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On the Other Foot
Chidambaram
forgave Jarnail Singh, we hear. But who is it that should be asking
for forgiveness, asks Hartosh Singh Bal
WSN Network
 Piety
sits uneasy on those who condemn Jarnail Singh. His identity as a
human being precedes the badge of being a journalist. And what he
did is what any person should do when faced with another
prevaricating congressman on the issue of the 1984 riots in Delhi.
It would be more appropriate to ask what the others in the room were
doing when the Home Minister of the country could not come clean on
the massacre of thousands of innocents. It speaks badly of them that
they kept their shoes on.
There is an oft
quoted Persian verse that Guru Gobind Singh had addressed to
Aurangzeb:
Chun kar az
hameh heelat-e-dar guzasht,
Halal ast burdan
ba-shamshir dast
(When all other
means have failed/Then a sword in hand is just)
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When Jarnail picked up his shoe, he was reflecting an anger that
the Congress does not seem to realize exists among Sikhs, and
among those who care for justice |
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All Jarnail had
in hand was a shoe, with little doubt left that all other means had
failed. The institutions of this country have let down the victims
of the 1984 massacre. They have been deliberately misused and
manipulated by the very men who organized the riots. The case
against men such as Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar has been made
out often enough. Witnesses have been threatened and bribed,
testimonies have been coerced. Yet, enough has survived for the
courts to look into the charges again. That the CBI should deliver
Tytler a clean chit only days after his name was declared as a
candidate speaks for itself.
When Jarnail
picked up his shoe, he was reflecting an anger that the Congress
does not seem to realize exists among Sikhs, and among those who
care for justice. This is not anger towards Tytler or Sajjan Kumar
alone; the two men just happen to be the most visible symbols of the
party’s failure to address the issue. The anger lies below the
surface, ready to brim over when stoked. And the Congress has done
just that. The party believes that an expression of regret for the
violence by its leaders was enough, and it is now free to
re-introduce to the electorate the very men who symbolise the
failure of justice. May be it should think again.
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In
substance, the charges against Kamak Nath parallel those that
have led to the arrest of Gujarat Women Development and Child
Welfare Minister Maya Kodnani for her role in leading a mob in
the 2002 post-Godhra Massacre |
Consider the
case against Sajjan Kumar. The CBI case against him was booked only
in 1990, once the Congress was out of power. He was acquitted in
2002 by the Delhi High Court because two police officials deposed in
his favour. The Tytler case is even more interesting. The Nanavati
Commission in 2005 found that Tytler ‘very probably’ had a hand in
organizing the attacks. The Action Taken Report was tabled by
Chidambaram’s predecessor as home minister, Shivraj Patil, and it
said further action against Tytler was not justified because the
commission itself was not absolutely sure about his involvement in
such attacks’!
Given this, the
clean chit and the ticket to Tytler have only reopened questions
about the Congress’ role in 1984. One indication of what has still
not been brought to light comes from Manoj Mitta and HS Phoolka’s
book, When a Tree Shook Delhi. Writing of the current Commerce
Minister Kamal Nath, they say, “Having spent two hours with the mob
in front of Rakabganj Gurdwara, having done nothing to help the two
Sikhs lying in critical condition, having allowed the mob and the
police to carry on with their hostilities against the targeted
community, Kamal Nath was clearly part of the problem, not the
solution. The unanswered questions about his role in the Rakabhanj
Gurdwara episode might well hold the key to uncovering the
high-level conspiracy behind the 1984 carnage.” In no other
democracy could a minister continue after such a book. The party did
not even pay heed.
In substance,
the charges against Kamak Nath parallel those that have led to the
arrest of Gujarat Women Development and Child Welfare Minister Maya
Kodnani for her role in leading a mob in the 2002 post-Godhra
Massacre. In fact, much of the recent activity in the 1984 cases
stems from what happened in 2002. It seems to have taken another act
of similar enormity to awaken our conscience.
In the context
of Gujarat, we have evidence of how witnesses have been bribed and
coerced. We have seen that testimonies change over time, even though
we are barely seven years from the events.
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Chidambaram has had the temerity to say he has forgiven Jarnail.
Once again, he and his party have been quick to forget that they
are the ones who have to ask for forgiveness. |
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Twenty-five
years have passed since 1984. That there are still witnesses around
speaks of the depth of the trauma that was inflicted on victims.
But the Congress
seems no closer to realizing this truth. Sentiments are nebulous
things. A Shoe is not, which is why Jarnail’s act was necessary.
However, party
spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, “The method and modality of
giving vent to that anger was wrong. It will be the beginning of the
end of journalistic morality and ethics and also democracy if giving
vent to anger through that method is accepted and justified.” One
shoe at the end of 25 years is the end of journalistic morality?
Singhvi spoke
with the same smugness that Chidambaram had displayed at the press
conference. He deserves the same response.
Chidambaram has
had the temerity to say he has forgiven Jarnail. Once again, he and
his party have been quick to forget that they are the ones who have
to ask for forgiveness.
Courtesy: OPEN
the magazine
21
April 2009
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