1984, when Congress became ‘identity of Hindus’, Sikhs were made biggest villains

In a conversation with human rights defender Vidya Bbushan Rawat, which took place about three years ago at his Delhi residence, “Indian Express” journalist Joseph Maliakan talks about the massive anti-Sikh pogrom which place in the aftermath of the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31. He also speaks about the caste bias in our media and how the media ignored the real facts and how the SC-ST officers faced the punishment instead of the real criminals.
In an email alert, which accompanied a youtube video of the conversation, this is is what Rawat says about the conversation he had with Maliakan:

***

Joseph Maliakan is a veteran journalist who worked with “Indian Express” at the time when Delhi was burning in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination. Mrs Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31st, 1984 at her official residence in Delhi by her own security guards, who happened to be Sikhs. Though the incident happened at around 9 am in the morning, the nation was kept on the hook till 6 pm with no information being made available to people on All India Radio and Doordarshan.
Once she was officially declared dead at the 6 pm All India Radio bulletin, Delhi had already witnessed a scene of horrific crime with the goons of the ruling Congress party led by senior leaders campaigning against Sikhs. Frankly speaking, it was not merely Congress, but the party that time became the ‘identity’ of ‘Hindus’ and Sikhs were made the biggest villain being accused of celebrating Indira Gandhi’s death by distributing ‘laddus’ and so many things.
Every Sikh was accused of conspiring, enjoying and a suspected Khalistani. The state completely abdicated its responsibility with Delhi police actively supporting the goons in targeting the innocent Sikhs and their localities. It was one of the worst massacres, if I can say, that India saw in post independent India. Trilokpuri in the Eastern Delhi had a thick population, a majority of whom were poor as well as Economically Poor Sections of society.
This locality was targeted. Media had no clue but it was courageous Joseph Maliakan who reached the place and witnessed the horrific crime. As per his own narrative, his editors initially refused to believe the story because of the magnitude of barbarism and deaths but he stood by his report and it became one of the most sought after information during that period. He was the first and most authentic reporter who reported the massive massacre of Sikhs at Trilokpuri. He appeared before many Commissions of Inquiry.

This conversation was conducted at his home in Delhi. It has many more details about the media and how it functions. An extremely important voice of sanity and reasoning. We saw the anguish, pain and tears in his eyes when he narrated this story to us. Important to understand when the state abdicated its responsibility the result was mayhem and anarchy. Rule of law must persist. We all must hang our heads in shame for our collective responsibility in saving innocent lives.
Very similar things happened in Gujarat 2002 and the real issues are forgotten in the political manipulations and blame games. As a nation and society, we need to understand how long we will allow ourselves to bear such things. One thing is clear that India cannot become a powerful nation as long ethnic, caste and religious identities are used to frame and punish people.

Comments

Eight years of empowering tribal communities through water initiatives in Chhattisgarh

By Gazala Paul* In the heart of Chhattisgarh, amidst the echoes of tribal life, a transformative journey has unfolded over the past eight years. The Samerth organization has diligently worked to elevate the lives of indigenous communities in the Kawardha district through the project, "Enabling Baiga Community to access safe drinking water."

Martin Crowe played instrumental role in making New Zealand a force in world cricket

By Harsh Thakor* Late Martin Crowe was the perfect manifestation of how mere figures could not convey or do justice to the true merit of a batsman. Crowe was arguably the most complete or majestic batsmen of his era or the ultimate embodiment of batting perfection, or the classical batsmen. He perished 7 years ago, due to a rare and aggressive form of cancer, follicular lymphoma, which originated in 2012. In September, we celebrated his 60th birthday but sadly he left for his heavenly abode.

Regretful: Kapil Dev retired not leaving Indian cricket with integrity he upheld

By Harsh Thakor Kapil Dev scaled heights as an entertainer and a player upholding the spirit of the game almost unparalleled in his era. In his time he was cricket’s ultimate mascot of sportsmanship On his day Kapil could dazzle in all departments to turn the tempo of game in the manner of a Tsunami breaking in. He radiated r energy, at a level rarely scaled in his era on a cricket field. Few ever blended aggression with artistry so comprehenisively. Although fast medium, he could be as daunting with the ball as the very best, with his crafty outswinger, offcutter, slower ball and ball that kicked from a good length. Inspite of bowling on docile tracks on the subcontinent, Kapil had 434 scalps, with virtually no assistance. I can never forget how he obtained pace and movement on flat pancakes, trapping the great Vivian Richards in Front or getting Geoff Boycott or Zaheer Abbas caught behind. No paceman carried the workload of his team’s bowling attack on his shoulders in his eras muc

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das* India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on.

Towards 2024: Time for ‘We the People of India’ to wake up before it is too late

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ* It is Constitution Day once again! We, the people of India, gratefully remember 26 November 1949 when the Constitution of India was passed and adopted by the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly comprised women and men of distinction, who were able to represent the heart and soul of the people of India without fear or favour. They gave of their best, so that we may a visionary Constitution, which would be the mainstay for and of democracy in India!

Ceasefire a tactical victory for Palestinian resistance, protests intensify across globe

By Harsh Thakor* The Zionist leadership and Netanyahu’s government were compelled to concede the defeat of their first attempt after almost 50 days of daily fighting in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu was forced to concede that he was unsuccessful in suppressing the Palestinian Resistance; and that the release of the prisoners was only plausible because they accepted Hamas’ terms.

Odisha leadership crisis deepens: CM engages retired babus to oversee depts' work

By Sudhansu R Das Over decades, Odisha has lost much of its crop diversity, fertile agriculture land, water bodies, employment potential, handicraft and handloom skills etc. The state has failed to strike a balance between the urban and rural sector growth; this leads to the migration of villagers to the urban areas leading to collapse of the urban infrastructures and an acute labor shortage in rural areas. A large number of educated, skilled and unskilled Odia people have migrated to other states for higher education, quality jobs and for earning livelihood which plummet the efficiency level of government departments. Utmost transparency in the recruitment and promotion in the state government departments will improve governance mechanisms in the state. "No near and dear one approach" in governance mechanisms can only achieve inclusive growth for the state on payment basis. This is a moral hazard. When so many educated young people seek employment outside the

1982-83 Bombay textile strike played major role in shaping working class movement

By Harsh Thakor On January 18th, 1982 the working class movement commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Textile Workers Strike that lasted for 18 months, till July 1983. It was landmark event that played a major role in shaping the working class movement. With more than 2.5 lakh workers from 65 textile mills joining in this strike for almost two years, this strike became one of the most significant strikes in terms of scale and duration All democrats should applaud the mill workers’ united battle, and their unflinching resilience an death defying courage continues to serve as a model for contemporary working-class movements. Many middle class persons harboured opinions that the Textile workers were pampered or were a labour aristocracy, ignorant of how they were denied wages to provide for basic necessities. The Great Bombay Textile Strike is notably one of the most defining movements in the working class struggles in Post-independent India. Bombay’s textile industry flourished in

Massive tropical deforestation: Big finance's $307 billion go to forest-risk commodities

A note on report by Forests & Finance coalition -- Rainforest Action Network, TuK Indonesia, Profundo, Amazon Watch, Repórter Brasil, BankTrack, Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Friends of the Earth US: *** A new report released on ‘Finance Day’ at COP28 by the Forests & Finance Coalition , provides a comprehensive look into the role big finance plays in driving deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change and human rights abuses in tropical forest regions. The report reveals that since the Paris Agreement, banks have pumped over $307 billion into high risk forestry and agriculture companies linked to tropical deforestation, proving that the policies of major global banks and investors are failing to prevent continued widespread forest and biodiversity loss.

20% of Indian businesses have no emission plan in place despite climate emergency: Report

By Jag Jivan New research underlines urgent need for strategies and transition plans to combat climate change, remain successful and meet stakeholder expectations.

Search This Blog