DENIED JUSTICE. What was the fault we had committed? I

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1 THE SURVIVORS JUSTICE DENIED The survivors of the 1984 anti-sikh riots speak out in anguish to Managing Editor RAJ CHENGAPPA about their unending search for justice. Photographs by SUMEET INDER SINGH. For them, time does not heal. The hurt, the anger and the sense of betrayal remain. What the families of the 2,733 people killed in the anti-sikh riots in Delhi demand is justice. They have waited for 21 long years, but it has eluded them. They have seen how the government set up commissions without much result. The Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission, which first probed the riots causes, ruled out the organised participation of the Congress. But it indicted the Delhi Administration and the police. Three committees were appointed later: one to look into the conduct of the police, the other to examine riot cases and the third to determine the number of people killed. The committee that examined the role of the police indicted 72 officers in Since then action has been taken against only four two were censured, one was warned and in the fourth case, pension was reduced. Another committee found the main flaw was that the FIRs were all clubbed together, so no individual probes were done and convictions were almost non-existent. Compensation has been tardy and paltry, says H.S. Phoolka, a senior counsel for many of the families. Last month, the Justice Nanavati Commission, while absolving top Congress leaders of guilt, observed that the local ones like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar very probably had a hand in the riots. Under pressure, the Congress-led UPA Government got Tytler and Kumar to resign from their official posts. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apologised to the Sikhs. But the affected families are far from satisfied. As the first-person accounts of five of them in the following pages reveal, many are losing faith in the country itself. THE FORMER SCHOOLTEACHER LOST HER HUSBAND AND SON IN THE RIOTS. ONLY HER DAUGHTER SURVIVED. THE INJUSTICE OF THE RIOTS IS A WOUND THAT CONTINUES TO FESTER. AS DO THE QUESTIONS: WHY DID THE GOVERNMENT NOT HELP THE SIKHS? WHY WERE THE INSTIGATORS NEVER PUNISHED? WHY? What was the fault we had committed? I have been asking this question all these 21 years. All my life I believed in all the religions. I made special sweets for the children during Holi and Diwali or any other festival, telling them these were also important. My son s dream was to join the NCC and march on Rajpath on Republic Day. The first thing I remembered after the tragedy had befallen us is that our family didn t even consider itself Punjabi. I was brought up in Lucknow, where I got my masters degree in English. Neither my father nor my children spoke Punjabi. My husband was from Gujranwala in Pakistan his family had shifted to Delhi after partition. He did his post-graduation at the Delhi VIBHA SETHII, 65 CRY, MY BELOVED COUNTRY School of Economics. In July 1984 we had just moved to the house we had built in Raj Nagar (in West Delhi), an upcoming colony. I was teaching in a school on the outskirts of Delhi and usually left home early in the morning. My son, who was 18, had just joined Khalsa College and was studying economics. My daughter was 14 and was studying in Sardar Patel Vidyalaya. My husband worked as senior manager in the India Trade Promotion Organisation and commuted to work by scooter. We had just begun to enjoy the fruits of his hard work. On the evening of October 31 we heard on TV that Indira Gandhi had been assassinated. That evening and night, there was nothing to suggest that anything was amiss in our area. The next morning the two maids who worked for us came and did their work as usual. We had read in the morning newspapers about the disturbances elsewhere in Delhi. So my husband told my son to go to our neighbour s house and call our relatives to find out if all was well and to tell them not to venture outside. As a precaution my husband took out our nameplate that was hung on the gate. By the time my son returned a huge mob had surrounded our house and he had barely enough time to close the door. I have always wondered how come when everything seemed peaceful a crowd of thousands of people landed up at my place all of a sudden. It could not have happened spontaneously. The mob then started shouting and throwing stones. We had shut the doors and there was no chance of going across to the neighbours as our house I SAW my husband and son being hit by crowbars. I lay on my husband s body and pleaded with the crowd. They hit me too. SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 INDIA TODAY 67

2 law ANTI-SIKH RIOTS was in an isolated area. A truckload of policemen came on the scene, but they didn t stop the crowd they went away. A helicopter flew over our house and my son waved to them frantically but that too disappeared. In the evening, the assault worsened and they stormed the house and set the furniture ablaze. My house started to burn. I saw my husband and son lying on the ground, being hit by crowbars. I lay on my husband s body and pleaded with the crowd: Don t do it. But they hit me too I had six or seven fractured ribs after that, a gash on my head that would require 20 stitches and a badly hurt hand. Now every time somebody asks me about the deformity on my hand, I say this is what the nation gave me back for being faithful to my country. I remember there were two or three policemen standing around. I asked the constable: Can t you do anything to help? He told me, You ladies can go but these two (my husband and my son) cannot be spared. I asked, Why? Do you have orders to do this? I will never forget the wry smile on his face. Then I requested the mob to spare them. They said: Call your gurus and see if they can save you now. I remember my daughter pulling me away from my husband s body, saying, Mama let s go. Let s go. I remember people dragging us away. We took shelter in a house that was being constructed a few blocks away. The chowkidar helped us. The mob came looking for us but he said there was no one there. We stayed the night there in the darkness. I gave my daughter the telephone number of my brother-in-law who worked with the Revenue Department. Someone must have phoned him. The next morning he had arranged for an army truck and we were taken to a gurdwara. After three days he brought the remains of my husband and son in a sack and said, Say your farewell. Fate did not even offer me a chance to perform the proper last rites. My brother-in-law went back to our house to recover whatever was left. It had been fully burnt down. A colour TV was the only thing left, apart from a steel cabinet which had some key papers. Some papers were destroyed but the insurance policy wasn t. That helped us. I don t know if it was premonition or not but my husband had got the house insured against riots and arson. Since then I have mechanically moved through life. What do these commissions do other than reopen old wounds? One or two resignations that is all that the government does to atone for what happened. I didn t expect much from the Nanavati Commission. There had been 68 INDIA TODAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 earlier ones it is just like a routine exercise one after the other. My first experience was with the Ranganath Mishra commission. I had filed an affidavit and I wasn t called for a hearing. After that somehow I lost faith. Then there were other committees like the Agarwal Jain Committee I appeared for that and also for the police probe. At the identification parade, the policemen who were present that day when my husband was killed were not called. There is a roster in every police station that tells you who were on duty at the time. Why didn t they call those people for us to identify? I am sure the police constable had no authority to do what he did that day. So whose order was he following? When I was summoned to court once, my statement had already been written by the policemen. And they asked me to endorse it. It said that by the time the police had reached my house everything was destroyed. I refused to sign the paper. After that I was never summoned. Another thing came up afterwards. I saw a picture of a person who looked very familiar to me as the man who instigated the mob. That happened to be a local Congress leader I mentioned it in my affidavit. There was a police enquiry but nothing seemed to be coming out of it. I was then living alone with my daughter and got some threatening calls. One of my colleagues casually mentioned, You have a daughter. So try and save her. Don t proceed with the case. That scared me. That was when I told them to close the case. I feel betrayed. I have lost faith in the country. Look at the way the I CANNOT forget the wry smile on the police constable s face when I asked him if his orders were that all Sikh men should be killed. system failed. Why was the government not there to help us? Why was standing beside Indira Gandhi s body more important for MPs than protecting those who had voted them to power? Manmohan Singh s apology that came after so many protests carries no weight. All that he has said was what he should have said before signing that Action Taken Report. More than being angry I feel hurt and ask: Why this discrimination? Why am I being treated like a foreigner in my country? I have never felt different so why am I being treated differently? At the moment I wish only for peace for everybody. I don t want my grandchildren to grow up with any animosity. Their laughter brings cheer. I never talk to them about these things. I still instil in them love for the nation. My daughter s mobile set has Sare jahan se achcha Hindustan hamara as its ring tone. Maybe bringing them up to be good citizens that s the least I can do. NARINDER PAL SINGH,59 RISING FROM THE ASHES WHEN HE RETURNED FROM NEW YORK AFTER A BUSINESS TOUR, NARINDER (PALI) SINGH SAW HIS GARMENT FACTORIES REDUCED TO ASHES BY THE RIOTERS. FOR HIM, REVENGE WAS NOT THE ANSWER. HE GOT NO GOVERN- MENT HELP, BUT SINGH REBUILT HIS BUSINESS FROM SCRATCH TO LOG A TURNOVER OF Rs 100 CRORE NOW. Iwas in New York negotiating a garment export deal when I learnt that Indira Gandhi had been assassinated. I called my father immediately and told him, Papa, this is a bad situation. Since a Sikh has killed her we should be careful. You should seek some kind of protection. My father didn t listen to me, and he said, Don t worry. Nothing will happen. Our two garment factories in Uttam Nagar had over 600 workers and were mainly focused on exports. Before that I ran a poultry farm but my father, who is very religious told me, Every day I pray to God for the betterment of life and for peace and you kill so many birds. How can you be successful in this venture? So I closed that down and set up the garment business in I built my house next to it and we lived as a joint family. Our business had started doing well. On the day that I was leaving for the US, I bought a Maruti 800 car and I drove it to the gurdwara nearby for blessings. My wife told me later that the day after Indira Gandhi s death, they saw a mob enter the area and burn that gurdwara. Then they set my brand new car on fire and started attacking my house. Fortunately, a Hindu friend came and took away my wife and two children to his house. My father and brothers, who were living with us, had a narrow escape too. They were rescued by my friend. The mob then went across to our factory and looted all the machinery before setting ablaze whatever was left. When I heard about my family s plight and the destruction of my factory I wanted to return immediately. But my parents told me not to come back till it was safe. When I returned on November 11, I drove straight to the factory. The mob had made sure that everything had been destroyed. To my dismay I discovered that my insurance policies for the factories, house and car did not cover riots and arson. At that time no one could imagine such a thing would happen in Delhi. My wife was scared since my anger could be uncontrollable. But I assured her, I am neither here to fight nor am I going to I DECIDED to make a comeback. I learnt Spanish and sold my garments in South America. My friends there call me Columbus. SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 INDIA TODAY 69

3 be a coward. I also felt that if I focused on who was responsible for the attacks I would not be able to make any progress because there is no way you can do business if your mind is occupied with that question. Revenge was not an answer since it would start an endless chain of vengefulness. My parents also advised me that the amount of energy I would invest to bring the culprits to justice could be diverted into my work to let my business flourish. So I decided to reestablish myself. On the day I returned, I borrowed a table and a chair and put it on the road. I got a temporary phone line and got down to work. The loss to the factories was estimated at Rs 30 lakh. But the government policy was to give a maximum of Rs 50,000, whatever the loss. My father was after me to accept at least that amount. But when I went to the court, to my surprise the insurance company said it would charge Rs 33,000 for each assessment leaving me with only Rs 17,000. I refused to take such a paltry compensation from the government. I paid my bank loans by selling properties we owned. Even though I was hard-pressed for funds I refused to sell RAYS OF HOPE: Singh at the gurdwara he is helping build the destroyed machinery. I buried all those under the foundation of the reconstructed factory as a reminder. From that day I discarded all my colourful turbans and wore only white ones. I became successful again by going to untapped markets. I learnt Spanish and sold my garments to Latin American companies. My turnover is now over Rs 100 crore and I have won several government and industry awards. My friends call me Christopher Columbus for discovering the potential of the South American market. I am now helping build a beautiful gurdwara that would be a fine piece of architecture. I still believe and hope that the culprits will be brought to book finally to show that justice exists. The reports of the commissions are just a bundle of papers as those who are receiving them don t want justice to be meted out. Everybody wants to save his or her skin. They must remember that they are not giving justice only to me or the people who have survived but also for the departed souls. My only appeal is, let us be the pride of Hindustan don t take that away. BALBIR SINGH,35 STILL FEARFUL BALBIR SINGH, SON OF A COIR MAT MAKER, WAS A RESIDENT OF TRILOKPURI. HIS FATHER WAS KILLED BY A MOB. HE ESCAPED BY WEARING WOMEN S CLOTHES. EVEN NOW BALBIR IS AFRAID OF REVEALING HE IS SIKH. Iam still scared of growing my hair long and wearing a turban. I have nightmares about the way my father, Chautha Singh, and an uncle were lynched. I was just 14 then and living in Trilokpuri where we made coir mats at home. When news came of Indira Gandhi s murder and riots broke out, I remember my father saying that Delhi was the capital and violence would be contained soon. He said nobody would attack us since we were poor. Moreover, we supported Congress leader H.K.L. Bhagat. When the mob came, the police assured us I DON T HAVE A PROPER job or money to send my three children to school. Our hearts are still full of hurt and anger. Balbir with his mother Mirchi Kaur that they would not allow them to enter our area and told us to return home. The police then took away all our small arms. They seemed to have facilitated the rioters. For, we saw an even larger mob approach us with crowbars and cans of kerosene. They started beating all the men and abused them. I, along with my mother, and three brothers hid in my uncle s house. The mob came there too and broke open the door. My mother had dressed us all up as girls and so we were spared. But they pulled out my uncle and the huge crowd beat him up with crowbars. They hit him so hard on his head that even his eyes popped out. Then they put kerosene on him and burnt him to death. They also set the house afire. They wanted to dishonour my mother and an aunt and kill us too. They said: Ye saanp ke bachche hain. Kill them one by one. Jumping over burning dead bodies littered on the streets, we ran to a nearby village where a milkman gave us shelter. My father and youngest brother were still missing. So a couple of days later with the army protecting us, we went back to where our home was. My mother saw my father s charred body and fainted. Even dogs would have been treated better. Later, friends said my father was carrying Indira Gandhi s photograph, telling the mob that he considered her an older sister. He told them that Bhagat had visited our house. But apparently they just laughed and beat him to death. There was a tall doctor who took out his eyes as he did to others who died. We found my brother in a local hospital, still alive. After living in tents for months, we were allotted a house in Tilak Vihar where my mother, I and three brothers are now staying crammed together. The allotment is not permanent and the facilities are poor. Rarely do you find a colony full of widows and no elderly male members. There are people here who lost five members of their family. In one family, 11 members were killed. Our hearts are full of anger but we are helpless. We have no jobs and I don t have enough money to send my three children to school. I do a part-time job in a small factory. Countless people have been butchered and no one has been convicted. The station inspector was promoted as a deputy superintendent of police. The MP of the area became a minister. The policy seemed to be kill five persons and you will get a promotion. Kill 10 people and you would get a double promotion. We want to see all of them punished. Those who killed my father must be hanged. Otherwise all those who have suffered would take the law in their own hands. The Congress party, which I believe arranged to get the mob to attack us, is back in power. Now even the prime minister has assured that justice would be done. Congress government had given us wounds and it must now provide a balm. It is not enough for the Government to be ashamed and say sorry. Our children have become idle. We can t pay for their education and the standard of teaching is not good. There is no employment for them and they start smoking crack and become addicts. Our first need is employment. Then the prime minister can claim he has done something. There is a saying that an elephant has two teeth one to show and the other to chew. Our first demand is that we be rehabilitated and the other is that the culprits who were responsible for the massacre be given capital punishment. We pray to God that no other community is subjected to what we have been through. 70 INDIA TODAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 INDIA TODAY 71

4 SURINDER KAUR,25 ORPHANED HOPES SHE WAS ONLY FOUR WHEN HER FATHER, MOTHER AND BROTHER WERE KILLED AND THEIR LATHE FACTORY WAS DESTROYED. NOW A GRADUATE, SHE IS LOOKING FOR A JOB AND LIVES IN QUIET DESPAIR. Iwas just four when I became an orphan. I can only vaguely remember how my father and mother looked. After they were killed and our house was burnt down by the mob, their wedding photographs were lost too. I recall that we used to live in Nandnagari in East Delhi. My father had his own lathe factory which was running well. We were four sisters and we had a brother who was killed along with my father. I was the youngest of the children. Now I live with my eldest sister, who is 12 years older and who brought me up. Even now she goes into deep depression whenever she talks about that day. She says that my father and brother ran towards the police station to take shelter there. But the mob went in and killed them while the police watched. My mother, who tried to save them, was hit with bricks and she died too. All I remember is that we were hiding when the crowd attacked our house and started beating my parents. My father was just 35 then. For a while we lived in Nari Niketan till our maternal grandfather took us to live with him in his village in Rajasthan. When my sister got married we shifted back to Delhi. In school, I used to feel bad when anyone asked me about my parents. I could never enjoy life. I didn t feel like playing. I never went out. We always lived in fear. We spent our day trying to overcome a myriad of problems. But we also learnt to live through hell. I did my BA from Laxmi Bai College. Now I am doing my MA through correspondence. I want to become a teacher and I am searching for a job. I still find it difficult to trust anyone. I do miss my parents. I pray daily at home and go to the gurdwara on Sundays. I sometimes fight with God asking him why this should have happened to us. I think there should be only one religion. Then 1984 would never have happened. People say that India is a wonderful country with loving people. I think it is a useless country where people are uncaring. My sister went to court several times and did point a finger at those people who killed our parents. But they were taken into custody and freed soon. It is 21 years now and the guilty roam around with impunity. What hope should I have in a nation like this? Only when the guilty are punished will my faith return. The government should also compensate us. At least they should help us with a job to earn and live well. THOSE WHO killed my parents roam free. This is a useless country of uncaring people. 72 INDIA TODAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2005

5 law ANTI-SIKH RIOTS HARBANS KAUR, 72 BETRAYAL OF FAITH KAUR DIDN T FALL VICTIM TO DEPRESSION EVEN THOUGH HER HUSBAND WAS KILLED BY THE MOB AND HER SON SERIOUSLY INJURED IN THE GHASTLY VIOLENCE. SHE NOT ONLY MANAGED HIS FACTORY FOR MAKING GAUGES SUCCESSFULLY BUT ALSO BROUGHT UP HER FOUR DAUGHTERS AND TWO SONS. Ilive my life from prayer to prayer. Although my husband was killed brutally by a mob and my son seriously injured we do not have a feeling of hatred or anger against the Hindus. The Sikhs were originally Hindus. Our great Gurus were Hindus. Even today we live like a big joint family so we have no ill-feelings towards our Hindu brethren. Even now, my children break down when they remember how their father was killed. We were then living in a rented accommodation. My husband, Kartar Singh, was around 50 then. We had got married in Jalandhar. He was a science graduate. I am a matriculate. We had four daughters and two sons. He had a small factory which manufactured gas meters, medical magnets and transistors and so on. On October 31, 1984 my husband came back from work in the afternoon. I thought he had come to have lunch as usual. But he told me that he had heard some Sikhs had killed Indira Gandhi and he WE HAVE no hatred or ill-feelings towards Hindus. I know justice is now in God s hands. was afraid that the factory would be attacked so he had declared a holiday. We didn t go out for the next three days and we thought the worst was over. Only our youngest son, who was a first year engineering student, and a nephew was staying with us then. But on November 3, a mob surrounded our house. My husband, who sensed danger, decided to hide at one of our Hindu neighbour s house. They hid him below a bed and covered it with some toys. Meanwhile, the crowd climbed the staircase and entered our house from the terrace. On seeing them, my son tried to flee but they attacked him with an axe. He had deep gashes on his head. He tried to jump across to the neighbour s verandah but fell down two floors. I was inside the house scared for life when I heard the thud. The mob thought he was dead and left him there. Then the crowd went to our neighbour s house where my husband was hiding. The members requested them to spare him but they threatened to burn down their house if they didn t ask him to leave. They said the mob then pulled him out of the house, took him to the road, beat him with crowbars, poured kerosene on him and burnt him to death. Not knowing what had happened, I went to look for my husband and saw his half-burnt body in a nallah. I started screaming that he was no more but I saw people walking around me without sympathy. I called my brother who held a senior government position and he phoned the then President Giani Zail Singh who hailed from our village. Zail Singh requested Madan Lal Khurana, the BJP leader, to help. Khurana came and helped me take my husband s body home. My son was admitted to a hospital and survived. After my husband s cremation, I was in a very bad condition both emotionally and financially. Our workers came to help me. I then started looking after the factory myself. I learnt some accounts and our business began to pick up. I also received money from my husband s insurance policy. My son returned to college. He finished his graduation and started helping me. I bought a house from the DDA in Rajouri Garden. I remember we got some compensation from the government over the years in all it was around Rs 3 lakh. The boy who was among those who killed my husband is still living near our old house and doing some business there. Now, justice is in God s hands. 74 INDIA TODAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2005