Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

India: Prosecute Those Responsible for 1984 Massacre of Sikhs
02 Nov 2009 22:52:20 GMT
 Source: Human Rights Watch
(New York) - The failure of successive Indian governments to bring to justice those responsible for mass revenge attacks on Sikhs after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 25 years ago is a severe blot on India's legal system and democracy, Human Rights Watch said today.
"Delhi was a scene of carnage, yet 25 years later the victims are still waiting for justice," said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of bringing prosecutions, even when they know who was responsible, officials have done everything they could to bar the way."
In the early 1980s, Sikh separatists in Punjab committed serious human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, attacks on Hindu minorities, and indiscriminate bomb attacks in crowded places. In June 1984 the government deployed troops to remove militants who had occupied the holiest of Sikh shrines, the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The military campaign caused serious damage to the shrine and killed hundreds, including pilgrims, militants and security personnel. On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi was murdered in an act of revenge by two of her Sikh bodyguards.
Angry mobs, instigated by leaders of the then-governing Congress Party, committed countless acts of retribution, killing and wounding thousands of Sikhs and destroying their property and businesses. During ensuing government counterinsurgency operations in Punjab State, from 1984 to 1995, Indian security forces committed serious human rights violations and killed, forcibly disappeared, and tortured thousands of Sikhs. None of the architects of this counterinsurgency strategy have been brought to justice.
"The Sikh separatist movement is a classic case of human rights abuses leading to a cycle of violence that spins out of control," Ganguly said. "Both the militants and the security forces committed horrific crimes, justifying them by pointing to the abuses of the other, and yet those who suffered most were ordinary civilians."
For two-and-half decades, victims and their families seeking justice have been confronted by government opposition and obfuscation, including prolonged trials, biased prosecutors, an unresponsive judiciary, police intimidation, and harassment of witnesses. No senior government officials or politicians have been prosecuted despite evidence of their role in the atrocities.
The government has set up numerous commissions of inquiry, each with the promise of justice, but with no tangible results. Most recently, the Congress Party withdrew a candidate in the 2009 elections because of allegations of involvement in the 1984 Delhi attacks. But the candidate was not charged with a crime and the party appeared to compensate him by making his brother a candidate instead.
"The victims of the 1984 massacres have waited for the law to take its course and, sadly, they are still waiting," Ganguly said. "India needs to change its enduring culture of impunity before its citizens will place trust in the rule of law in other conflict areas, like Kashmir and Naxalite-affected states."




AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  Bianca Jagger, the mining company and the Indian PM
ActionAid

•  UMCOR Hotline for October 27, 2009
UMCOR - USA

•  Protecting the Most Vulnerable
CRS - USA

•  South India: ACT Food Programme Reaches 60,000
ACT - Switzerland

•  Flood Relief and Rehabilitation | Karnataka and Andhra Pradhesh
Habitat for Humanity - India

MORE >>

Latest news

•  India: Prosecute Those Responsible for 1984 Massacre of Sikhs

•  US urged to set 2020 target to save climate deal

•  Danish PM upbeat on new global climate deal

•  Russia's Putin sees climate deal, but with conditions

•  New prosperity measure needed to curb climate change

MORE >>

HRW news

Background information

Facts & figures
India

Related articles

Breaking stories
 India: Prosecute Those Responsible for 1984 Massacre of Sikhs (1 minute ago)

US urged to set 2020 target to save climate deal (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 How the Indian Ocean tsunami warning system works (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Bianca Jagger, the mining company and the Indian PM (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Green energy a winner for jobs - not just in Germany (1 minute ago)

Maps
 Tropical storm Three (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-02T095505Z_01_SRI03_RTRIDSP_2_KASHMIR_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SRI03.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-02T095327Z_01_SRI08_RTRIDSP_2_KASHMIR_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SRI08.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-02T095043Z_01_SRI05_RTRIDSP_2_KASHMIR_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SRI05.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-02T094904Z_01_SRI09_RTRIDSP_2_KASHMIR_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SRI09.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-02T094815Z_01_SRI01_RTRIDSP_2_INDIA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/SRI01.htm

A labourer stands as dust rises at a stone crusher plant in Sumerbugh, south of Srinagar November 2, 2009. India has said developing countries should not be asked to commit to ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Nov 2 23:34:16 2009