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India: Civil Society renews call for accountability for 1984 Sikh massacre: Amnesty India

June 23, 2016 | By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

New Delhi: A range of prominent activists, journalists, lawyers and political leaders called on the government to deliver justice & reparation for the survivors of the 1984 Sikh massacre at an event organized by Amnesty International India in New Delhi today.

‘Insaaf84’ was conducted as part of Amnesty International India’s two-year long campaign ‘Chaurasi Ki Na Insaafi’. Among those who attended were survivors Darshan Kaur and Mohan Singh; former judges Markandey Katju, Rajinder Sachar and Anil Dev Singh; author Kuldip Nayar; human rights lawyers H.S. Phoolka and Vrinda Grover; former Deputy Commissioner of Police (Delhi) Amod Kanth, and journalists Siddharth Varadarajan, Seema Mustafa and Hartosh Singh Bal.

Also present were actor Savita Bhatti; political activist Yogendra Yadav; former MP Tarlochan Singh; Kanwar Sandhu of the Aam Aadmi Party, Manjeet Singh GK of the Shiromani Akali Dal, and Hannan Mollah of the Communist Party of India (Marxist); academics Dilip Simeon, A.S. Narang; and writer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.

Amnesty International India and civil society members made a series of recommendations related to effective investigations, comprehensive remedy and reparation, and legal and police reform, to be submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Film director Mahesh Bhatt, historian Uma Chakravarti and writer Farah Naqvi also contributed to drafting the recommendations.

“The guilty have still not been punished even 32 years after this most brutal crime was committed…The effort of Amnesty International to focus attention on the issue is a significant step in that direction,” said Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab, in a written statement.

“The survivors and victims of 1984 have not received justice primarily because successive governments have failed to take action despite overwhelming evidence of political and police complicity,” said Aakar Patel, Executive Director at Amnesty International India.

The Delhi police had closed investigations into hundreds of cases after the massacre, citing a lack of evidence. On 16 June, a special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the central government in January 2015 to re-investigate cases related to the massacre published newspaper advertisements about the progress it had made in 22 cases.

H.S Phoolka, the lawyer leading legal representation for several victims and survivors, said, “Nearly a year and a half after the SIT was set up, it has not met a single survivor or witness. We are only hearing now that they plan to reopen a few cases.”

“The government, through the SIT, has another chance to finally deliver justice for the thousands who suffered in 1984. It must not waste this opportunity,” said Aakar Patel.

“Accountability of persons in public office and in positions of authority is imperative for justice for the 1984 survivors. And for this, India needs to adopt elements of modern criminal jurisprudence,” said Vrinda Grover, human rights lawyer.

Amnesty International India also released a campaign digest titled “31 Years and Waiting: An era of injustice for the 1984 Sikh Massacre’, which outlines the cover-up that followed the massacre and the status of various official investigations over the last 31 years.

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Related Topics: 1984 Sikh Genocide, Amnesty International, Indian Politics, Indian State, Markandey Katju

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