Dubai: In June 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to enter the sanctum sanatorium of the Golden Temple of Amritsar to flush out Sikh militants holed up inside. Several prominent Sikh leaders including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were killed in the counter-insurgency operation.
On October 31, 1984. Indira Gandhi was killed by two of her Sikh security guards Beant Singh and Satwant Singh posted at her 1 Safdarjung Road bungalow. She was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where she was declared dead. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi, was sworn in as her replacement by the then president Sardar Zail Singh, whose cavalcade was stoned since he himself happened to be a Sikh.
A large crowd that had gathered outside AIIMS rushed to various parts of the city and started destroying properties owned by Sikhs. The violence spread and Sikhd ran for shelter. The first killing took place on the morning of November 1 in East Delhi. Sikhs were identified and killed in colonies like Trilokpuri, Shahdara, Geeta Colony, Mongolpuri, Sultanpuri and Palam Colony, besides Farsh Bazar and Karol Bagh.
Though a curfew was declared on November 2, it was not strictly enforced. Killings continued and spread to other parts of the country. The situation was brought under control by November 3, on the fourth day of the riots after the army was deployed. Nearly 8,000 Sikhs, including 3,000 in Delhi alone, were killed during the violent rampage. Several Congress party leaders including then federal ministers H.K.L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and Delhi lawmaker Sajjan Kumar were accused of inciting the carnage.
So far, 442 people have been convicted by the courts and have resulted in 49 sentenced to life imprisonment and another three for 10 years. Six Delhi Police officers were punished for lapses during the riots. No prominent Congress party leader has been punished thus far.
