The 1984 Sikh Archive is one of the world’s most comprehensive repositories on the November 1984 Sikh Genocide. Bringing together a collection of first-hand evidence, it presents a detailed chronology of events alongside photographs, video footage, press reports, case studies, and eyewitness testimonies, documenting the crimes against humanity that occurred.
Timeline
Between October 31 and November 4, 1984, Sikhs in India were subjected to a horrific wave of state-sponsored violence. Genocidal massacres, brutal pogroms, and widespread sexual violence resulted in thousands of deaths and left deep, lasting trauma for countless families.
The attacks followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards in revenge for the Indian army’s action on the Golden Temple in June 1984.
Hindu mobs, incited by Congress Party politicians and aided by the police, perpetrated the crimes. But the truth was obscured by framing the targeted violence as mere anti-Sikh ‘riots’, ‘spontaneous’ and ‘unorganised’ and limited only to the capital, Delhi, Kanpur and Bokaro.
A state-run television broadcaster amplified mob calls of “We will take blood for blood.” Organised death squads used prepared lists to identify and target Sikh homes and businesses. Women and girls were subjected to sexual violence, and many children were among those killed.
“Sikh houses and shops were marked for destruction in much the same way as those of Jews in Tsarist Russia or Nazi Germany. For the first time, I understood what words like pogrom, holocaust, and genocide really meant.”
Khushwant Singh, author
“Both the explicit targeting of Amritdhari [initiated] Sikhs as traitors following Operation Blue Star and the clear earmarking of Sikh residences and businesses in the post-assassination carnage speak to an incipient genocidal campaign.” – Cynthia Keppley Mahmood, author.
1984 Sikh Archive launch
“A timely reminder of India’s shameful inability to account for that explosion of racial and religious hatred after Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination, when eight thousand Sikhs were butchered and burned. The failure to punish this crime against humanity remains India’s guilty secret.” – Geoffrey Robertson QC
“The large scale rioting, mob violence, arson, plunder, genocide and looting has been duly proved and established.” – Justice R. K. Gauba. Delhi High Court. 2018.