Просмотр кода страницы Английская Википедия:1984 anti-Sikh riots

{{Английская Википедия/Панель перехода}}
{{Short description|Series of organised pogroms in India after PM Indira Gandhi's assassination}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = 1984 anti-Sikh riots <!-- Reliable sources use the term "riots"; do not change, especially to "genocide", until a consensus for the change is reached after discussion on the talk page. -->
| partof = the [[Insurgency in Punjab, India]]
| side3 = 
| image = Sikh man surrounded 1984 pogroms.jpg
| caption = Sikh man surrounded and beaten by a mob
| date = October 31 – {{end date and age|1984|11|3}}
| place = [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Delhi]], [[Haryana]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]]<ref name="Brass">{{cite book |last1=Brass |first1=Paul R. |title=Riots and Pogroms |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9781349248674 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EBq_DAAAQBAJ&q=1984+riots+hindi+heartland+haryana&pg=PA201 |language=en |access-date=15 October 2020 |archive-date=6 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906071337/https://books.google.com/books?id=EBq_DAAAQBAJ&q=1984+riots+hindi+heartland+haryana&pg=PA201 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| causes = [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi]]
| goals = * [[Ethnic persecution|Ethnic]]&nbsp;and&nbsp;[[Religious persecution|religious&nbsp;persecution]]
* [[Revenge]]
| methods = [[Pogrom]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeU8DAAAQBAJ|page=201|author=Paul Brass|title=Riots and Pogroms|isbn=9780814712825|date=October 1996|publisher=NYU Press |access-date=30 November 2018|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030023956/https://books.google.com/books?id=QeU8DAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> [[mass murder]], [[mass rape]], [[arson]], [[looting]],<ref name="Brass" /> [[acid throwing]],<ref name="tribune_phoolka" /> [[Death by burning|immolation]]<ref name="SAGE" />
| status = 
| result = 
| side1 = [[Indian National Congress|Congress Party]]<ref name="2009BBCremember"/><ref name="Nanavati"/><br>[[Bharatiya Janta Party]] (BJP)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Shiv Inder |title=The BJP and the Sangh's Sikh appeasement is electoral hypocrisy |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/rss-bjp-sangh-sikh-appeasement-1984 |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=The Caravan |language=en}}</ref><ref>https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/-84-aap-wants-bjp-rss-leaders-booked-too-23963</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ashraf |first=Ajaz |date=2015-11-03 |title='RSS was silent during the 1984 riots. At places, it was implicated in the violence' |url=http://scroll.in/article/766550/rss-was-silent-during-the-1984-riots-at-places-it-was-implicated-in-the-violence |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Jaijee"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kalhan |first=Anuradha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHCpEAAAQBAJ&dq=rss+bjp+anti+sikh+riots&pg=PT265 |title=Tipping Point: A Short Political History of India |date=2023-04-03 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-88575-0 |language=en}}</ref> <br> [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Shiv Inder |title=The BJP and the Sangh's Sikh appeasement is electoral hypocrisy |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/rss-bjp-sangh-sikh-appeasement-1984 |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=The Caravan |language=en}}</ref><ref>https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/-84-aap-wants-bjp-rss-leaders-booked-too-23963</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ashraf |first=Ajaz |date=2015-11-03 |title='RSS was silent during the 1984 riots. At places, it was implicated in the violence' |url=http://scroll.in/article/766550/rss-was-silent-during-the-1984-riots-at-places-it-was-implicated-in-the-violence |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Jaijee"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kalhan |first=Anuradha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHCpEAAAQBAJ&dq=rss+bjp+anti+sikh+riots&pg=PT265 |title=Tipping Point: A Short Political History of India |date=2023-04-03 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-88575-0 |language=en}}</ref>
| side2 = [[Sikhs|Sikh civilians]]
| leadfigures1 = 
| leadfigures2 = 
| leadfigures3 = 
| howmany1 = 
| howmany2 = 
| howmany3 = 
| injuries = 
| fatalities = 3,350 (Indian government figure)<ref name="TheWire.in"/><ref name="ndtv.com"/><br>8,000–17,000 Sikhs (other estimates){{Dubious|Figures|date=November 2023}}<ref name="SAGE"/><ref name='telegraph'/>
| arrests = 
| notes = 
| image_size = 
}}

The '''1984 anti-Sikh riots''',<!-- Reliable sources use the term "riots"; do not change, especially to "genocide", until a consensus for the change is reached after discussion on the talk page. --> also known as the '''1984 Sikh massacre''', was a series of organised [[pogrom]]s<ref name="toiprog"/><ref name="rediffprog"/><ref name="2009BBCremember">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8306420.stm|title=Indira Gandhi's death remembered|last=Bedi|first=Rahul|date=1 November 2009|publisher=BBC|quote=The 25th anniversary of Indira Gandhi's assassination revives stark memories of some 3,000 Sikhs killed brutally in the orderly pogrom that followed her killing|access-date=2 November 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091102113639/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8306420.stm| archive-date= 2 November 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> against [[Sikh]]s in [[India]] following the [[assassination of Indira Gandhi]] by her Sikh bodyguards.<ref>{{cite book|title=War and Religion: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict [3 volumes]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KDlFDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA129|page=129|author1=Jeffrey M. Shaw PhD|author2=Timothy J. Demy PhD|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1610695176|date=27 March 2017|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-date=26 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426080618/https://books.google.com/books?id=KDlFDgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Riots and Pogroms|page=203|author=Paul R. Brass|publisher=NYU Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeU8DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA203|isbn=978-0814712825|date=October 1996|access-date=30 November 2018|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030023956/https://books.google.com/books?id=QeU8DAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ensaaf" /> Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in [[Delhi]]<ref name="2009BBCremember"/><ref name="Nanavati"/> and 3,350 nationwide,<ref name="TheWire.in">{{Cite web | url=https://thewire.in/communalism/what-delhi-hc-order-on-1984-anti-sikh-pogrom-says-about-2002-gujarat-riots | title=What Delhi HC Order on 1984 Anti-Sikh Pogrom Says About 2002 Gujarat Riots | access-date=31 May 2019 | archive-date=31 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531060455/https://thewire.in/communalism/what-delhi-hc-order-on-1984-anti-sikh-pogrom-says-about-2002-gujarat-riots | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ndtv.com">{{Cite web | url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/why-gujarat-2002-finds-mention-in-1984-riots-court-order-on-sajjan-kumar-1963730 | title=Why Gujarat 2002 Finds Mention in 1984 Riots Court Order on Sajjan Kumar | access-date=31 May 2019 | archive-date=31 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531060555/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/why-gujarat-2002-finds-mention-in-1984-riots-court-order-on-sajjan-kumar-1963730 | url-status=live }}</ref> whilst other sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000–17,000.{{Dubious|Figures|date=November 2023}}<ref name="SAGE"/><ref name='telegraph'>{{cite news|title=Delhi to reopen inquiry in to massacre of Sikhs in 1984 riots|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10607451/Delhi-to-reopen-inquiry-in-to-massacre-of-Sikhs-in-1984-riots.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10607451/Delhi-to-reopen-inquiry-in-to-massacre-of-Sikhs-in-1984-riots.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=3 May 2016|date=30 January 2014|last1=Nelson|first1=Dean}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jagdish Tytler's role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots to be re-investigated|url=http://www.ndtv.com/cheat-sheet/jagdish-tytlers-role-in-1984-anti-sikh-riots-to-be-re-investigated-518648|website=NDTV.com|access-date=3 May 2016|archive-date=18 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418033745/https://www.ndtv.com/cheat-sheet/jagdish-tytlers-role-in-1984-anti-sikh-riots-to-be-re-investigated-518648|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Akhilesh|last=Pillalamarri|title=India's Anti-Sikh Riots, 30 Years On|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/10/indias-anti-sikh-riots-30-years-on/|website=The Diplomat|access-date=3 May 2016|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710033902/https://thediplomat.com/2014/10/indias-anti-sikh-riots-30-years-on/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The assassination of Indira Gandhi itself had taken place shortly after she had ordered [[Operation Blue Star]], a military action to secure the [[Harmandir Sahib]] Sikh temple complex in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], in June 1984. The operation had resulted in a deadly battle with armed Sikh groups who were demanding [[Dharam Yudh Morcha|greater rights and autonomy]] for Punjab and the deaths of many pilgrims. Sikhs worldwide had criticized the army action and many saw it as an assault on their religion and identity.<ref name=david>{{cite book | last = Westerlund | first = David | title = Questioning The Secular State: The Worldwide Resurgence of Religion in Politics. | publisher = C. Hurst & Co | year = 1996 | page = 1276 | isbn =978-1-85065-241-0 }}</ref>

In the aftermath of the pogroms, the government reported that 20,000 had fled the city; the [[People's Union for Civil Liberties]] reported "at least" 1,000 [[displaced person]]s.<ref name="Mukhoty 1984">{{Citation | title =Who are the Guilty ? | last1 =Mukhoty | first1 =Gobinda | last2 =Kothari | first2 =Rajni | url =http://www.sacw.net/aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html | year =1984 | publisher =[[People's Union for Civil Liberties]] | access-date =4 November 2010 | archive-date =5 September 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190905011343/http://www.sacw.net/aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html | url-status =live }}</ref> The most-affected regions were the Sikh neighbourhoods of Delhi. [[Human rights]] organisations and newspapers across India believed that the massacre was organised.<ref name="2009BBCremember"/><ref name="IBN23April" /><ref name="Swadesh Bahadur Singh 1996">Swadesh Bahadur Singh (editor of the Sher-i-Panjâb weekly): "Cabinet berth for a Sikh", ''The Indian Express'', 31 May 1996.</ref> The collusion of political officials connected to the [[Indian National Congress]] in the violence and judicial failure to penalise the perpetrators alienated Sikhs and increased support for the [[Khalistan movement]].<ref name="Watch/Asia(US)1994">{{cite book|title=Dead silence: the legacy of human rights abuses in Punjab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dx7b8w6snbsC&pg=PA13|date=May 1994|publisher=Human Rights Watch|isbn=978-1-56432-130-5|page=10|access-date=14 October 2016|archive-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428110036/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dx7b8w6snbsC&pg=PA13|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Akal Takht]], [[Sikhism]]'s governing body, considers the killings a [[genocide]].<ref name="HT2010">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/1984-riots-were-Sikh-genocide-Akal-Takht/Article1-572372.aspx|title=1984 riots were 'Sikh genocide': Akal Takht – Hindustan Times|date=14 July 2010|work=Hindustan Times|access-date=17 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717030351/http://www.hindustantimes.com/1984-riots-were-Sikh-genocide-Akal-Takht/Article1-572372.aspx|archive-date=17 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2011, [[Human Rights Watch]] reported that the Government of India had "yet to prosecute those responsible for the mass killings".<ref>{{cite book|title=World Report 2011: India|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/india_3.pdf|year=2011|publisher=Human Rights Watch|pages=1–5| access-date=13 February 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110130175646/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/india_3.pdf| archive-date= 30 January 2011| url-status= live}}</ref> According to the [[United States diplomatic cables leak|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 [[Government of India|Congress government]], of Sikhs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-06/india/29515961_1_anti-sikh-riots-gujarat-riots-nanavati-commission-report|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125013015/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-06/india/29515961_1_anti-sikh-riots-gujarat-riots-nanavati-commission-report|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 November 2011|title=US saw Cong hand in Sikh massacre, reveal Wiki leaks|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=10 May 2011|date=6 May 2011}}</ref> Although the U.S. has not identified the riots as genocide, it acknowledged that "[[human rights violations|grave human rights violations]]" occurred.<ref>{{cite news |title=US refuses to declare 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India as genocide |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/us-refuses-to-declare-1984-antisikh-riots-in-india-as-genocide/382649-3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406012926/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/us-refuses-to-declare-1984-antisikh-riots-in-india-as-genocide/382649-3.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 April 2013 |agency=Press Trust of India |publisher=CNN-IBN |location=Washington |date=2 April 2013 |access-date=15 November 2013}}</ref> In 2011, the burned sites of multiple Sikh killings from 1984, were discovered in Hondh-Chillar and Pataudi areas of Haryana.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/25/india-bring-charges-newly-discovered-massacre-sikhs|title=India: Bring Charges for Newly Discovered Massacre of Sikhs|date=25 April 2011|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2 August 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110711124548/http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/25/india-bring-charges-newly-discovered-massacre-sikhs| archive-date= 11 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="IBN23April">{{cite news|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/1984-antisikh-riots-backed-by-govt-police-cbi/251375-37-64.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425011626/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/1984-antisikh-riots-backed-by-govt-police-cbi/251375-37-64.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 April 2012 |title=1984 anti-Sikh riots backed by Govt, police: CBI |publisher=[[IBN Live]]|date=23 April 2012 |access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref>

After 34 years of delay, in December 2018, the first high-profile conviction for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots took place with the arrest of Congress leader [[Sajjan Kumar]], who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the [[Delhi High Court]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web| url=https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/1984-anti-sikh-riots-sajjan-kumar-convicted-hc-reverses-acquittal-hands-life-term-to-congress-leader/1416022/| title=1984 anti-Sikh riots: Sajjan Kumar convicted! HC reverses acquittal, hands life term to Congress leader| date=17 December 2018| access-date=17 December 2018| archive-date=17 December 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217084611/https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/1984-anti-sikh-riots-sajjan-kumar-convicted-hc-reverses-acquittal-hands-life-term-to-congress-leader/1416022/| url-status=live}}</ref> Very few convictions have taken place in the pending 1984 cases, with only one death penalty conviction for an accused, Yashpal in the case of murdering Sikhs in the [[Mahipalpur]] area of Delhi.<ref name="tribuneindia.com">{{Cite web | url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/second-death-sentence-in-1984-anti-sikh-riots/686578.html/ | title=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India : Latest news, India, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal, Uttarakhand, J&K, sports, cricket | access-date=24 November 2018 | archive-date=30 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130203617/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/second-death-sentence-in-1984-anti-sikh-riots/686578.html/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="indiatoday.in">{{cite news |title=Delhi court awards death penalty in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case: Chronology of events |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/delhi-court-awards-death-penalty-in-1984-anti-sikh-riots-case-chronology-of-events-1394041-2018-11-22 |work=India Today |date=22 November 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite news | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66627391.cms | title=A first for SIT: Two convicted for 1984 killings | newspaper=The Times of India | access-date=17 December 2018 | archive-date=11 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111025416/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66627391.cms | url-status=live }}</ref>{{Persecution of Sikhs}}

== Background ==
{{See also|Dharam Yudh Morcha|Punjab insurgency}}
In the 1972 Punjab state elections, Congress won and [[Akali Dal]] was defeated. In 1973, Akali Dal put forward the [[Anandpur Sahib Resolution]] to demand more autonomy to Punjab.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title=The Anandpur Sahib Resolution and Other Akali Demands|url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195673098.001.0001/acprof-9780195673098-chapter-20|website=Oxfordscholarship.com|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195673098.001.0001|year=2004|isbn=9780195673098|access-date=23 July 2018|archive-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106222911/http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195673098.001.0001/acprof-9780195673098-chapter-20|url-status=live}}</ref> It demanded that power be generally devolved from the Central to state governments.<ref name="Jayanta484">{{cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Jayanta Kumar |title=Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World |date=2007 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=9788131708347 |page=484 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=khalistan |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204002351/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=khalistan |url-status=live }}</ref> The Congress government considered the resolution a secessionist document and rejected it.<ref name="Giorgio2008">{{cite book|author=Giorgio Shani | title=Sikh nationalism and identity in a global age |url=https://archive.org/details/sikhnationalismi00shan |url-access=limited | year=2008 | publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-0-415-42190-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/sikhnationalismi00shan/page/n67 51]–60 }}</ref> [[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]], a prominent Sikh leader of [[Damdami Taksal]], then joined the Akali Dal to launch the [[Dharam Yudh Morcha]] in 1982 to implement the Anandpur Sahib resolution. Bhindranwale had risen to prominence in the Sikh political circle with his policy of getting the [[Anandpur Resolution]] passed.<ref>Joshi, Chand, Bhindranwale: Myth and Reality (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1984), p. 129.</ref> Others demanded an autonomous state in India, based on the [[Anandpur Sahib Resolution]].

As high-handed police methods normally used on common criminals were used on protesters during the [[Dharam Yudh Morcha]], creating state repression affecting a very large segment of Punjab's population, retaliatory violence came from a section of the Sikh population, widening the scope of the conflict by the use of violence of the state on its own people, creating fresh motives for Sikh youth to turn to insurgency.<ref name=karim>{{cite book |last1=Karim |first1=Afsir |title=Counter Terrorism, the Pakistan Factor |date=1991 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=978-8170621270 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoqwQb38SQEC |access-date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=26 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326061440/https://books.google.com/books?id=QoqwQb38SQEC |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|32–33}} The concept of Khalistan was still vague even while the complex was fortified under the influence of former Sikh army officials alienated by government actions who now advised Bhindranwale, Major General Shabeg Singh and retired Major General and Brigadier Mohinder Singh, and at that point the concept was still not directly connected with the movement he headed.{{sfn|Karim|1991|pp=32-33}} In other parts of Punjab, a "state of chaos and repressive police methods" combined to create "a mood of overwhelming anger and resentment in the Sikh masses against the authorities," making Bhindranwale even more popular, and demands of independence gain currency, even amongst moderates and Sikh intellectuals.{{sfn|Karim|1991|pp=32-33}}

By 1983, the situation in Punjab was volatile. In October, Sikh militants stopped a bus and shot six Hindu passengers. On the same day, another group killed two officials on a train.<ref name="Robert2008">{{cite book | author1=Robert L. Hardgrave | author2=Stanley A. Kochanek | title=India: Government and Politics in a Developing Nation | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSyRgcSQhuIC&pg=PT187 | year=2008 | publisher=Cengage Learning | isbn=978-0-495-00749-4 | access-date=14 October 2016 | archive-date=22 February 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222124110/https://books.google.com/books?id=pSyRgcSQhuIC&pg=PT187 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|174}} The Congress-led central government [[President's rule|dismissed]] the Punjab state government (led by their party), invoking the [[president's rule]]. During the five months before [[Operation Blue Star]], from 1 January to 3 June 1984, 298 people were killed in violent incidents across Punjab. In the five days preceding the operation, 48 people were killed by violence.<ref name="Robert2008"/>{{rp|175}} According to government  estimates, the number of civilians, police, and militants killed was 27 in 1981, 22 in 1982, and 99 in 1983.<ref name="ArtRichardson2007">{{cite book|author1=Robert J. Art|author2=Louise Richardson|title=Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bl5tSd-1wwsC&pg=PA444|year=2007|publisher=US Institute of Peace Press|isbn=978-1-929223-93-0|page=444|access-date=17 March 2021|archive-date=26 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326061442/https://books.google.com/books?id=Bl5tSd-1wwsC&pg=PA444|url-status=live}}</ref> By June 1984, the total number of deaths was 410 in violent incidents and riots while 1,180 people were injured.<ref name=ms_casualty_terror>{{cite book | first1 = Mark | last1 = Tully | first2 = Satish | last2 = Jacob | title = Amritsar; Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bxhuAAAAMAAJ&q="deaths+in+violent" | year = 1985 | location = London | edition = e-book | page = 147, Ch. 11 | isbn = 9780224023283 | access-date = 26 July 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180726221324/https://books.google.com/books?id=bxhuAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22deaths+in+violent%22 | archive-date = 26 July 2018 | url-status = live}}</ref>

On 1 June, Operation Blue Star was launched to remove him and the armed militants from the [[Golden Temple]] complex.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jun/03spec.htm |title=Operation BlueStar, 20 Years On |work=Rediff.com |date=6 June 1984 |access-date=9 August 2009 |archive-date=2 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202184039/https://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jun/03spec.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> On 6 June Bhindranwale died in the operation. Casualty figures for the Army were 83 dead and 249 injured.<ref name = "tribune-army">{{cite web |url= http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070320/punjab1.htm |title= Army reveals startling facts on Bluestar |work= The Tribune |date= 30 May 1984 |access-date= 9 August 2009 |archive-date= 5 July 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090705183849/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070320/punjab1.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> According to the official estimate presented by the Indian government, 1592 were apprehended and there were 493 combined militant and civilian casualties.<ref name="WhitePaper1984">{{cite book |title=White Paper on the Punjab Agitation |date=1984 |publisher=[[Shiromani Akali Dal]] and [[Government of India]] |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqSAngEACAAJ&q=493 |access-date=15 October 2020 |archive-date=14 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214140945/https://books.google.com/books?id=wqSAngEACAAJ&q=493 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Operation Woodrose|Later operations]] by Indian paramilitary forces were conducted to clear the separatists from the state of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]].<ref name="Charny1999">{{cite book|last=Charny|first=Israel W.|title=Encyclopaedia of genocide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Q30HcvCVuIC&pg=PA516|year=1999|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-87436-928-1|pages=516–517|access-date=14 October 2016|archive-date=11 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511151023/https://books.google.com/books?id=8Q30HcvCVuIC&pg=PA516|url-status=live}}</ref>

The operation carried out in the temple caused outrage among the Sikhs and increased the support for Khalistan Movement.<ref name="Jayanta484"/> Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi|assassinated]] in vengeance by her two Sikh bodyguards, [[Satwant Singh]] and [[Beant Singh (assassin)|Beant Singh]].<ref name="dnaindia.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-operation-blue-star-india-s-first-tryst-with-militant-extremism-2270293|title=Operation Blue Star: India's first tryst with militant extremism & Updates at Daily News & Analysis|date=5 November 2016|website=Daily News and Analysis|access-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103012225/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-operation-blue-star-india-s-first-tryst-with-militant-extremism-2270293|archive-date=3 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> One of [[Beant Singh (assassin)|the assassins]] was fatally shot by Gandhi's other bodyguards while [[Satwant Singh|the other]] was convicted of Gandhi's murder and then executed. Public outcry over Gandhi's death led to the killings of Sikhs in the ensuing 1984 anti-Sikh riots.<ref name="Singh 2008 45">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Pritam|title=Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQLDcjhNoJwC&q=Blue+Star&pg=PR4|access-date=29 July 2010|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-45666-1|page=45|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308055821/https://books.google.com/books?id=mQLDcjhNoJwC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Sikh Rebellion and the Hindu Concept of Order |year=1989 |first=Cynthia Keppley |last=Mahmood |doi=10.2307/2644668 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=326–340 |jstor=2644668 }}</ref>

== Geo-Political Context ==
Before British colonization, Punjab was a region dominated by Sikh Misls, which were later unified into the Sikh Empire by Maharajah Ranjit Singh. Post the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, the Sikh Empire was dissolved, leading to its integration into the British province of Punjab. This period saw the emergence of religio-nationalist movements as a response to British administrative policies and socio-political changes.<ref name=":4">{{Citation |title=Khalistan movement |date=2023-12-01 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khalistan_movement&oldid=1187721660 |work=Wikipedia |access-date=2023-12-09 |language=en}}</ref> The concept of a Sikh homeland, Khalistan, emerged in the 1930s as the British Empire began to dissolve. This idea gained momentum in response to the Muslim League's demand for a Muslim state, with the Sikhs viewing it as an encroachment on historically Sikh territory. The Akali Dal, a Sikh political party, envisioned Khalistan as a theocratic state, comprising parts of what is today Punjab in both India and Pakistan.<ref>{{Citation |title=Khalistan movement |date=2023-12-01 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Khalistan_movement&oldid=1187721660 |work=Wikipedia |access-date=2023-12-09 |language=en}}</ref> 

Post-independence, the Akali Dal led the Punjabi Suba movement, advocating for the creation of a Punjabi-majority state within India. The movement's demands ranged from autonomous statehood within India to a fully sovereign state (Khalistan). Initially, the Indian government resisted these demands, wary of creating another state based on religious grounds. By the late 1970s and 1980s, the Khalistan movement began to militarize, marked by a shift in Sikh nationalism and the rise of armed militancy. This period, especially leading up to and following Operation Blue Star in 1984, saw increased Sikh militancy as a response to perceived injustices and political marginalization.<ref>{{Citation |title=Militancy, Antiterrorism and the Khalistan Movement, 1984–1997 |date=2021 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/sikh-nationalism/militancy-antiterrorism-and-the-khalistan-movement-19841997/5652BE642A98DE52B3A9CE1ECE9BED19 |work=Sikh Nationalism |pages=132–162 |editor-last=Shani |editor-first=Giorgio |access-date=2023-12-09 |series=New Approaches to Asian History |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-13654-0 |editor2-last=Singh |editor2-first=Gurharpal}}</ref>

== {{anchor|Characteristics of violence}}Violence ==
{{See also|Hondh-Chillar massacre}}
After the [[assassination of Indira Gandhi]] on 31 October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards, anti-Sikh riots erupted the following day. They continued in some areas for several days, killing more than 3,000 Sikhs in New Delhi<ref>{{cite news|title=Delhi 1984: India's Congress party still struggling to escape the past|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26235314|access-date=14 May 2016|language=en-GB|date=18 February 2014|last1=North|first1=Andrew|archive-date=26 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326110540/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26235314|url-status=live}}</ref> and an estimated 8,000 – 20,000 Sikhs in total were killed across 40 cities in India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jaijee |first=Inderjit Singh |url=http://archive.org/details/PoliticsOfGenocide-Punjab1984-1998 |title=Politics Of Genocide - Punjab 1984-1998 |pages=114}}</ref><ref name="SAGE">{{cite book|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives|quote=around 17,000 Sikhs were burned alive or killed|first=Paul|last=Joseph|page=433|publisher = SAGE|isbn=978-1483359885|date=11 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="2009BBCremember"/> At least 50,000 Sikhs were displaced.<ref name="SAGE"/> Sultanpuri, [[Mangol Puri (Delhi Assembly constituency)|Mangolpuri]], [[Trilokpuri (Delhi Assembly constituency)|Trilokpuri]], and other [[East Delhi|Trans-Yamuna]] areas of Delhi were the worst affected. Perpetrators carried iron rods, knives, clubs, and combustible material (including kerosene and petrol). They entered Sikh neighbourhoods, killing Sikhs indiscriminately and destroying shops and houses. Armed mobs stopped buses and trains in and near Delhi, pulling off Sikh passengers for lynching; some were burnt alive. Others were dragged from their homes and hacked to death, and Sikh women were reportedly gang-raped and Sikhs also had acid thrown on them.<ref>Singh, Jaspreet, "India's pogrom, 1984", ''[[International New York Times]]'', 31 October 2014, p. 7</ref><ref name="tribune_phoolka">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20141102/pers.htm|title=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Perspective|website=The Tribune|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=14 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814122013/https://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20141102/pers.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|text=Such wide-scale violence cannot take place without police help. Delhi Police, whose paramount duty was to upkeep law and order situation and protect innocent lives, gave full help to rioters who were in fact working under able guidance of sycophant leaders like [[Jagdish Tytler]] and [[H K L Bhagat]]. It is a known fact that many jails, sub-jails and lock-ups were opened for three days and prisoners, for the most part hardened criminals, were provided fullest provisions, means and instruction to "teach the Sikhs a lesson". But it will be wrong to say that Delhi Police did nothing, for it took full and keen action against Sikhs who tried to defend themselves. The Sikhs who opened fire to save their lives and property had to spend months dragging heels in courts after-wards.|author=Jagmohan Singh Khurmi|source=''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'' {{full citation needed|date=August 2017}}}}

The grief, trauma, and survival of Sikh victims and witnesses is an important human perspective missing in much factual coverage of the riots. In interviews with Manoj Mitta and H.S. Phoolka for their book "When a Tree Shook Delhi," survivors recount harrowing tales of watching loved ones burned alive, raped, and dismembered. One Hindu woman describes her family sheltering over 70 Sikhs from murderous mobs who were targeting Sikh homes marked with an "S."Ensaaf’s 2006 report “Twenty years of impunity” contains dozens of eyewitness statements accusing police and government officials of enabling and even participating in the violence. Personal stories help convey the true horrors endured by the Sikh community.

The riots have also been described as pogroms,<ref name="toiprog">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110811083708/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-12-31/india/27838902_1_communal-tension-communal-violence-gujarat-riots State pogroms glossed over]. ''[[The Times of India]]''. 31 December 2005.</ref><ref name="rediffprog">{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/09sikh.htm |title=Anti-Sikh riots a pogrom: Khushwant |work=Rediff.com |access-date=23 September 2009 |archive-date=22 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022162632/http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/09sikh.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| title = Betrayed by the State: The Anti-Sikh Pogrom of 1984
| first = Jyoti
| last = Grewal
| publisher = Penguin Books
| isbn = 978-0-14-306303-2
| date = 30 December 2007
}}</ref> massacres<ref>McLeod, W. H. ''Historical Dictionary of Sikhism''. 2005, page xiv</ref><ref>Yoo, David. ''New Spiritual Homes: Religion and Asian Americans''. 1999, page 129</ref> or genocide.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=It's Time India Accept Responsibility for its 1984 Sikh Genocide|url=http://time.com/3545867/india-1984-sikh-genocide-anniversary/|magazine=Time|access-date=3 May 2016|archive-date=10 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510164529/http://time.com/3545867/india-1984-sikh-genocide-anniversary/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Additional source needed|date=May 2023|reason=[[WP:EXTRAORDINARY]] claim}}

=== {{anchor|Meetings and distribution of weapons}}Meetings and weapons distribution ===

On 31 October, a crowd around the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences]] began shouting vengeance slogans such as "Blood for blood!" and became an unruly mob. At 17:20, President [[Zail Singh]] arrived at the hospital and the mob stoned his car. The mob began assaulting Sikhs, stopping cars and buses to pull Sikhs out and burn them.<ref name="Ensaaf">{{cite book|last1=Kaur|first1=Jaskaran|last2=Crossette|first2=Barbara|title=Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India|page=27|url=http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|edition=2nd|year=2006|publisher=Ensaaf|location=Portland, OR|isbn=978-0-9787073-0-9|access-date=4 November 2010|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119015130/http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The violence on 31 October, restricted to the area around the AIIMS, resulted in many Sikh deaths.<ref name="Ensaaf"/> Residents of other parts of Delhi reported that their neighbourhoods were peaceful.

During the night of 31 October and the morning of 1 November, Congress Party leaders met with local supporters to distribute money and weapons. Congress [[Member of Parliament (India)|MP]] [[Sajjan Kumar]] and [[Trade unions in India|trade-union]] leader [[Lalit Maken]] handed out {{INR|100|link=yes}} notes and bottles of liquor to the assailants.<ref name="Ensaaf"/> On the morning of 1 November, [[Sajjan Kumar]] was observed holding rallies in the Delhi neighbourhoods of Palam Colony (from 06:30 to 07:00), Kiran Gardens (08:00 to 08:30), and Sultanpuri (about 08:30 to 09:00).<ref name="Ensaaf"/> In Kiran Gardens at 8:00&nbsp;am, Kumar was observed distributing iron rods from a parked truck to a group of 120 people and ordering them to "attack Sikhs, kill them, and loot and burn their properties".<ref name="Ensaaf"/> During the morning he led a mob along the [[Palam]] railway road to Mangolpuri, where the crowd chanted: "Kill the [[Sikhs|Sardar]]s" and "Indira Gandhi is our mother and these people have killed her".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kaur|first1=Jaskaran|last2=Crossette|first2=Barbara|title=Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India|pages=27–28|url=http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|edition=2nd|year=2006|publisher=Ensaaf|location=Portland, OR|isbn=978-0-9787073-0-9|access-date=4 November 2010|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119015130/http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In Sultanpuri, Moti Singh (a Sikh Congress Party member for 20 years) heard Kumar make the following speech:

{{blockquote|text=Whoever kills the sons of the snakes, I will reward them. Whoever kills Roshan Singh and Bagh Singh will get 5,000 rupees each and 1,000 rupees each for killing any other Sikhs. You can collect these prizes on November 3 from my personal assistant Jai Chand Jamadar.{{#tag:ref|On 2 November, Moti Singh witnessed two policemen, one a [[Station house officer|SHO]] and another a constable, both of whom who had attended Sajjan Kumar's meeting the previous day, shoot and kill Roshan Singh (his son) and kill his grandchildren when they ran to help their father.<ref name="ensaaf-org.jklaw.net">{{cite book|last1=Kaur|first1=Jaskaran|last2=Crossette|first2=Barbara|title=Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India|page=28|url=http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|edition=2nd|year=2006|publisher=Ensaaf|location=Portland, OR|isbn=978-0-9787073-0-9|access-date=4 November 2010 <!-- DASHBot -->|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119015130/http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> |group=note}}}}

The [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] told the court that during the riot, Kumar said that "not a single Sikh should survive".<ref name="IBN23April" /><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17811666 | title = India Congress leader 'incited' 1984 anti-Sikh riots | work = BBC News | date = 23 April 2012 | access-date = 27 April 2012 | archive-date = 25 April 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120425161236/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17811666 | url-status = live }}</ref> The bureau accused [[Delhi Police]] of keeping its "eyes closed" during the riot, which was planned.<ref name="IBN23April" />

In the Shakarpur neighbourhood, Congress Party leader Shyam Tyagi's home was used as a meeting place for an undetermined number of people.<ref name="ensaaf-org.jklaw.net"/> [[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Minister of Information and Broadcasting]] [[H. K. L. Bhagat]] gave money to Boop Tyagi (Tyagi's brother), saying: "Keep these two thousand rupees for liquor and do as I have told you ... You need not worry at all. I will look after everything."<ref name="ensaaf-org.jklaw.net"/>

During the night of 31 October, [[Balwan Khokhar]] (a local Congress Party leader who was implicated in the massacre) held a meeting at Pandit Harkesh's [[Public distribution system|ration shop]] in Palam.<ref name="ensaaf-org.jklaw.net"/> Congress Party supporter Shankar Lal Sharma held a meeting, where he assembled a mob which swore to kill Sikhs, in his shop at 08:30 on 1 November.<ref name="ensaaf-org.jklaw.net"/>

Kerosene, the primary mob weapon, was supplied by a group of Congress Party leaders who owned filling stations.<ref name="http">{{cite book|last1=Kaur|first1=Jaskaran|last2=Crossette|first2=Barbara|title=Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India|page=29|url=http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|edition=2nd|year=2006|publisher=Ensaaf|location=Portland, OR|isbn=978-0-9787073-0-9|access-date=4 November 2010|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119015130/http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In Sultanpuri, Congress Party A-4 [[Block (district subdivision)#India|block]] president Brahmanand Gupta distributed oil while Sajjan Kumar "instructed the crowd to kill Sikhs, and to loot and burn their properties" (as he had done at other meetings throughout New Delhi).<ref name="http"/> Similar meetings were held at locations such as Cooperative Colony in Bokaro, where local Congress president and gas-station owner P. K. Tripathi distributed kerosene to mobs.<ref name="http"/> Aseem Shrivastava, a graduate student at the [[Delhi School of Economics]], described the mobs' organised nature in an affidavit submitted to the [[#Misra Commission|Misra Commission]]:
{{blockquote|text= The attack on Sikhs and their property in our locality appeared to be an extremely organized affair ... <!-- A man in the mob was carrying a piece of paper which had all the addresses of Sikhs in New Friends Colony. This list was being consulted to single out the houses to be attacked. -->There were also some young men on motorcycles, who were instructing the mobs and supplying them with kerosene oil from time to time. On more than a few occasions we saw auto-rickshaw arriving with several tins of kerosene oil and other inflammable material, such as jute sacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carnage84.com/affidavits/mishra/promi/Aseem%20Shrivastava.htm|title=Misra Commission Affidavit of Aseem Shrivastava|access-date=3 August 2010|location=New Delhi|archive-date=8 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708121820/http://www.carnage84.com/affidavits/mishra/promi/Aseem%20Shrivastava.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

A senior official at the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] told journalist Ivan Fera that an arson investigation of several businesses burned in the riots had found an unnamed combustible chemical "whose provision required large-scale coordination".<ref name="Fera">{{cite journal|last=Fera|first=Ivan|date=23 December 1985|title=The Enemy Within|journal=The Illustrated Weekly of India}}</ref> Eyewitness reports confirmed the use of a combustible chemical in addition to kerosene.<ref name="Fera"/> The [[Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee]] later cited 70 affidavits noting the use of a highly-flammable chemical in its written reports to the Misra Commission.<ref name="http"/>

=== {{anchor|Use of voter lists by the Congress Party}}Congress Party voter-list use ===

On 31 October, Congress Party officials provided assailants with [[voter list]]s, school registration forms, and [[Public Distribution System|ration lists]].<ref name="Citizens for Democracy">{{cite book |last1=Rao |first1=Amiya |last2=Ghose |first2=Aurobindo |last3=Pancholi |first3=N. D. |location=India |title=Truth about Delhi violence: report to the nation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EBctAAAAIAAJ |year=1985 |publisher=Citizens for Democracy |chapter=3 |access-date=14 October 2016 |archive-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222122249/https://books.google.com/books?id=EBctAAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The lists were used to find Sikh homes and business, an otherwise-impossible task because they were in unmarked, diverse neighbourhoods. During the night of 31 October, before the massacres began, assailants used the lists to mark Sikh houses with an "S".<ref name="Citizens for Democracy"/> Because most mob members were illiterate, Congress Party officials provided help reading the lists and leading the mobs to Sikh homes and businesses in other neighbourhoods.<ref name="http"/> With the lists, the mobs could pinpoint the location of Sikhs they otherwise would have missed.<ref name="http"/>

Sikh men not at home were easily identified by their turbans and beards, and Sikh women were identified by their dress. In some cases, the mobs returned to locations where they knew Sikhs were hiding because of the lists. Amar Singh escaped the initial attack on his house by having a Hindu neighbour drag him into the neighbour's house and announce that he was dead. A group of 18 assailants later came looking for his body; when his neighbour said that his body had been taken away, an assailant showed him a list and said: "Look, Amar Singh's name has not been struck off from the list, so his body has not been taken away."<ref name="http"/>

== International Perspectives ==
Organizations like ENSAAF, a Sikh rights group, have documented the involvement of senior political leaders, notably from the Congress Party, in orchestrating the violence. These organizations have provided detailed accounts of how the violence was not spontaneous but organized, with state machinery used to facilitate the massacres, including using government buses to transport mobs to Sikh localities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-29 |title=India: No Justice for 1984 Anti-Sikh Bloodshed {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/29/india-no-justice-1984-anti-sikh-bloodshed |access-date=2023-12-09 |language=en}}</ref> Over the years, at least ten different commissions and committees were appointed by the Indian government to investigate the violence. These commissions faced criticism for a lack of transparency and effectiveness. The Misra Commission, for instance, was criticized for its in-camera proceedings and failure to allow victims' lawyers to attend or examine witnesses. Other commissions, such as the Kapoor-Mittal and Jain-Banerjee committees, recommended actions against police officers and politicians, but these recommendations were often not fully acted upon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramakrishnan |first=Shriya |title=Renewed calls for justice in India’s 1984 riots |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/10/7/1984-anti-sikh-riots-calls-for-justice-in-india |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

The response within India was marked by a call for justice from various quarters, including victims and activists. The Indian government's formation of Special Investigation Teams (SITs) and the extension of their mandates were seen as efforts to address the issue, though some viewed these measures as inadequate. There has been a persistent demand for accountability and justice for the victims and survivors of the riots. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Lessons of the 1984 Sikh Massacre |url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/06/lessons-of-the-1984-sikh-massacre/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== {{anchor|Timeline of events}}Timeline ==
{{more citations needed section|date=October 2017}}<!-- most entries are not cited -->

=== {{anchor|First day (31 October)}}31 October ===

* 09:20: Indira Gandhi is shot by two of her Sikh security guards at her residence, and is rushed to the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences]] (AIIMS).
* 10:50: Gandhi dies.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/31/newsid_2464000/2464423.stm |title=Indian prime minister shot dead |work=BBC News |date=31 October 1984 |access-date=23 September 2009 |archive-date=17 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117032809/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/31/newsid_2464000/2464423.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/31/newsid_3961000/3961851.stm |title=Assassination and revenge |work=BBC News |date=31 October 1984 |access-date=23 September 2009 |archive-date=15 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215211511/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/31/newsid_3961000/3961851.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 11:00: [[All India Radio]] reports that the guards who shot Gandhi were Sikhs.
* 16:00: [[Rajiv Gandhi]] returns from [[West Bengal]] to the AIIMS, where isolated attacks occur.
* 17:30: The motorcade of President [[Zail Singh]], returning from a foreign visit, is stoned as it approaches the AIIMS. A bodyguard's turban is ripped off.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=11–12 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Evening and night ====

* Organized, equipped gangs fan out from the AIIMS.
* Attacks are planned in a meeting at the home of the [[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Minister of Information and Broadcasting]]<ref name=":0" />
* Violence towards Sikhs and destruction of Sikh property spreads.
* “Seek blood for blood” is aired on state-controlled airwaves.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=13 |language=en}}</ref>
* Rajiv Gandhi is sworn in as Prime Minister.
* Senior advocate and [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]] leader [[Ram Jethmalani]] meets Home Minister [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]] and urges him to take immediate steps to protect Sikhs from further attacks.
* At night homes of Sikh are identified by surveyors. They used lists to find homes and would mark homes of Sikhs with an S.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=18 |language=en}}</ref>
* At around 9 p.m. an elderly Sikh man is the first to be killed.<ref name=":1" />
* Delhi lieutenant governor [[P. G. Gavai]] and police commissioner [[S. C. Tandon]] visit affected areas.

=== {{anchor|Second day (1 November)}}1 November ===

* Early in the morning organised mobs are transported outside of Delhi on buses and begin attacking Sikh neighbourhoods. They are equipped with firearms, knives, iron rods, clubs, and [[kerosene]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=17 |language=en}}</ref>
* In the morning [[Gurdwara|Gurdwaras]] are attacked and burned.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=14 |language=en}}</ref>
* At 7:00 a.m. mobs in [[Kanpur]] vandalised Sikh shops and looted Sikh homes. Soon local Congress leaders began to lead mobs. Rapes and killing began and continued until November 4.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=29 |language=en}}</ref>
* In the morning mobs roamed [[Trilokpuri Assembly constituency|Trilokpuri colony]] in [[East Delhi]]. In two narrow alleys hundreds of Sikhs were “butchered” throughout the day. The killings continued for multiple days. According to an eyewitness Sikhs were able to fend off some of the mob. Police then came and stripped Sikhs of their weapons, and blocked all exit points. This left the Sikhs defenceless and vulnerable to the mobs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=23–24 |language=en}}</ref>
* In Trilokpuri colony a father and his two sons were beaten and burned alive by a gang. The gang entered their home where a woman and her youngest son were found. She was stripped and raped by boys in front of her son. The woman tried to flee with her son after the rape, but the son was caught by a mob that beat him and burned him alive. The woman was also beaten and suffered multiple knife wounds and a broken arm.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=36–37 |language=en}}</ref>
* In Trilokpuri colony women were grouped together and were dragged one by one to a [[mosque]] where they would be gang raped. According to one girl she was raped by 15 men.<ref name=":3" />
* In Trilokpuri colony 30 women were abducted and held in Chilla near Delhi. Some of the women were let go on November 3 while the rests fate is unknown.<ref name=":3" />
* 09:00: Armed mobs take over the streets in Delhi. [[Gurdwara]]s are among the first targets. The worst-affected areas are low-income neighbourhoods such as Inderlok (erstwhile [[Trilokpuri Assembly constituency|Trilokpuri]]), [[Shahdara district|Shahdara]], [[Geeta Colony Assembly constituency|Geeta Colony]], Mongolpuri, Sultanpuri and [[Palam]] Colony. Areas with prompt police intervention, such as Farsh Bazar and [[Karol Bagh]], see few killings and little major violence.
* According to an eyewitness in [[Bihar]] in the morning large crowds armed with weapons raised anti-Sikh chants and attacked the homes of Sikh. They broken into the eyewitnesses home and dragged out her parents and three brothers. They were each “butchered” as she watched helplessly.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=30 |language=en}}</ref>
* At 6&nbsp;PM a mob under the guidance of Congress leader [[Lalit Maken]] set fire to [[Pataudi]]'s [[Gurdwara]] which created a panic in the city. As the armed mob rampaged through the town and set fire to Sikh homes in the city, one group of Sikhs escaped to the outskirts while another found shelter in local [[Ashram]].<ref name="tehelka1984">{{cite news|url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main49.asp?filename=Ne120311EXCLUSIVE.asp|title=1984. Genocide in Pataudi. Not a whisper escaped|date=12 March 2011|work=[[Tehelka]]|publisher=Tehelka|access-date=9 March 2011|archive-date=10 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310061926/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main49.asp?filename=Ne120311EXCLUSIVE.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|Third day (2 November)}}2 November ===

* Trains arrive in Delhi with dead bodies of Sikhs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=15 |language=en}}</ref>
* 17 Sikhs were burned alive in [[Pataudi]].<ref name=":2" />
* In Pataudi two teenage Sikh women were dragged in the middle of a street where they were stripped naked. They were beaten and urinated on. They were finally burned alive.<ref name=":2" />
* 500 armed man were transported in trucks to [[Hondh-Chillar]]. They yelled anti Sikh slogans before burning Sikh alive in their homes and gang raping women.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llCbswEACAAJ |title=1984: India's Guilty Secret |date=2017 |publisher=Kashi House |isbn=978-1-911271-08-6 |pages=31 |language=en}}</ref>
* A curfew is announced in Delhi, but is not enforced. Although the army is deployed throughout the city, the police did not co-operate with soldiers (who are forbidden to fire without the consent of senior police officers and executive magistrates).

=== {{anchor|Fourth day (3 November)}}3 November ===

By late evening, army and local police units work together to subdue the violence. After law-enforcement intervention, violence is comparatively mild and sporadic. In Delhi, the bodies of riot victims are brought to the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences]] and the Civil Hospital mortuary in Delhi.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262451
| title=My job didn't stop with Mrs Gandhi or Beant Singh. Bodies kept coming.
| publisher=Outlook India
| access-date=12 November 2011
| archive-date=13 August 2012
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813221553/http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262451
| url-status=live
}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==

The Delhi High Court, delivering its verdict on a riot-related case in 2009, said:<ref>[https://archive.today/20130122142454/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/1984-riots-three-held-guilty-of-rioting/505774/ 1984 riots: three held guilty of rioting]. ''[[The Indian Express]]''. 23 August 2009.</ref>
{{blockquote |1=Though we boast of being the world's largest democracy and the Delhi being its national capital, the sheer mention of the incidents of 1984 anti-Sikh riots in general and the role played by Delhi Police and state machinery in particular makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity.}}

The government allegedly destroyed evidence and shielded the guilty. ''[[Asian Age]]'', an Indian daily newspaper, ran a front-page story calling the government actions "the mother of all cover-ups".<ref name=coverup-1>{{cite web|last=Mustafa |first=Seema |title=1984 Sikh Massacres: Mother of All Cover-ups |url=http://www.sikhtimes.com/news_080905b.html |work=The Sikh Times |publisher=The Asian Age |access-date=29 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307223021/http://www.sikhtimes.com/news_080905b.html |archive-date=7 March 2013 |url-status=live |date=9 August 2005  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Justice delayed, justice denied |date=11 August 2005 |first=Renu |last=Agal |access-date=29 May 2014 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4141524.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426040021/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4141524.stm |archive-date=26 April 2011 |url-status=live |work=BBC News |location=Delhi  }}</ref>

From 31 October 1984 to 10 November 1984 the [[People's Union for Democratic Rights]] and the [[People's Union for Civil Liberties]] conducted an inquiry into the riots, interviewing victims, police officers, neighbours of the victims, army personnel and political leaders. In their joint report, "[[Who Are The Guilty]]", the groups concluded:
<blockquote> The attacks on members of the Sikh Community in Delhi and its suburbs during the period, far from being a spontaneous expression of "madness" and of popular "grief and anger" at Mrs. Gandhi's assassination as made out to be by the authorities, were the outcome of a well organised plan marked by acts of both deliberate commissions and omissions by important politicians of the Congress (I) at the top and by authorities in the administration.<ref name="Mukhoty 1984"/> </blockquote>

According to eyewitness accounts obtained by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, [[Department of Police, Delhi|Delhi police]] looked on as "rioters murdered and raped, having gotten access to voter records that allowed them to mark Sikh homes with large Xs, and large mobs being bused in to large Sikh settlements".<ref name="Mridu Khullar">{{cite news |title=India's 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Waiting for Justice |author= Mridu Khullar |newspaper=Time |date=28 October 2009 |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1931635-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101095153/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1931635-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 November 2009 | access-date=4 November 2010 }}</ref> ''Time'' reported that the riots led to only minor arrests, with no major politicians or police officers convicted. The magazine quoted Ensaaf,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ensaaf.org/about/|title=Ensaaf › About Us|publisher=ensaaf.org|access-date=8 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117181133/http://www.ensaaf.org/about/|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> an Indian human-rights organisation, as saying that the government attempted to destroy evidence of its involvement by refusing to record [[First Information Report]]s.<ref name="Mridu Khullar"/>

A 1991 Human Rights Watch report on violence between [[Khalistan movement|Sikh separatists]] and the [[Government of India]] traced part of the problem to government response to the violence:

<blockquote>Despite numerous credible eye-witness accounts that identified many of those involved in the violence, including police and politicians, in the months following the killings, the government sought no prosecutions or indictments of any persons, including officials, accused in any case of murder, rape or arson.<ref name="Patricia Gossman 1991">{{Citation |title=Punjab in Crisis |url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA918.PDF |author=Patricia Gossman |year=1991 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |access-date=4 November 2010 <!-- DASHBot --> |archive-date=16 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216204708/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA918.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>

The violence was allegedly led (and often perpetrated) by Indian National Congress activists and sympathizers. The Congress-led government was widely criticised for doing little at the time and possibly conspiring in the riots, since voter lists were used to identify Sikh families.<ref name="Swadesh Bahadur Singh 1996"/> [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS) and [[Bharatiya Janta Party]] (BJP) members also allegedly participated in the violence.<ref name="Jaijee">{{cite book | author=Inderjit Singh Jaijee, Dona Suri | title=The Legacy of Militancy in Punjab: Long Road to 'Normalcy' | publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]] | year=2019 | isbn=978-93-5328-714-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8va0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT109 |page=109}}</ref>

The riots catalyzed lasting political and social changes among India’s Sikhs. With the government failing to protect them, many Sikhs felt betrayed and marginalized, providing momentum to the Khalistan separatist movement.<ref name=":4" />

=== Revenge killings ===
{{Main articles|Assassination of Arjun Dass}}
On 31 July 1985, [[Harjinder Singh Jinda]], [[Sukhdev Singh Sukha]] and Ranjit Singh Gill of the [[Khalistan Commando Force]] assassinated Congress Party leader and [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]] [[Lalit Maken]] in retaliation for the riots. The 31-page report, "Who Are The Guilty?", listed 227 people who led the mobs; Maken was third on the list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fline/fl2007/stories/20030411002004500.htm |title=A life sentence |publisher=Hinduonnet.com |access-date=23 September 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429183514/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fline/fl2007/stories/20030411002004500.htm |archive-date=29 April 2011  }}</ref>

On 5 September 1985, Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha assassinated  [[Congress (I)]] leader and member of [[Delhi Metropolitan Council]] Arjan Dass because of his involvement in the riots. Dass' name appeared in affidavits submitted by Sikh victims to the [[Nanavati Commission]], headed by retired [[Supreme Court of India]] judge [[G.&nbsp;T. Nanavati]].<ref>[http://www.mha.nic.in/Nanavati-I.pdf mha.nic.in] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411105427/http://www.mha.nic.in/Nanavati-I.pdf |date=11 April 2008 }}</ref>

On April 8 1988, [[Vilayati Ram Katyal|Vilayati Ram Kaytal]] a Congress [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA]] of [[Uttar Pradesh]] was assassinated over his involvement in the riots. He allegedly led mobs.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUMdAQAAMAAJ |title=Times of India Illustrated Weekly |date=1988 |pages=30 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-06 |title=1984 Sikh Pogrom: The First Day of November |url=https://openthemagazine.com/features/dispatch/1984-sikh-pogrom-the-first-day-of-november/ |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=Open The Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref>

On December 19, 1991 Sikh militants killed 14 people. Among the 14 was Lala Ram. Ram was a Hindu militant who had been accused of inciting violence in the riots.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0z4xAAAAIBAJ&dq=1984+anti+sikh+riots+killed&pg=PA6&article_id=6665,6800584 |title=Ocala Star-Banner |publisher=Ocala Star-Banner |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaur |first=Jitinder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GofaAAAAMAAJ |title=Terrorism in the Tarai: A Socio-political Study |date=2000 |publisher=Ajanta Books International |isbn=978-81-202-0541-3 |pages=62 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2009 [[Khalistan Liberation Force]] members killed Dr. Budh Parkash Kashyap over his involvement in the riots.<ref>{{cite web |title=Punjab News &#124; Breaking News &#124; Latest Online News |url=http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/21401/38/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815024231/http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/21401/38 |archive-date=15 August 2010 |access-date=2012-11-07 |publisher=Punjabnewsline.com}}</ref>

=== Convictions ===

In 1995, [[Chief Minister of Delhi|Delhi Chief Minister]] [[Madan Lal Khurana]] said 46 persons have been prosecuted for their role in the riots.<ref>{{cite book|title=Daily Report: Near East & South Asia, Volumes 95-250|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aiQNiAhipC4C|year=1995|page=56}}</ref>

In Delhi, 442 rioters were convicted as of 2012. Forty-nine were sentenced to the [[life imprisonment]], and another three to more than 10 years' imprisonment. Six Delhi police officers were sanctioned for negligence during the riots.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/442-convicted-in-various-anti-Sikh-riots-cases-Delhi-Police/Article1-875466.aspx | title = 442 convicted in various anti-Sikh riots cases: Delhi Police | date = 20 June 2012 | access-date = 29 August 2012 | newspaper = Hindustan Times | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120908154651/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/442-convicted-in-various-anti-Sikh-riots-cases-Delhi-Police/Article1-875466.aspx | archive-date = 8 September 2012 | url-status = dead}}</ref> In April 2013, the Supreme Court of India dismissed the appeal of three people who had challenged their life sentences.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.deccanherald.com/content/325083/apex-court-upholds-life-term.html | title = Apex court upholds life term for 3 in anti-Sikh riots | date = 9 April 2013 | access-date = 9 April 2013 | newspaper = Deccan Herald | archive-date = 29 April 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130429235557/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/325083/apex-court-upholds-life-term.html | url-status = live }}</ref> That month, the Karkardooma district court in Delhi convicted five people – Balwan Khokkar (former councillor), Mahender Yadav (former [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA]]), Kishan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal – for inciting a mob against Sikhs in [[Delhi Cantonment]]. The court acquitted Congress leader [[Sajjan Kumar]], which led to protests.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/court-to-pronounce-verdict-on-sajjan-kumar-in-1984-anti-sikh-riots-case/1/268419.html | title = Sajjan Kumar acquitted in anti-Sikh riots case | date = 30 April 2013 | access-date = 30 April 2013 | newspaper = The Hindu | archive-date = 30 April 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130430085040/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/court-to-pronounce-verdict-on-sajjan-kumar-in-1984-anti-sikh-riots-case/1/268419.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

In the first ever case of [[Capital punishment in India|capital punishment]] in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case death sentence was awarded to Yashpal Singh convicted for murdering two persons, 24-year-old Hardev Singh and 26-year-old Avtar Singh, in Mahipal Pur area of Delhi on 1 November 1984. Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey pronounced the Judgement on 20 November 34 years after the crime was committed. The second convict in the case, Naresh Sehrawat was awarded life imprisonment. The Court considered the failing health of 68-year-old Sehrawat while giving him a lighter sentence. The conviction followed a complaint by the deceased Hardev Singh's elder brother Santokh Singh. Though an FIR was filed on the same day of the crime nothing came of the case as a Congress leader, JP Singh, who led the mob was acquitted in the case. A fresh FIR was filed on 29 April 1993, following recommendations of the Ranganath Commission of inquiry. The police closed the matter as untraced despite witness testimonies of the deceased's four brothers who were witness to the crime. The case was reopened by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the BJP-led NDA government on 12 February 2015. The SIT completed the investigation in record time.<ref name="tribuneindia.com"/><ref name="indiatoday.in"/> The first conviction resulting from the formation of the SIT came on 15 November 2018, by the conviction of Naresh Sehrawat and Yashpal Singh.<ref name="auto1"/>

In December 2018, in one of the first high-profile convictions, former Congress leader [[Sajjan Kumar]] was sentenced to life imprisonment by the [[Delhi High Court]] based on the re-opened investigation by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the [[National Democratic Alliance|NDA]] government in 2015.<ref name="auto"/> On 20 September 2023, Kumar was acquitted over one case of murder in the riot.<ref name="The Hindu 2023 q997">{{cite web | author=The Hindu Bureau | title=Ex-Congress MP Sajjan Kumar acquitted in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case | website=The Hindu | date=2023-09-20 | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/1984-anti-sikh-riots-delhi-court-acquits-former-congress-mp-sajjan-kumar/article67326388.ece | access-date=2023-11-03}}</ref>

== Investigations ==

Ten commissions or committees have been formed to investigate the riots. The most recent, headed by Justice G. T. Nanavati, submitted its 185-page report to [[Home Minister of India|Home Minister]] [[Shivraj Patil]] on 9 February 2005; the report was tabled in Parliament on 8 August of that year. The commissions below are listed in chronological order. Many of the accused were acquitted or never formally charged.

=== Marwah Commission ===

The Marwah Commission was appointed in November 1984. [[Ved Marwah]], [[Additional Commissioner of Police]], was tasked with enquiring into the role of the police during the riots. Many of the accused Delhi Police officers were tried in the [[Delhi High Court]]. As Marwah was completing his inquiry in mid-1985, he was abruptly directed by the [[Minister for Home Affairs (India)|Home Ministry]] not to proceed further.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071103/delhi.htm#1 |title=Police didn't help victims |work=The Tribune |location=India |access-date=23 September 2009 |archive-date=23 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923203446/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071103/delhi.htm#1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Marwah Commission records were appropriated by the government, and most (except for Marwah's handwritten notes) were later given to the Misra Commission.

=== Misra Commission ===

The Misra Commission was appointed in May 1985; Justice [[Ranganath Misra|Rangnath Misra]] was a judge on the Supreme Court of India. Misra submitted his report in August 1986, and the report was made public in February 1987. In his report, he said that it was not part of his [[terms of reference]] to identify any individual and recommended the formation of three committees.

The commission and its report was criticised as biased by the People's Union for Civil Liberties and [[Human Rights Watch]]. According to a Human Rights Watch report on the commission:

<blockquote>It recommended no criminal prosecution of any individual, and it cleared all high-level officials of directing the pogroms. In its findings, the commission did acknowledge that many of the victims testifying before it had received threats from local police. While the commission noted that there had been "widespread lapses" on the part of the police, it concluded that "the allegations before the commission about the conduct of the police are more of indifference and negligence during the riots than of any wrongful overt act."<ref name="Patricia Gossman 1991"/></blockquote>

The People's Union for Civil Liberties criticised the Misra Commission for concealing information on the accused while disclosing the names and addresses of victims.<ref>{{Citation |title=Justice Denied|year=1987 |publisher=People's Union for Civil Liberties and People's Union for Democratic Right }}</ref>

=== Kapur Mittal Committee ===

The Kapur Mittal Committee was appointed in February 1987 at the recommendation of the Misra Commission to enquire into the role of the police; the Marwah Commission had almost completed a police inquiry in 1985 when the government asked that committee not to continue. This committee consisted of Justice Dalip Kapur and Kusum Mittal, retired Secretary of [[Uttar Pradesh]]. It submitted its report in 1990, and 72 police officers were cited for conspiracy or gross negligence. Although the committee recommended the dismissal of 30 of the 72 officers, none have been punished.

=== Jain Banerjee Committee ===

The Jain Banerjee Committee was recommended by the Misra Commission for the registration of cases. The committee consisted of former Delhi High Court judge M. L. Jain and retired [[Inspector General of Police]] A. K. Banerjee.

In its report, the Misra Commission stated that many cases (particularly those involving political leaders or police officers) had not been registered. Although the Jain Banerjee Committee recommended the registration of cases against Sajjan Kumar in August 1987, no case was registered.

In November 1987, press reports criticised the government for not registering cases despite the committee's recommendation. The following month, Brahmanand Gupta (accused with Sajjan Kumar) filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court and obtained a [[stay of proceedings]] against the committee which was not opposed by the government. The [[Citizen's Justice Committee]] filed an application to [[Vacated judgment|vacate]] the stay. The writ petition was decided in August 1989 and the high court abolished the committee. An appeal was filed by the Citizen's Justice Committee in the Supreme Court of India.

=== Potti Rosha Committee ===

The Potti Rosha Committee was appointed in March 1990 by the [[V. P. Singh ministry|V.P. Singh government]] as a successor to the Jain Banerjee Committee. In August 1990, the committee issued recommendations for filing cases based on affidavits submitted by victims of the violence; there was one against Sajjan Kumar. When a [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]] team went to Kumar's home to file the charges, his supporters held and threatened them if they persisted in pursuing Kumar. When the committee's term expired in September 1990, Potti and Rosha<!-- First names would be helpful. --> decided to end their inquiry.

=== Jain Aggarwal Committee ===

The Jain Aggarwal Committee was appointed in December 1990 as a successor to the Potti Rosha Committee. It consisted of Justice J. D. Jain and retired Uttar Pradesh [[Director General of Police]] D. K. Aggarwal. The committee recommended the registration of cases against [[H. K. L. Bhagat]], [[Sajjan Kumar]], [[Dharamdas Shastri]] and [[Jagdish Tytler]]. It also recommended filing cases against members of RSS and BJP.

It suggested establishing two or three special investigating teams in the [[Delhi Police]] under a [[Superintendent of police (India)|deputy commissioner of police]], supervised by an [[Deputy inspector general of police|additional commissioner of police]] answerable to the [[Crime Investigation Department (India)|CID]], and a review of the work-load of the three special courts set up to deal with the riot cases. The appointment of special prosecutors to deal the cases was also discussed. The committee was wound up in August 1993, but the cases it recommended were not registered by the police.

=== Ahuja Committee ===

The Ahuja Committee was the third committee recommended by the Misra Commission to determine the total number of deaths in Delhi. According to the committee, which submitted its report in August 1987, 2,733 Sikhs were killed in the riots.

=== Dhillon Committee ===

The Dhillon Committee, headed by [[Gurdial Singh Dhillon]], was appointed in 1985 to recommend measures for the rehabilitation of victims. The committee submitted its report by the end of the year.{{vague|date=August 2017}} One major recommendation was that businesses with insurance coverage whose claims were denied should receive compensation as directed by the government. Although the committee recommended ordering the (nationalised) insurance companies to pay the claims, the government did not accept its recommendation and the claims were not paid.

=== Narula Committee ===

The Narula Committee was appointed in December 1993 by the [[Madan Lal Khurana]]-led BJP government in [[Delhi]]. One recommendation of the committee was to convince the central government to impose sanctions.

Khurana took up the matter with the central government, which in the middle of 1994, the Central Government decided that the matter did not fall within its purview and sent the case to the lieutenant governor of Delhi. It took two years for the [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]] government to decide that it did not fall within its purview.

The Narasimha Rao Government further delayed the case. The committee submitted its report in January 1994, recommending the registration of cases against H. K. L. Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar. Despite the central-government delay, the CBI filed the charge sheet in December 1994.

=== The Nanavati Commission ===

The [[Nanavati Commission]] was established in 2000 after some dissatisfaction was expressed with previous reports.<ref name="bbc_incited">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4130962.stm|title=Leaders 'incited' anti-Sikh riots|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=8 August 2005|access-date=20 June 2010|archive-date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104224459/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4130962.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Nanavati Commission was appointed by a unanimous resolution passed in the [[Rajya Sabha]]. This commission was headed by [[G.T. Nanavati|Justice G.T. Nanavati]], retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India. The commission submitted its report in February 2004. The commission reported that recorded accounts from victims and witnesses "indicate that local Congress leaders and workers had either incited or helped the mobs in attacking the Sikhs".<ref name="bbc_incited"/> Its report also found evidence against Jagdish Tytler "to the effect that very probably he had a hand in organising attacks on Sikhs".<ref name="bbc_incited"/> It also said that [[P. V. Narasimha Rao|P.V. Narasimha Rao]] was asked to send the army to stop the violence. Rao responded with saying that he would look into it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Riots |first=India Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry, 1984 Anti-Sikh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Th55ORUxZzkC |title=Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry (1984 Anti-Sikh Riots): Report |date=2005 |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs |pages=131 |language=en}}</ref> It also recommended that Sajjan Kumar's involvement in the rioting required a closer look. The commission's report also cleared [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and other high ranking [[Congress (I)]] party members of any involvement in organising riots against Sikhs. It did find, however, that the [[Delhi Police]] fired about 392 rounds of bullets, arrested approximately 372 persons, and "remained passive and did not provide protection to the people" throughout the rioting.<ref name="bbc_incited"/><ref name="Nanavati">{{cite web|title=Report:Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry|url=http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/Nanavati-I_eng.pdf|access-date=27 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111217234430/http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/Nanavati-I_eng.pdf|archive-date=17 December 2011}}</ref>

=== Role of Jagdish Tytler ===

The Central Bureau of Investigation closed all cases against [[Jagdish Tytler]] in November 2007 for his alleged criminal conspiracy to engineer riots against Sikhs in the aftermath of [[Indira Gandhi]]'s assassination. The bureau submitted a report to the Delhi court that no evidence or witness was found to corroborate allegations that Tytler led murderous mobs during 1984.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7149322.stm |title=Fresh probe into India politician |work=BBC News |date=18 December 2007 |access-date=23 September 2009 |archive-date=19 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219064433/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7149322.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> It was alleged in court that Tytler – then an MP – complained to his supporters about the relatively-"small" number of Sikhs killed in his constituency ([[Delhi Sadar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Delhi Sadar]]), which he thought had undermined his position in the Congress Party.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071219/main1.htm |title=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News |work=The Tribune |location=India |access-date=23 September 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090207115707/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071219/main1.htm |archive-date = 7 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In December 2007 a witness, Dushyant Singh (then living in [[California]]), appeared on several private television news channels in India saying that he was never contacted by the CBI. The opposition [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) demanded an explanation in [[Parliament of India|Parliament]] from Minister of State for Personnel [[Suresh Pachouri]], who was in charge of the CBI. Pachouri, who was present, refused to make a statement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-11-30/india/27986032_1_anti-sikh-riots-bjp-members-key-witness |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516114320/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-11-30/india/27986032_1_anti-sikh-riots-bjp-members-key-witness |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 May 2012 |title=BJP to govt: Clear stand on anti-Sikh riots' witness |date=30 November 2007 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref> Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of the Delhi Court Sanjeev Jain, who had dismissed the case against Tytler after the CBI submitted a misleading report, ordered the CBI to reopen cases against Tytler related to the riots on 18 December 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-12-18/india/27992363_1_case-against-congress-leader-riots-case-jagdish-tytler |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516123219/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-12-18/india/27992363_1_case-against-congress-leader-riots-case-jagdish-tytler |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 May 2012 |title=1984 riots: CBI to re-investigate Tytler's role |date=18 December 2007 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref>

In December 2008 a two-member CBI team went to New York to record statements from Jasbir Singh and Surinder Singh, two eyewitnesses. The witnesses said that they saw Tytler lead a mob during the riot, but did not want to return to India because they feared for their safety.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/anti-sikh-riots-witness-to-give-statement-to-cbi-in-us/81216-3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224141706/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/anti-sikh-riots-witness-to-give-statement-to-cbi-in-us/81216-3.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 December 2008 |title=Anti Sikh riots witness to give statement to CBI in US |publisher=Ibnlive.in.com |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref> They blamed the CBI for not conducting a fair trial, accusing the bureau of protecting Tytler.

In March 2009, the CBI cleared Tytler amidst protests from Sikhs and the opposition parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cbi-gives-tytler-clean-chit-in-1984-riots-case/442552/ |title=CBI gives Tytler clean chit in 1984 riots case |work=The Indian Express |location=India |date=3 April 2009 |access-date=23 September 2009 |archive-date=26 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526084243/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cbi-gives-tytler-clean-chit-in-1984-riots-case/442552 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 7 April, Sikh ''[[Dainik Jagran]]'' reporter [[Jarnail Singh (journalist)|Jarnail Singh]] threw his shoe at [[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Home Minister]] [[P. Chidambaram]] to protest the clearing of Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. Because of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Chidambaram did not press charges.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rai |first1=Shambhavi |last2=Malik |first2=Devika |title=Jarnail Singh: Profile of a shoe thrower |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/jarnail-singh-profile-of-a-shoe-thrower/89722-3.html |publisher=IBN Live |date=8 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411040401/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/jarnail-singh-profile-of-a-shoe-thrower/89722-3.html |archive-date=11 April 2009}}</ref>

Two days later, over 500 protesters from Sikh organisations throughout India gathered outside the court which was scheduled to hear the CBI's plea to close the case against Tytler. Later in the day, Tytler announced that he was withdrawing from the Lok Sabha elections to avoid embarrassing his party. This forced the Congress Party to cut the Tytler and Sajjan Kumar Lok Sabha tickets.<ref>{{cite news|author=Smriti Singh |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-09/india/28035281_1_gurudwara-pulbangash-anti-sikh-riots-case-sikhs-protest |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811084000/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-09/india/28035281_1_gurudwara-pulbangash-anti-sikh-riots-case-sikhs-protest |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2011 |title=Sikhs protest outside court hearing Tytler case |date=9 April 2009 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref>

On 10 April 2013, the Delhi court ordered the CBI to reopen the 1984 case against Tytler. The court ordered the bureau to investigate the killing of three people in the riot case, of which Tytler had been cleared.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Anti-Sikh-riots-case-against-Jagdish-Tytler-reopened/Article1-1040274.aspx|title= Anti-Sikh riots case against Jagdish Tytler reopened|access-date= 10 April 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130410170210/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Anti-Sikh-riots-case-against-Jagdish-Tytler-reopened/Article1-1040274.aspx|archive-date= 10 April 2013|url-status= dead}}</ref> In 2015, Delhi Court directed the CBI to include Billionaire [[arms dealer]] [[Abhishek Verma (arms dealer)|Abhishek Verma]] as the main witness in this case against Tytler. Following court's directions, Verma's testimony was recorded by the CBI and the case was reopened. [[Polygraph]] (lie-detector) test was ordered by the court to be conducted on witness Verma and also on Tytler after obtaining their consent.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-26 |title=1984 anti-Sikh riots: Witness Abhishek Verma agrees to undergo polygraph test |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/1984-anti-sikh-riots-witness-abhishek-verma-agrees-to-undergo-polygraph-test/story-udW6nPS3S10pjdrRYGLx1K.html |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> Verma consented, Tytler declined to be tested. Thereafter, Verma started to receive threat calls and letters in which he was threatened to be blownup and his family also would be blown up if he testifies against Tytler. The [[Delhi High Court]] directed [[Delhi Police]] to provide 3x3 security cover of 9 armed police bodyguards to Verma and his family on round the clock basis.<ref>{{Cite news |last=ANI |date=2017-10-29 |title=1984 Anti-Sikh riots: Abhishek Verma receives 'death threats', files writ complaint with Police |work=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/1984-anti-sikh-riots-abhishek-verma-receives-death-threats-files-writ-complaint-with-police-117102900406_1.html |access-date=2022-10-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Provide Security To 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Witness: High Court To Cops |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/provide-security-to-1984-anti-sikh-riots-witness-abhishek-verma-delhi-high-court-to-cops-2331087 |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=NDTV.com}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|Civil case in New York}}New York civil case ===

[[Sikhs for Justice]], a U.S.-based [[Non-governmental organization|NGO]], filed a civil suit in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]] on 14 March 2011 accusing the Indian government of complicity in the riots. The court issued a summons to the Congress Party and [[Kamal Nath]], who was accused by the [[Nanavati commission]] of encouraging rioters.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.sify.com/news/us-court-summons-congress-party-on-sikh-riots-case-news-international-ldcmOeeiebi.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110305050129/http://www.sify.com/news/us-court-summons-congress-party-on-sikh-riots-case-news-international-ldcmOeeiebi.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 5 March 2011|title = US court summons Congress party on Sikh riots case|website = [[Sify]]|date = 2 March 2011<!-- 12:50:00 -->| access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-16/india/31200563_1_kamal-nath-sikh-individuals-gurpatwant-singh-pannun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909012821/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-16/india/31200563_1_kamal-nath-sikh-individuals-gurpatwant-singh-pannun |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 September 2013 |title=US court to hear 1984 anti-Sikh riots case on March 29 as Congress hires US law firm to defend itself |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |date=16 March 2012 |access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1503665.ece |title=U.S. court issues summons to Congress for anti-Sikh riots |work=The Hindu |date=2 March 2011 |location=Chennai, India |access-date=8 November 2011 |archive-date=5 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305030523/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1503665.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> The complaint against Nath was dismissed in March 2012 by Judge [[Robert W. Sweet]], who ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction in the case.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=755797 |title='84 Riots: US Court Dismisses Complaint Against Nath |access-date=3 January 2013 |url-status=dead |work=Outlook India|date=2012-03-16|first1=Yoshita|last1=Singh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927083547/http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=755797 |archive-date=27 September 2013 }}</ref> The 22-page order granted Nath's motion to dismiss the claim, with Sweet noting that Sikhs for Justice failed to "serve the summons and its complaints to Nath in an appropriate and desired manner".<ref>{{cite news |title=US court dismisses plea against Nath in anti-Sikh riots case |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/234860/us-court-dismisses-plea-against.html |work=Deccan Herald |date=16 March 2012 |language=en}}</ref> On 3 September 2013, a federal court in New York issued a [[Summons#United States|summons]] to [[Sonia Gandhi]] for her alleged role in protecting participants in the riots.<ref>{{cite web|title=New York Court summons Sonia Gandhi in 1984 Sikh Riots Case|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2013/09/new-york-court-summons-sonia-gandhi-in-1984-sikh-riots-case/|access-date=4 September 2013|archive-date=8 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908145230/http://news.biharprabha.com/2013/09/new-york-court-summons-sonia-gandhi-in-1984-sikh-riots-case/|url-status=live}}</ref> A U.S. court dismissed the lawsuit against Gandhi on 11 July 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=US court give relief to Sonia Gandhi in Sikh riots case|url=http://www.patrika.com/news/us-court-give-relief-to-sonia-gandhi-in-sikh-riots-case/1017253|access-date=11 July 2014|work=Patrika Group|date=11 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163545/http://www.patrika.com/news/us-court-give-relief-to-sonia-gandhi-in-sikh-riots-case/1017253|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|Recent investigations}}Cobrapost operation ===

According to an April 2014 ''[[Cobrapost]]'' [[sting operation]], the government muzzled the [[Delhi Police]] during the riots. Messages were broadcast directing the police not to act against rioters, and the fire brigade would not go to areas where cases of arson were reported.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cobrapost Sting: Government didn't allow police to act in 1984 riots|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/cobrapost-sting-government-didnt-allow-police-to-act-in-1984-riots/|agency=Indo-Asian News Service|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|access-date=22 April 2014|archive-date=23 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423233443/http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/cobrapost-sting-government-didnt-allow-police-to-act-in-1984-riots/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Special Investigation Team (Supreme Court) ===

In January 2018, the [[Supreme Court of India]] decided to form a three-member [[Special Investigation Team (India)|Special Investigation Team]] (SIT) of its own to probe 186 cases related to 1984 anti-Sikh riots that were not further investigated by Union Government formed SIT. This SIT would consists of a former High court judge, a former IPS officer whose rank is not less than or equivalent to [[Inspector general]] and a serving IPS Officer.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-to-form-new-sit-to-probe-186-anti-skih-riots-cases/article22411073.ece|title=Supreme Court to form its own special team to probe 186 anti-Sikh riots cases|last=Rajagopal|first=Krishnadas|date=10 January 2018|work=The Hindu|access-date=11 January 2018|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=10 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610171302/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-to-form-new-sit-to-probe-186-anti-skih-riots-cases/article22411073.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Impact and legacy ==

On 12 August 2005, [[Manmohan Singh]] apologised in the [[Lok Sabha]] for the riots.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2005/aug/11pm.htm|title=PM apologises for 84 anti-Sikh riots|work=Rediff.com|access-date=1 June 2020|archive-date=9 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509122507/https://www.rediff.com/news/2005/aug/11pm.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/the-india-cables/manmohan-singhs-apology-for-antisikh-riots-a-gandhian-moment-of-moral-clarity-says-2005-cable/article1715620.ece|title=Manmohan Singh's apology for anti-Sikh riots a 'Gandhian moment of moral clarity,' says 2005 cable|newspaper=The Hindu|date=21 April 2011|last1=Suroor|first1=Hasan|access-date=27 July 2015|archive-date=29 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129063059/http://www.thehindu.com/news/the-india-cables/manmohan-singhs-apology-for-antisikh-riots-a-gandhian-moment-of-moral-clarity-says-2005-cable/article1715620.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> The riots are cited as a reason to support the creation of a Sikh homeland in India, often called [[Khalistan]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Nanavati |url=http://www.carnage84.com/homepage/nancom.htm |title=Nanavati Report |work=Nanavati commission |date=1 June 2010 |access-date=1 June 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100512163755/http://www.carnage84.com/homepage/nancom.htm| archive-date= 12 May 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=BSSF |url=http://britishsikhstudentfederation.com/index/?attachment_id=1317 |title=Remembrance March in London |work=British Sikh Student Federation |date=1 June 2010 |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425160914/http://britishsikhstudentfederation.com/index/?attachment_id=1317 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ne250409i_lived.asp|title='I Lived As A Queen. Now, I'm A Servant'|last=Naithani|first=Shobhita|date=25 April 2009|work=Tehelka|access-date=10 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716203529/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ne250409i_lived.asp|archive-date=16 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Many Indians of different religions made significant efforts to hide and help Sikh families during the rioting.<ref name="KSingh">K. Singh: "Congress (I) is the Most Communal Party", Publik Asia, 16 November 1989.</ref> The Sikh [[Jathedar of Akal Takht]] declared the events following the death of Indira Gandhi a Sikh "genocide", replacing "anti-Sikh riots" widely used by the Indian government, the media and writers, on 15 July 2010.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-07-16/india/28284593_1_sikhs-justice | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811084010/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-07-16/india/28284593_1_sikhs-justice | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 August 2011 | first1=Yudhvir | last1=Rana | title=Sikh clergy: 1984 riots 'genocide' | date=16 July 2010| work=[[The Times of India]] | access-date=4 November 2010 }}</ref> The decision came soon after a similar motion was raised in the Canadian Parliament by [[Sukh Dhaliwal]], a Sikh [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|MP]].<ref name="Sikh MP article">{{Cite web |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/print/canadian-sikh-mp-distances-himself-from-riots-petition/ |title=Canadian Sikh MP distances himself from riots petition |date=2010-06-17 |access-date=2023-02-26 |website=[[The Indian Express]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227010243/https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/print/canadian-sikh-mp-distances-himself-from-riots-petition/ |archive-date=2023-02-27}}</ref>

On 16 April 2015, Assembly Concurrent Resolution 34 (ACR 34) was passed by the [[California State Assembly]]. Co-authored by Sacramento-area assembly members Jim Cooper, Kevin McCarty, Jim Gallagher and Ken Cooley, the resolution criticized the Government for participating in and failing to prevent the killings. The assembly called the killings a "genocide", as it "resulted in the intentional destruction of many Sikh families, communities, homes and businesses."<ref name="indiatimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/California-assembly-describes-1984-riots-as-genocide/articleshow/47011681.cms|title=California assembly describes 1984 riots as 'genocide'|date=22 April 2015|agency=Press Trust of India|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906022815/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/California-assembly-describes-1984-riots-as-genocide/articleshow/47011681.cms|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ca.gov">{{cite web|url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=f2b94bb85b29eb4c706d647133cf?bill_id=201520160ACR34|title=Bill Text|publisher=ca.gov|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828203302/https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=f2b94bb85b29eb4c706d647133cf?bill_id=201520160ACR34|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2017, the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario|Ontario Legislature]] passed a motion condemning the anti-Sikh riots as "genocide".<ref>{{cite news|title=Canadians have a right to be 'concerned' about 1984 Sikh massacre, Harjit Sajjan says|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sajjan-india-massacre-1.4076467|access-date=20 April 2017|archive-date=19 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419230145/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sajjan-india-massacre-1.4076467|url-status=live}}</ref> The Indian government lobbied against the motion and condemned it upon its adoption.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/ontario-passes-motion-describing-1984-anti-sikh-riots-as-genocide/story-1YPs2tiMkvtW2Tp7UDyydK.html|title=Ontario passes motion calling 1984 riots genocide, India says move misguided|date=7 April 2017|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=1 June 2020|archive-date=10 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010154414/https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/ontario-passes-motion-describing-1984-anti-sikh-riots-as-genocide/story-1YPs2tiMkvtW2Tp7UDyydK.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2018, American state of Connecticut, passed a bill stating, 30 November of each year to be "Sikh Genocide" Remembrance Day to remember the lives lost on 30 November 1984, during the Sikh Genocide.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.cga.ct.gov/2018/TOB/s/2018SB-00489-R00-SB.htm | title=An Act Designating Various Days and Weeks | access-date=28 August 2018 | archive-date=28 August 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828134629/https://www.cga.ct.gov/2018/TOB/s/2018SB-00489-R00-SB.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

On 15 January 2017, the [[Wall of Truth]] was inaugurated in [[Lutyens' Delhi]], New Delhi, as a memorial for Sikhs killed during the 1984 riots (and other hate crimes across the world).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Wall-of-truth-to-tell-you-1984-riots-story-by-Nov-end/articleshow/55166239.cms|title='Wall of truth' to tell you 1984 riots' story by Nov-end|last=Pandit|first=Ambika|date=1 November 2016|website=The Times of India|access-date=24 September 2019|archive-date=12 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012170247/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Wall-of-truth-to-tell-you-1984-riots-story-by-Nov-end/articleshow/55166239.cms|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/wall-of-truth-to-have-names-of-all-sikhs-killed-in-hate-crimes-dsgmc/story-8LSUMGWkxpWxpVUE6x2H0M.html|title='Wall of Truth' to have names of all Sikhs killed in hate crimes: DSGMC|date=10 July 2018|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=24 September 2019|archive-date=24 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924135826/https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/wall-of-truth-to-have-names-of-all-sikhs-killed-in-hate-crimes-dsgmc/story-8LSUMGWkxpWxpVUE6x2H0M.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==

The anti-Sikh riots have been the subject of several films and novels:

* The 2022 [[Netflix]] movie [[Jogi (2022 film)|Jogi]], starring [[Diljit Dosanjh]], directed by [[Ali Abbas Zafar]], is set against the backdrop of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in [[Trilokpuri Assembly constituency|Trilokpuri]], [[Delhi]].  It tells the story of a Sikh man named Jogi whose goal is to save his family, friends and fellow neighbours from a massacre that killed thousands of Sikhs. 
* The 2021 web television series [[Grahan (TV series)|Grahan]], starring [[Pavan Malhotra]], [[Wamiqa Gabbi]], and [[Zoya Hussain]], and created by Shailendra Kumar Jha and directed by Ranjan Chandel, for [[Disney+ Hotstar|Hotstar]], is inspired by [[Satya Vyas]]’ popular novel Chaurasi. It is the first series to deal with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that happened in [[Bokaro district|Bokaro]], [[Jharkhand]]. The series is centered on the nexus between politics and law enforcement.
* The 2005 English film ''[[Amu (film)|Amu]]'', by [[Shonali Bose]] and starring [[Konkona Sen Sharma]] and [[Brinda Karat]], is based on [[Shonali Bose]]'s novel of the same name. The film tells the story of a girl, orphaned during the riots, who reconciles with her adoption years later. Although it won the [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English]], it was censored in India but was released on DVD without the cuts.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bilkis Bano: 'I Want Justice, Not Revenge, I Want My Daughters to Grow Up in a Safe India'|url=https://thewire.in/133493/i-want-justice-not-revenge-bilkis-bano-expresses-gratitude-to-mumbai-high-court/|access-date=10 May 2017|work=The Wire|date=8 May 2017|archive-date=9 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509115937/https://thewire.in/133493/i-want-justice-not-revenge-bilkis-bano-expresses-gratitude-to-mumbai-high-court/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The 2004 [[Hindi]] film ''[[Kaya Taran]]'' (''Chrysalis''), directed by Shashi Kumar and starring [[Seema Biswas]], is based on the [[Malayalam]] short story "[[When Big Tree Falls]]" by [[N.S. Madhavan]]. The film revolves around a Sikh woman and her young son, who took shelter in a Meerut nunnery during the riots.
* The 2003 Bollywood film ''[[Hawayein (2003 film)|Hawayein]]'', a project of [[Babbu Maan]] and [[Ammtoje Mann]], is based on the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination, the 1984 riots and the subsequent victimisation of the Punjabi people.
* [[Mamoni Raisom Goswami]]'s [[Assamese language|Assamese]] novel, ''Tej Aru Dhulire Dhusarita Prishtha'' (''Pages Stained with Blood''), focuses on the riots.
* [[Khushwant Singh]] and [[Kuldip Nayar]]'s book, ''Tragedy of Punjab: Operation Bluestar & After'', focuses on the events surrounding the riots.
* Jarnail Singh's non-fiction book, ''I Accuse'', describes incidents which occurred during the riots.
* Uma Chakravarthi and Nandita Hakser's book, ''The Delhi Riots: Three Days in the Life of a Nation'', has interviews with victims of the Delhi riots.
* [[H. S. Phoolka]] and human-rights activist and journalist Manoj Mitta wrote the first account of the riots, ''When a Tree Shook Delhi''.
* [https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/a-huge-crime-against-humanity/article5335298.ece HELIUM (a novel of 1984, published by Bloomsbury in 2013) by Jaspreet Singh<nowiki>]</nowiki>]
* The 2014 Punjabi film, ''[[Punjab 1984]]'' with [[Diljit Dosanjh]], is based on the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination, the riots and the subsequent victimisation of the Punjabi people.
* The 2016 Bollywood film, ''[[31st October (film)|31st October]]'' with [[Vir Das]], is based on the riots.
* The 2016 [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] film, ''[[Dharam Yudh Morcha (film)|Dharam Yudh Morcha]]'', is based on the riots.
* The 2001 ''Star Trek'' novel ''[[The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh]]'' by Gary Cox, a 14-year-old [[Khan Noonien Singh|Khan]], who is depicted as a North Indian from a family of [[Sikhs]], is caught up in the riots while reading in a used book stall in Nai Sarak. He is injured, doused with kerosene and nearly set on fire by a mob before being rescued by [[Gary Seven]].

== See also ==

* [[Black July]] (1985)
* [[Nellie massacre]] (1983)
* [[Operation Blue Star]] (1984)
* [[List of massacres in India]]
* [[Air India Flight 182]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|40em}}
* Pav Singh. ''1984 India's Guilty Secret.'' (Rupa & Kashi House 2017).
* {{cite book |first1=Amiya |last1=Rao |first2=Aurobindo |last2=Ghose |first3=N. D. |last3=Pancholi |location=India |title=Truth about Delhi violence: report to the nation |url=http://www.carnage84.com/human/truth/truth.htm |access-date=30 July 2010 |year=1985 |publisher=Citizens for Democracy |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708121627/http://www.carnage84.com/human/truth/truth.htm |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|first1=Jaskaran|last1=Kaur|first2=Barbara|last2=Crossette|title=Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India|url=http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|edition=2nd|year=2006|publisher=Ensaaf|location=Portland, OR|isbn=978-0-9787073-0-9|access-date=4 November 2010|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119015130/http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|url-status=live}}
* Cynthia Keppley Mahmood. ''Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues With Sikh Militants.'' University of Pennsylvania Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8122-1592-2}}.
* Ram Narayan Kumar et al. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060705030307/http://www.punjabjustice.org/report/report.htm ''Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab.''][[South Asia Forum for Human Rights]], 2003. Archived from the  on 12 July 2003.
* Joyce Pettigrew. ''The Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of State and Guerrilla Violence.'' Zed Books Ltd., 1995.
* Anurag Singh. ''Giani Kirpal Singh's Eye-Witness Account of Operation Bluestar.'' 1999.
* Patwant Singh. ''The Sikhs.'' New York: Knopf, 2000.
* Harnik Deol. ''Religion and Nationalism in India: The Case of the Punjab.'' London: Routledge, 2000
* Mark Tully. ''Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle.'' {{ISBN|978-0-224-02328-3}}.
* Ranbir Singh Sandhu. ''Struggle for Justice: Speeches and Conversations of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.'' Ohio: SERF, 1999.
* Iqbal Singh. ''Punjab Under Siege: A Critical Analysis.'' New York: Allen, McMillan and Enderson, 1986.
* [[Paul Brass]]. ''Language, Religion and Politics in North India.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974.
* PUCL report "[[Who Are The Guilty]]." [https://web.archive.org/web/20180411054723/http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Religion-communalism/2003/who-are-guilty.htm Link to report.]
* Manoj Mitta & H.S. Phoolka. ''When a Tree Shook Delhi'' (Roli Books, 2007), {{ISBN|978-81-7436-598-9}}.
* Jarnail Singh, 'I Accuse...' (Penguin Books India, 2009), {{ISBN|978-0-670-08394-7}}
* Jyoti Grewal, 'Betrayed by the state: the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984' (Penguin Books India, 2007), {{ISBN|978-0-14-306303-2}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==

* [http://info.indiatimes.com/1984/ 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321085903/http://www1.info.indiatimes.com/1984/ |date=21 March 2018 }} at ''[[Times of India]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100712065753/http://districts.delhigovt.nic.in/84RIOTS/84RIOTS.htm 1984 riots case records], Government of Delhi
* [http://www.witness84.com/reports/misra/ Misra Commission Report]
* [http://www.witness84.com/reports/ahooja/ Ahooja Committee Report]
* [http://www.witness84.com/guilty/ Who Are The Guilty?]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8319737.stm In pictures: Massacre of the Sikhs]

{{Religious persecution}}
{{Riots in India}}
{{Sikh politics}}{{Authority control}}
{{coord missing|Delhi}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anti-Sikh Riots, 1984}}
[[Category:1984 anti-Sikh riots| ]]
[[Category:1984 crimes in India]]
[[Category:1984 riots]]
[[Category:1980s in Delhi]]
[[Category:1984 murders in India]]
[[Category:20th-century mass murder in India]]
[[Category:Assassination of Indira Gandhi]]
[[Category:Attacks on religious buildings and structures in India]]
[[Category:History of the Indian National Congress]]
[[Category:Sexual violence at riots and crowd disturbances]]
[[Category:History of Delhi (1947–present)]]
[[Category:History of Punjab, India (1947–present)]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress]]
[[Category:Ethnic conflict]]
[[Category:Ethnic cleansing]]
[[Category:Ethnic cleansing in Asia]]
[[Category:Massacres in India]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1984]]
[[Category:Massacres of Sikhs]]
[[Category:October 1984 events in Asia]]
[[Category:November 1984 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in India]]
[[Category:Pogroms]]
[[Category:Persecution of Sikhs]]
[[Category:Genocides in Asia]]
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