Thread by @PavSingh84

The heart-breaking ordeal of the #Sikh women & girls during the genocidal massacres of Nov 1984 & their struggle for justice.

A thread.

Warning of disturbing content.

Excerpts: #1984IndiasGuiltySecret
#TheyLiveHere #NeverForget1984 #1984SikhGenocide

Oral and written testimonies revealed that many women were ‘stripped and raped while their husbands and sons were forced to watch.’
Targeted killing of men and boys but also genocidal killing of women and girls. Many witnesses spoke of witnessing ‘naked bodies dumped in trucks.’

Some of the sexual violence was committed in the presence of the still smouldering corpses of murdered family members.

The genocidal rapes were organised and planned on the instructions of local Congress leaders.

At the height of the massacres in East Delhi, more than 30 women and girls were abducted and kept captive in outlying villages. Some never returned home.

The government made no effort to provide relief for the surviving women and girls or provide a safe space to record their ordeal. Many in the Sikh community, suffering from the cultural stigma of rape, also kept quiet.

The media, both domestic and international, remained oblivious of what had taken place. Even the Indian Express, who was alone in reporting on the mass violence, was instructed by its editor not to mention the rapes on its pages.

Many of the rape victims were dissuaded for submitting evidence as the government-appointed doctors were all men and the investigating police were themselves implicated in the rape and genocide.

For many of the widows, life became too much to bear. Some gave up their lives by plunging into the Yamuna River.

Following the massacres and subsequent elections that was fought in an anti-Sikh atmosphere, survivors had to endure humiliation from the general public on a daily basis.

The 1987 commission of inquiry led by a man, Justice Ranganath Misra, selected just 30 out of the 2,905 affidavits submitted by the victims. No cases of mass rape were ever investigated.

The 2005 commission of inquiry, led by a man, Justice G.T. Nanavati, disregarded the sexual violence testimonies submitted by social workers.

In the guise of the law, the state ensured the women were prevented in telling their story. Their trauma remained buried amongst the burnt cinders of their homes. A trauma that would pass onto the next generation.

To date, no one has been convicted of sexual violence and rape against Sikh women and girls.

Here I quote author George Orwell from the pages of another 1984.

Today, in New Delhi,the capital city of the world’s largest democracy lies Tilak Vihar, the Widow’s Colony. Their untold story continues to tarnish the very idea of India.

The Indian state, its political class, judiciary and police ensured scores of senior Congress leaders, hundreds of local leaders and thousands of people who made up the mobs escaped justice.

The Prime Minister would go on to justify the mass murder.

Amidst the horrors, we must pay homage to the many individuals, of all faiths and none, who came to the rescue of innocent Sikhs.

However, the events forever changed the lives of so many surviving children of 1984.

And finally,

We bow our heads, to the surviving women, who refused to be victims and at great courage, fought back against a callous state machine.

Women like Darshan Kaur, who lost twelve members of her family.

And Harminder Kaur, who lost her husband, teenage son and son-in-law.

Both fought the long case against the senior Congress leader, HKL Bhagat MP, while continually being harassed by the local police.

And of women like Nirpreet Kaur and Jagdish Kaur, who fought for three long decades, a fight that led to the conviction of former Congress leader, Sajjan Kumar, for the killing of five members of the same family and setting a gurdwara on fire.

"This crime against humanity, the genocidal massacres and rapes has gone unnoticed by the international community for far too long".
Pav Singh, author, 1984 India's Guilty Secret