People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) condemns the BJP government for reducing the quest for justice of the victims of anti Sikh carnage of 1984 into a cruel joke by engaging in competition for paying higher blood money to them. On the 30th year of 1984 sikh carnage, the Union Minister for Home Affairs, Rajnath Singh, announced that compensation to families of the victims killed was to be enhanced from existing Rs 3 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs. This cash enhancement has been announced under the Union Government Scheme for Assistance to Civilian Victims of Terrorist, Communal and Naxal Violence, which was announced by the UPA led Government in 2008. Under this compensation is paid to the families of the victims who are killed or became permanently incapacitated.
Both the UPA and NDA led Governments have remained mute on the punitive actions against the perpetrators of the crime, who conspired and participated in one of biggest massacre of the Sikhs in Independent India, after the assassination of then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi on 31st October 1984. The involvement of political leaders and the role and support of then Congress Government in 1984 massacre of sikhs in Delhi, Kanpur, Bokaro and other places has been referred in many reports. A joint report by PUDR and PUCL “Who are the Guilty”, released in the second week of November 1984, had clearly listed the names of these leaders, the parties involved based on the testimonies given by the victims of this pogrom. Various commissions and inquiry committees which were set up subsequently under public pressure in the last 30 years, have substantiated our findings. Thereafter FIRs were filed by victims and cases were initiated. A RTI revealed that only 255 cases were registered pertaining to 326 killed in which 622 persons were arrested. Only 27 persons in 7 cases were convicted whereas 591 persons in 121 cases were acquitted. Not only was the number of killed ten times more than what the cases registered showed, but the number of perpetrators too ran into thousands and the role of Delhi police and political leaders remained did not go beyond skimming the surface.
PUDR appeals to the victims and reminds them to be aware that successive governments have suppressed the real issue of justice, which can only be met through bringing perpetrators of the crime to justice, and not by doling higher blood money to the victims.
D Manjit and Asish Gupta
(Secretaries, PUDR)
pudr@pudr.org
