Part of DNSI's mandate is to study historical and international contexts that implicate the tension between equality and national order. With this in mind, we're commenting on the release of the Nanavati Commission report, which discusses the government's involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. (The riots took place after two Sikhs assassinated then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, on October 31, 1984, in retaliation for the military invasion of the Sikh's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple.) Over 4,000 Sikhs died in the riots. Not one killer has been prosecuted.

The report indicted several prominent leaders, including Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, yet exonerated then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Specifically, the report noted that there was "credible evidence" Tytler, a minister, was "very probably" involved in the incitement of the riots.

The government of India indicated that it was not in a position to prosecute anyone based on mere probabilities. However, Tytler resigned, as has Kumar. Tytler maintains his innocence, explaining that his resignation was tendered to save the party from further embarassment, not as a sign of moral culpability. Tytler also argues that he is a victim of a political conspiracy, rather than a legitimate player in the heinous killings of innocent Sikhs.

There appears to be direct evidence, though, of Tytler's material involvement in the riots:

Jasbir, who is in hiding, told Newsline he was willing to repeat that he saw Tytler goading a mob to go for the kill even if it costs him his life. His 2000 affidavit helped provide the panel “credible evidence” against the leader.

“I can die but will always say this. For 18 of my family died and Tytler’s hands are coloured in their blood...” said Jasbir who had shaved off his hair to escape detection.

Recalling the events of November 3, 1984, he said: “I was standing outside the Rajan Babu TB hospital in Kingsway Camp when I noticed Tytler come out of his car and chide a small group of people. He was provoking them to go and kill more people rather than putting them to shame,” Jasbir said.

How a high-ranking government official, in a democracy, can engage in this intentional incitement of violence against a religious minority group is appalling. Worse is his insistence still that he is the victim. His resignation should have been offered in shame, not, it appears, in defiance of the truth.

As for the victims themselves -- those killed, those close to those murdered, and to some extent the Sikh community in general -- it appears that justice has, again, eluded them. To his credit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, has assured the people and the parliament that "wherever the Commission has named any specific individuals as needing further examination or specific cases needing re-opening and re-examination, the Government will take all possible steps to do so within the ambit of law."

Dr Singh, who undoubtedly is in a difficult position being both a Sikh and a Congress party Prime Minister, will hopefully see that his "solemn promise" is kept, that those responsible will be prosecuted even if they occupy or occupied positions in the government or the party in particular. An editorial in an Indian newspaper noted:

"[Justice] cannot be tossed aside, as some apologists have suggested, by the passage of time. Getting away with murder... undermines the quality of our democracy. That is why this chance of a second shot at justice in the 1984 carnage should be seized with both hands. As a nation, we cannot afford to go wrong on it again."

In the meantime, it appears as if the emotional Sikh protesters who understandably desire -- and deserve -- more immediate justice are themselves being subject to cruel treatment reminscent of the days of the 1950's and 1960's civil rights movement in the United States, in which African-American protesers were hosed down with powerful gusts of water and beaten with riot sticks:
































For some, the absence of justice is painful enough:

















For more information on the riots and the Nanavati report, visit ENSAAF's web site and blog.