, 2 November 1984.

"Sikhs were sought out and burned to death. Children were killed, shops looted, cars burnt, markets destroyed, houses gutted. Trains were stopped and Sikhs were picked out and murdered." Akbar M.J.

"Around 300 Sikh officers and men in uniform were done to death in the presence of non-Sikh soldiers, who stood as silent spectators." – Ramesh Thapar, Economic and Political Weekly.

Police officers "stood by and watched arson, rape, looting and murder, without making any attempt to intervene to protect citizens brlonging to the Sikh minority, without attempting to dissuade the attackers to call for reinforcements or other support, or even to inform the fire brigade." - Who are the Guilty? Report by PUCL and PUDR.

"Many people complained that, in some cases, the police were not merely hanging back, but giving active support." - The Times, 5 Nov 1984.

"We started from the foot paths after the 1947 Partition, now we get back to it in our old age" wept an old couple, they had been deprived of all their belongings and also a young son.

Official Pronouncements And News, Reports On The Events

WEDNESDAY, 31ST OCTOBER '84
Official Pronouncements

Orders were issued late on Wednesday evening for heavy police patrolling all over the city. Section 144 extended to the entire Union Territory…
Three companies of the Delhi Armed Police have been sent to each of the six police districts for round the clock patrolling.

According to the notification issued by the police these arrangements will be in force till further orders.

-Staff Reporter, The Statesmen November 1, 1984.

The Government late on Wednesday night alerted the army

Five department personnel, like the citizens, received no assistance from the police who were not in evidence in any of the trouble spots in the city. Distress calls to emergency numbers (100) were either not answered or callers were given the stock reply that no help could be proferred.

Express News Service, Indian Express
November 2, 1984

Even the "deployment" of paramilitary forces of the Central Reserve Police Border Security Force as the local police failed to control the widespread rioting and arson in different parts of the capital following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

A top-level review of the law and order situation, involving the Prime Minister's Secretariat and Home Ministry continued till late Wednesday night to decide on steps to arrest the spread of sporadic
Force (CRPF) and the Border Security Force (BSF), announced by the Government on Wednesday evening, was
no where to be seen. "I have called CRPF and BSF control rooms every ten minutes" said a deputy officer at the Nizammudin Police Station, 'but each time I am told that there is nothing that can be done".
-Express News Service, Indian Express, November 2, 1984.

violence in the wake of Mrs. Gandhi's assassination.

-Times of India, news service

November 1, 1984.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1984
The Army was called out, indefinite curfew clamped in the city except in the New Delhi Police district and shoot-at-sight orders were issued on Thursday evening after 60 people were killed and 1000 injured in communal violence following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

-Express News Service, Indian Express
November 2, 1984.

Higher direction of the law enforcement machinery was clearly lacking and the police was a mute spectator to the mass violence….
The Lt. Governor did not call out the Army on Wednesday even through the situation showed every sign of going out of control. He took full 24 hours before doing so and clamping curfew in some areas.

When the decision to call the Army was taken on Thursday, the force made available was only adequate for a token presence. Reinforcement were brought in on Friday and Saturday. Meanwhile, looting and arson continued.

-Devsagar Singh, Indian Express
November 4, 1984.
Mr. P.P. Srivastav, the Delhi Municipal Corporation Commissioner said on Thursday that tap water in the capital "is absolutely safe for consumption".

-PTI, Indian Express
November 2, 1984.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 2, 1984
Official Pronouncements

Fiddling with figures while the city burnt, the Police Commissioner, Mr. Subhash Tandon said at the end of the day that "Fifteen may be 20 people have died in violence during the day "To this Lt. Governor (Gavai) added "Things are under control".

-Express News Service,
Indian Express,
November 3, 1984.

Local leaders tin several areas went around on Thursday night warning people over loud speakers, not to drink water from municipal taps.

-The Statesman
November 3, 1984.

Report on Events

Murders led to massacres in the capital on Friday, one of the bloodiest days in the history of Delhi. Hundreds were killed.
There was no count.

The population of whole colonies was wiped out. At least 500 persons were killed in East Delhi alone, the bloodiest place on the day of senseless slaughter.

About 200 bodies were lying in the police mortuary at Tis Hazari.

Reporters saw at least 350 bodies on one street in Trilokpuri.

There were occasional signs of important Army officers without any sanction to check the violence all around them. The Army have no authority to open fire.

-Express News Service Indian Express
November 3, 1984.

Policemen criticised the role of politicians too. Several councillors the alleged, interceded on behalf of violent mobs when policement tried to stop arson. Officers wondered what Mr. Kamal Nath was doing at Rakabganj.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1984
Official Pronouncements

The curfew imposed in five of the six districts of Delhi on November 1 night was relaxed from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today

-The Times of India
November 4, 1984.

Besides non-imposition of curfew, there was criticism of the of the lack of crisp commands from the top. "Senior officers only asked what was wrong over the wireless without once suggesting what could be done", one officer said.

-The Statesman
November 3, 1984.

Report on Events
A visit to Mangolpuri on Saturday afternoon showed armed groups of people moving about …Statesman reporters saw people carrying away the corpse of a child in the area. On the main street in the Colony, a corpse could be seen burning on the footpath…

A reconstruction of what happened in Mangolpuri would suggest that police, despite being present at a checkpost on one end of the colony and in the lines of the 9th battalions of the Delhi Armed Police on the oter, could not summon up the nerve to go inside the colony…When Statesman reporters visited the Bhogal area (South Delhi) on Saturday afternoon, smoke could be seen being looted a few yards ahead.

Here (Bhogal) and elsewhere, people of all communities agreed that there had been amity between all through and that organised gangs of criminals from neighbouring colonies and elsewhere had indulged in violence…in Bhogal, two

The Army had moved into most parts of Delhi by last evening; but the deploment reached full strength only after the 3,000 troops and the vehicles reserved for the funeral were made available for controlling the communal violence.

-The Telegraph, Seema Mustafa,
November 4, 1984.

The Executive Magistrates have been empowered to order shooting if necessary

-The Economic Times, Staff Reporter
November 4, 1984.

The Police Commissioner, S.C. Tandon claimed that there was an improvement in the overall situation

-The Economic Times, Staff Reporter
November 4, 1984

The Police Commissioner, Mr. S.C. Tandon, today ordered an enquiry into reports of large number of deaths in Mangolpuri in mob violence since yesterday. The enquiry will be conducted by an officer of the rank of a deputy commissioner said that efforts were being made to verify the claims of the residents that the violence in these areas was 'organised and followed a setpattern".

sub-ordinate police officers were said to have instigated rioters.

-The Statesman, Staff Reporter
November 4, 1984

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4, 1984
Official Pronouncements

In a swift s and sudden move following large-scale violence in the capital, the
Union Government last night announced Mr. Wali's appointment in place of Mr. P.G. Gavai, who has proceeded on leave

-PTI, the Economic Times
November 5, 1984.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 5 1984
The Lt. Governor Mr. M.M.K. Wali, in his first meeting with the pressmen after assuming charge earlier in the day said "no measure will be harsh enough" to prevent fresh trouble.

…Mr. Wali said that 1,809 people had been arrested on charges of arson, rioting and some for breach of the prohibitory orders.

-The Economic Times
November 5, 1984.

Mr. Wali said; about 20,000 people had been given shelters in five relief camps and the administration was providing free cooked food and medical aid.

-The Economic Times
November 5, 1984.

Report on Events
Over 300 people suspected to have looted property have been rounded up by the Central districts police. The Congress-I leaders including the local M.P., Mr. Dharam Das Shastri, came to the Karo Bagh Police Station to protest against the police action.
Mr. Dharam Das Shastri just said "Let them take away recovered property, but there is no need to arrest. These people are not criminals".

-Express News Service, Indian Express
November 6, 1984.

Seven trans-Jamuna refugee camps overflowed with around 25,000 Sikhs from East Delhi on Monday.

The Administration which has not opened even one relief camp in the worst affected area in the city was moving ponderously, providing minimal aid.
Voluntary agencies were, however, operating in full swing.

Arrangements to provide cooked food to the people in the relief camps and rescue homes have been made. They would also be provided blankets and mattresses to spend the night in some comfort. Medical relief was also being provided to people living in the relief and rescue camps.

-The Times of India, Staff Reporter
November 5, 1984.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6, 1984
A total of 2,517 arrests had been made. He (Wali) was unable to give the number of people who had since been released on; bail but pointed out that bail was a right of every citizen in particular cases.

The police "had denied" that political pressure was being brought upon them as far as making recoveries was concerned, he added.

-The Statesman, Staff Reporter
November 7, 1984.

Talking to newsmen on Tuesday, the Lt. Governor of Delhi, Mr. Madan Mohan Kishan Wali said that a scheme has been drawn up for relief and rehabilitation… Mr. Wali said the compensation was only a token but most of the houses destroyed
or damaged were in resettlement colonies and outlying areas and this amount would at least enable the people to put up liveable structures.

-Express News Service, Indian Express
November 7, 1984

-Express News Service, Indian Express
November 6, 1984

Many police officials complained that this drive was not moving into top gear because of political pressure. When the Commissioner of Police was talking to the Press, a local MP barged in and started shouting something about his "instructions being ignored"

-The Statesman, Staff Reporter
November 7, 1984.

Until Tuesday night, there was no sign of the Government's presence at the Tilak Nagar Gurudwara which is sheltering over 1,000 people from Uttam Nagar, Nangloi, Najafgarh, Govindpuri, and Mangolpuri….

The Gurudwara, however, is unable to cope with this sudden influx of people and as in most other such camps, the sanitation is particularly inadequate.

-Express News Service, Indian Express
November 7, 1984

'84 riots: Tytler 'led' mob

The Tribune - New Delhi, 17 January 2002

Senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler had led a mob that killed two Sikhs at a gurdwara in the walled city and also burnt the shrine during the 1984 riots, an eyewitness told the Justice Nanavati Commission today.Mr Surinder Singh, who was the then Head Granthi of Gurdwara Pulbangash near Azad Market, said the mob, led by Congress M.P. Jagdish Tytler, attacked the shrine a day after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

"He incited the mob to burn the gurdwara and kill Sikhs," the witness said in an affidavit filed before the commission probing the riots that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

The mob carrying lathis, iron rods and kerosene attacked the gurdwara and set it on fire on being incited by Mr Tytler, he said.

The rioters, he said, killed Thakur Singh, a retired Delhi police Inspector who was an employee of the gurdwara management committee. The mob also burnt alive Badal Singh, a gurdwara "sewadar", by putting a burning tyre around his neck, he added.

The witness told the commission that rioters were raising slogans like "khoon ka badla khoon se lenge," "Sardar gaddar hain", "Mar do jala do". Some people in the mob were carrying Congress flags, he added.

"I was watching the entire incident helplessly from the top floor of the gurdwara. The gurdwara was set on fire but the blaze had not reached the top floor," he said.

Mr Surinder Singh said he and his family members were rescued by some Muslim neighbours in the night. After a week, when he returned to his house, he found that his house was also looted by the mob.

Mr Tytler, he said, came back to the gurdwara on November 10 and asked him to put his signatures on "two sheets of paper which I refused to sign." Social activist Jaya Shrivastava, who also appeared before the commission today, said on the basis of her post-riot visits to various colonies and camps in the Capital she concluded that the communal violence was "organised".

Ms Shrivastava said: "Most colonies were attacked at about the same time, means for killing and arson were readily available, and in most cases the police played a dubious role".

The Sikhs had removed name plates from their houses to avoid the fury of rioters, but surprisingly the mobs reached the particular houses with certainty, the witness told the panel.

In all, there seemed to be a "sickening methodology" behind the "intensely tragic" episode, she said. - UNI

'84 riot victim accuses Jagdish Tytler of instigating violence

A victim of the anti-Sikh riots on Monday submitted before the Nanawati Commission, probing the violence after Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984, that former Union minister Jagdish Tytler had instigated a mob in a west Delhi locality that killed his son, nephew and brother-in-law.

"Instead of saving them, Jagdish Tytler told the persons who had come along with him to Kabir Basti that 'one Sikh killed my mother (meaning Indira Gandhi) and these Sikhs are moving quietly', riot victim and an ex-armyman Dilbagh Singh said in an affidavit filed through his counsel Bajrang Singh.

"On hearing this, the persons, who had come along with Tytler (on November 1, 1984) started catching hold of Sikhs, killing and burning them, including his brother-in-law Darshan Singh, son Surinder Pal Singh and nephew Jagjit Singh," the affidavit alleged.

When Tytler visited the locality, then Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhagwan Singh Malik and Station House Officer of Subzi Mandi police station were present there along with a pose of armed personnel, it claimed.

Darshan Singh's wife, who visited Kabir Basti next day, had lodged a complaint at Subzi Mandi police station on 2 November 1984, the affidavit said

The Delhi high court, earlier this year, had dismissed a petition by Dilbagh Singh seeking registration of a separate case regarding the killing of his kin saying that there was no sufficient evidence on record. - Rediff

2004

In April 2004 the Congress Party announced Sajjan Kumar Jagdish Tytler, Ajay Makan, R K Anand and others allegedly involved in the Delhi massacres of Sikhs, as standing for elections in and around Delhi.

These individuals now standing in elections as members of parliament were indicted by independent commissions of inquiry, including the People's Union for Civil Liberties, the People's Union for Democratic Rights and the Citizens' Justice Committee.

Numerous affidavits have been filed against the politicians for their role in inciting mobs. The G.T. Nanavati Commission, which is now looking into the riots, continues to receive affidavits from victims with details of the activities of Sajjan , Makan, Anand and Tytler at that time. Both Tytler and Kumar have won seats in the 2004 elections and are now members of parliament of the ruling party in India, the Congress. The non-resident affairs ministry has been given to Jagdish Tytler, who will be minister of state with an independent charge and will be dealing with NRI's.

Gurcharan Singh Babbar, who has penned several books on the Delhi riots, described the Congress decision to nominate Jagdish Tytler as shocking.

"We had hoped that better sense would prevail and the Congress would deny nomination to tainted political leaders. What is shocking all the more is the way the CBI went out of its way to oblige Tytler. Look at the timing of the clearance given by the court. Don't you think this smacks of complicity on the part of the investigating agency?" asks Babbar.

"When Justice Anil Dev Singh passed orders against Tytler he had specifically asked the CBI to locate a particular first information report filed by some of the victims. This FIR was at the Sabji Mandi police station. But the CBI, instead of looking for that file, told the court that it could not be located. How can the file be located when the police officers were themselves involved in the riots?

"According to the report filed by the anti-riot cell, more then 72 police officers were directly involved and were liable for action for remaining silent spectators while the mobs were looting, burning and killing Sikhs. We have an affidavit by one of the organisers wherein he specifically mentions that Tytler was one of the perpetrators, and he was personally leading mobs and getting Sikhs killed in various parts of Delhi. Now we are told that he had no role. Then to rub the salt into the wounds, he is nominated!" Babbar said in disgust.

Further Questions

Affidavits by survivors raise important questions about the extent of planning and involvement of different State institutions. How did the perpetrators of the massacres secure the use of state-owned buses and trains for the transportation of gangs of assailants? Was it by force, or through complicity? Papers submitted by the government merely deny the use of state-owned transportation for the implementation of the massacres, despite numerous eyewitness accounts testifying otherwise.

How was the Army, particularly the 15th Sikh Light Infantry, effectively disabled? Who was the "senior intelligence officer" who blocked the path of Major Sandhu and his troops, and gave the order to keep them confined to barracks for the duration of the massacres? Three key Army affidavits, provided by GOC Jamwal, as well as Major Sandhu and Chief of Staff A.S. Vaidya – both of whom have died – have been "lost " by the Misra Commission. What was Home Minister PV Narasimha Rao's role in the delay in calling for the Army? Despite the eyewitness testimonies describing Rao's indifference to the massacres, in his statement to the Nanavati Commission, Rao denied his indifference and claimed he "left no stone unturned in the full discharge of duty." Among other statements of action, Rao claimed he immediately passed complaints to the Commissioner of Police, provided immediate instructions for relief facilities, and visited affected areas. Statements by volunteers who organized relief camps refute Rao's claims regarding relief assistance.

What was Rajiv Gandhi's knowledge or role in the massacres? After the assassination of his mother, he achieved notoriety for responding to the massacres with: "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes." Rajiv Gandhi also justified the violence by associating it with rumors of Sikhs' celebrating the assassination of Mrs. Gandhi. He moved the Lok Sabha elections ahead in order to solidify the increase in Hindu support for his party after the Sikh massacres.

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