Admitting for the first time that soldiers were killed in the anti-Sikh riots in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984, Army authorities have sought details of such victims and called for speedy compensation for the next of kin.

The Rehabilitation and Welfare Section of Ceremonial and Welfare Directorate, Adjutant General’s branch in the Army Headquarters in Delhi, sent a note to various Commands and Regiments that as many as 34 Army personnel (including one ex-serviceman) were killed in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. And that all efforts be made to report on the progress of their compensation cases with respective state governments in tune with the package announced by the Centre in January 2006....

Said Pratap Singh Phoolka, a retired Army officer who has been leading the campaign and is identifying such cases on his own: “The untimely delay caused by the Army in this regard has caused immense damage. Parents of many such unmarried victims have also died in these 25 long years. Who will get the compensation now?”

He, however, welcomed the Army recognising the killing of its personnel during transit in 1984. Phoolka claimed that only a few have been identified so far and that there could be around 300 soldiers who had lost their lives in the riots.

Phoolka started his campiagn after two of his own men in 63 Cavalry died in transit, Capt I P S Bindra in Meerut and Sepoy Sukminderjit Singh Morena in Madhya Pradesh. The SGPC recently announced a Rs 1-lakh grant to the families of the soldiers killed.[Link]

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, senior Congress leaders and police officials figure in a list of 200 persons against whom Sikh organizations will file a fresh petition in the Supreme Court, seeking action against them for their role in anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in 1984.

The All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) and New York-based 'Sikhs for Justice' Friday announced that fresh individual petitions would be filed against each of these 200 persons in the apex court to bring them to justice.

The list includes names of Bachchan, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, Bhajan Lal, Sajjan Kumar and several others, including police officers, for being directly and indirectly involved in rioting against Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere in the aftermath of the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards.

"We want all these persons to be brought before law and be punished for what they did to innocent Sikhs," AISSF president Karnail Singh told reporters here.

"The petition against Bachchan will be based on testimonies of riot victims and the actor's highly provocative statements following Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984," Karnail Singh said. [Link]

The victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots will stage a protest in front of the Supreme Court on October 31 demanding punishment for perpetrators of the massacre.

The demonstration under the aegis of All India Sikh Conference will appeal to the apex court to take suo motu action against those responsible for the killings in the aftermath of assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

"We have filed several petitions in this regard but the perpetrators of the killings are still free," All India Sikh Conference President Gurcharan Singh Babbar said. [Link]

"Amu," the ambitious debut feature by Shonali Bose, wears its political heart on its sleeve and is unafraid to tackle big topics: identity, history, truth, injustice.

The film, which begins as a gentle comedy of clashing cultures, follows Kaju Roy (Konkona Sen Sharma), an Indian-American visiting relatives in Delhi. Searching for what she calls "the real India," Kaju, orphaned at 3, is searching for herself and, soon, interrogating the past. And a bloody past it is.

Bose's real concern here is the riots that broke out in 1984 after India's prime minister, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. Thousands of Sikh men and boys in Delhi were murdered, and as Kaju learns, families were dispersed, and justice has been delayed and denied....

Near the end we glimpse a newscast reporting that communal violence has erupted in Gujarat, a reminder that the ugly spirit of 1984 persists. [Link]

Dhol drums and chimtas set the beat as about 140 people thrust their shoulders, pumped their knees and twisted their hands on Friday night.

They were dancing the Punjabi bhangra at NYU Nach, an event held by NYU's United Sikh Association chapter at the Kimmel Center. The event raised $1,000 for the Sikh Research Institute, an organization that aids widows of the 1984 Sikh riots.

"Everyone enjoyed themselves, and people learned about Punjabi culture at the same time," said Nimeeta Sachdev, president of the Sikh Association at NYU.

Attendees learned about the 1984 conflict, during which India's government unofficially sanctioned a four-day slaughter of more than 3,000 Sikhs after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards.

Widows of the victims now face a cultural stigma that has forced them to form colonies so that they can support themselves and their children financially. But even with the small tailoring jobs that many of these women have, they still have difficulty financing their children's education, said Sandeep Singh, vice president of the Sikh Association. [Link]

Within hours of the death of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on Oct. 31, 1984, marauding gangs of armed men swiftly sought revenge.

Her Sikh bodyguards were blamed for the assassination, and in remarkably short order the avengers located Sikh households in New Delhi and burned or slaughtered their innocent inhabitants.

As panic swept through the slums where many Sikhs lived, police and politicians stood by, denying help to stricken citizens and doing nothing to stop the rampage. The death toll inDelhi rose to 5,000; thousands more were injured.

With her film Amu, director Shonali Bose hoped to do what numerous inquiries have failed to: tell the story of the massacre to the world and obtain justice and reparation for the families of the dead and injured victims. [Link]