1984 Anti-Sikh Riot Victims Challenge Rahul Gandhi to Open Debate

CHANDIGARH, Nov 4: Survivors of the 1984 anti Sikh violence on Wednesday recounted their painful experiences and decades long struggle for justice at a BJP organised conclave in Chandigarh, where they demanded an apology from the Congress and challenged Rahul Gandhi to an open debate on the massacre.

The Punjab BJP organised the day-long ‘Zakhm 84 De’ (Wounds of 1984) conclave to highlight the suffering of victims and what it described as the circumstances surrounding the killings.

During a session titled “The Sikh Massacre: When and How”, survivors, including Nirpreet Kaur, Satpal Kaur, Darshan Kaur, Sonia Kaur and Jagsher Singh, shared accounts of the violence that devastated their families.

They accused the Congress of failing to apologise for the atrocities or take adequate steps to provide justice to those affected. The survivors also urged Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to participate in a public debate on the role of his family, the Congress party and its governments during the violence.

BJP leader R P Singh, who moderated the session, said Gandhi had recently challenged political opponents to debates. He invited him to discuss the 1984 massacre with BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, advocate H S Phoolka and survivor Bibi Nirpreet Kaur.

The survivors maintained that the violence was not merely a series of riots but a planned massacre targeting the Sikh community.

Nirpreet Kaur recalled that she was 16 when her family came under attack in Delhi’s Power Colony. She said a man had visited their home on October 31, 1984, offering her brother a job as a driver. She alleged that the offer was intended to gather information about the number of people living in the house.

According to her account, two policemen visited the family that night and assured them of protection. The following day, a mob allegedly led by the same man surrounded their home.

She said the attackers targeted her nine-year-old brother, while her father tried to protect the children. The family endured the assault for nearly four hours, and their truck was set on fire.

Nirpreet alleged that the police pressured the family to reach a compromise, after which their house was attacked again. She also accused a Congress leader of inciting the mob against Sikhs near a police jeep. She said several people were rescued with the assistance of an Air Force wing commander.

She was later arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and imprisoned, including at Tihar Jail. Her husband was also allegedly killed in a fake police encounter.

Despite proceedings before the Nanavati Commission and the reopening of her father’s case, she said her pursuit of justice continued for years.

Another survivor, Bhagi Kaur, described the atrocities committed against women during the violence. She alleged that women were stripped, held captive and gang-raped throughout the night.

The session also heard accounts of the killing of seven Sikhs by a man wielding a meat-cleaver-like weapon.

Satpal Kaur said she was 11 when neighbours sheltered her and her four sisters beneath a cot, saving them from the attackers. The sisters were later placed in Nari Niketan, where advocate H S Phoolka located them and helped secure their custody for their maternal grandfather through legal proceedings.

To support her three sisters, Satpal Kaur said she washed utensils in people’s homes for Rs 20 per household. She expressed disappointment over not receiving employment or a pension.

Another account concerned retired Captain Ghuman Singh Chahal, who had served in four wars. Despite being paralysed, he was allegedly burnt alive inside his home, while his son’s academic degrees were destroyed in the fire.

Jagsher Singh recalled witnessing the violence in Palam when he was 18. He said Pandit Ram Avtar had provided him shelter during the period.

The survivors reiterated their demand for accountability and justice, urging political leaders to acknowledge the suffering endured by families affected by the 1984 violence.