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Anti-Sikh Pogroms in
India & the Struggle for Justice
“Many people complained that, in some cases, the police were not
merely hanging back, but giving active support.”
- The Times of London, 5 November 1984
“…
those killed during November 1984 genocide all over India would be
around 20,000.”
Politics of Genocide, 1999
“… gangs led by the leaders began to swarm into Sikh
houses … chopping off the heads of children, raping women, tying
Sikh men to tires set aflame with kerosene…”
- Reduced to Ashes, 2003
Twenty three years ago, following the assassination of the Indian
Prime Minister, anti-Sikh pogroms took the lives of more than 5,000
Sikhs in Delhi alone. Tens of thousands of Sikh homes and businesses
were burnt down while the state-run radio called for more Sikh
blood. The pogroms were well planned genocidal attacks on the Sikh
community, an easily identified minority in India. Many of the
perpetrators have been identified as politicians of the highest
levels in the Indian government. These individuals are free, and
many hold elected office and positions in the cabinet. The Indian
government has made no attempt to bring them to justice. And all
this occurred in what is proclaimed to be the largest democracy in
the world.
As
we have seen with the Darfur genocide, intervention is difficult
even if genocide is acknowledged. It is almost impossible to make
any progress when the state itself is behind such acts, denial is a
policy and atrocities are widespread and systematic. The Sikh
community has been struggling to fight for the justice and rights of
survivors.
6:30 – 8:30 pm | Friday – 15 June 2007 | 040 Northrup Building,
Trinity University, San Antonio
Presentation
20-minute video covers the events of 1984 and beyond.
Lecture
Harvinder Singh Phoolka is the Senior
Advocate in the Supreme Court of India. Mr. Phoolka has been
fighting for the victims of November 1984 for more then two
decades. He will speak about trials and challenges with the legal
system in India while struggling to fight for justice. He will also
address where the hopes lie for the victims and survivors.
Q&A
Open forum to converse with the guest speaker.
The event is open to the public; all are encouraged
to attend. For more information, contact: Jotroop Kaur, Special
Events 512.300.7777
jotroop.kaur@sikhri.org ,
Sikh Research Institute
P 210.582.3371 | F 210.582.3002
13 June 2007
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