The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised pogroms[11][12][7] against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.[13][14] The ruling Indian National Congress had been in active complicity with the mob, as to the organisation of the riots.[15] Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in Delhi[7][8] and 3,350 nationwide,[9][10]whilst independent sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000–17,000.[6][3][16][17]
DateOctober 31, 1984 - November 3, 1984; 36 years ago
Location
Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar[1]
Caused byAssassination of Indira Gandhi
Goals
Ethnic and religious persecution
Revenge
MethodsPogrom,[2]genocide,[3][4] mass murder, mass rape, arson, looting,[1] acid throwing,[5]immolation[6]
The assassination of Indira Gandhi was in retaliation to her order to the Indian Army to attack the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar, Punjab, in June 1984. The attack had resulted in a deadly battle with armed Sikh groups who were demanding greater rights and autonomy for Punjab. Sikhs worldwide had criticized the army action and many saw it as an assault on their religion and identity. [18]
In the aftermath of the pogroms, the government reported that 20,000 had fled the city; the People's Union for Civil Libertiesreported "at least" 1,000 displaced persons.[19]The most-affected regions were the Sikh neighbourhoods of Delhi. Human rightsorganisations and newspapers across India believed that the massacre was organised.[7][20][21] The collusion of political officials in the violence and judicial failure to penalise the perpetrators alienated Sikhs and increased support for the Khalistan movement.[22] The Akal Takht, Sikhism's governing body, considers the killings genocide.[4]
In 2011, Human Rights Watch reported that the Government of India had "yet to prosecute those responsible for the mass killings".[23]According to the 2011 WikiLeaks cable leaks, the United States was convinced of Indian National Congress' complicity in the riots and called it "opportunism" and "hatred" by the Congress government, of Sikhs.[24][25]Although the U.S. has not identified the riots as genocide, it acknowledged that "grave human rights violations" occurred.[26] In 2011, a new group of mass graves was discovered in Haryana and Human Rights Watch reported that "widespread anti-Sikh attacks in Haryana were part of broader revenge attacks" in India.[27] The Central Bureau of Investigation, the main Indian investigative agency, believes that the violence was organised with support from the Delhi police and some central-government officials.[20]
