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About the November 1984 Riots
- Killing, looting, and burning of the Sikhs and their property occurred
in every state except Punjab, where there were hundreds of thousands
of army personnel stationed. [source: The Sikhs in History by Sangat
Singh]
- Sikh places of worship were sought out to be destroyed and Sikh
religious texts and literature, including the Adi Granth, holy book
of the Sikhs, were defecated upon. [source: The Sikhs in History by
Sangat Singh and Misra Commission]
- There were two phases to the operation and rioting in New Delhi:
Phase 1- spreading of false propaganda against the Sikhs by the police
to raise the levels of fear and hate against the Sikhs and make the
atrocities against them seem acceptable.
Phase 2- Bringing of groups of armed men to at least ten different
sections of New Delhi. After this phase, the government allowed the
situation to get out of control for over two days before putting an
end to the rioting and pogroms. [source: Who are the Guilty? ]
- Police not only stood aside and watched as people were killed, but
actively participated in the looting and killing and even disarmed
and killed those Sikhs who were trying to defend themselves. [source:
Who are the Guilty? ]
- Many hundreds of Sikh families were destroyed, while the men were
killed and the women gang raped.
- A pregnant women was stabbed and a large number of Sikhs were made
to pay to get themselves shaven or face death. [source: Who are the
Guilty? ]
- The police drove around in jeeps equipped with loudspeakers not
only spreading false propaganda, but also telling the Sikhs that they
should go to their houses (setting them up for sure destruction) and
that the police could no longer assure their safety. [source: Who
are the Guilty? ]
- Women survivors told of how their children were ripped apart, the
men and boys made to cut their hair, and the women raped. Then the
men and boys were beaten up and burnt alive. [source: Who are the
Guilty? ]
- Sikh passengers on buses and trains were stopped at the station,
dragged outside and either thrown on the tracks or burnt. [source:
Who are the Guilty?
- Although the number of dead will never be truly known, the serious
estimates range between one thousand [PUCL] to six thousand [Khushwant
Singh] dead in Delhi alone and 12, 000 to 20, 000 dead Sikhs nationwide,
with violence in Bihar and other states topped only by the carnage
in Delhi. [source: The Sikhs in History by Sangat Singh]
Who
are the Guilty?
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