The 1984 Sikh Archive
A digital archive documenting the anti-Sikh massacres of November 1984 through survivor testimonies, government records, photographs, press reports, video evidence, and historical research.
Between October 31 and November 4, 1984, thousands of Sikhs were killed across India following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. This archive preserves evidence, testimonies, and historical records to educate future generations and document the pursuit of justice.
Walk-through the 4-days of the 1984 Sikh Genocide
Who perpetrated the 1984 genocidal pogroms?
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.
The role of the state in the 1984 Sikh Genocide
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.
“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.