Conflict
Shiromani Akali Dal takes out protest march against ‘Sikh massacre of 1984′, seeks justice for victims’ families
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Saturday took out a protest march to seek justice for the families of those killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, PTI reported.
The march, led by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, started from Gurudwara Pratapganj and ended outside Parliament Street police station in New Delhi.
Shiromani Akali Dal carries out a protest rally in Delhi demanding justice for the families of those killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. pic.twitter.com/s3lz2haTLy
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018
Our community has been seeking justice since 34 yrs. Thousands of Sikhs were massacred, several women were raped&lost their houses.Such atrocity is a blot in the history of India. No one received justice.Why is judiciary not taking suo-motu action?: Union Min Harsimrat Kaur Badal pic.twitter.com/yYpEh7KiuI
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2018
The Akali Dal has been seeking justice for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which a large number of Sikhs were killed in the national capital and in other parts of the country in the aftermath of former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards.
ALSO READ: The Widow Colony: Where women tell tales of the Anti Sikh brutality of 1984
Earlier, on Thursday, the students of Gurmat Taksal (IGS) Jammu and Kashmir and Sikh Sangat of Kashmir on Thursday protested against the ‘Sikh genocide that had taken place in 1984’ and remembered the Sikhs who had been ‘killed by Hindutva goons’, which it claimed were ‘sponsored by the ruling government of India’.
Some of the ‘free culprits’ the statement names include Sajan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi and veteran actor, Amitabh Bachchan.
The statement said, “in the pogrom, which took place throughout India, about 30,000 Sikhs were killed, many burnt and roasted alive. Gurudwaras including saroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji were burnt, the women raped and upto two lakh Sikhs displaced.”
ALSO READ: WATCH: Retired Lt Gen says Indian Army was involved in Sikh Massacre of Chittisinghpura
Official Indian government reports numbered the killed around 2,800 across India, including 2,100 in Delhi. Independent sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000, including at least 3,000 in Delhi.
The hair and beard of the Sikhs were also chopped off, the statement further read.
The protest was led by senior member Gurmat Taksal S Davinder Singh Bujang. Among other senior members who were present in the protest were S Angad Singh and S Sukhpreet Singh.
ALSO READ: Chittisinghpora Massacre: When shadowy gunners in army fatigues widowed 30 Sikh women
Stating that no justices were delivered even after 34 years, Davinder Singh Bujang said that demanding justice has now become a distant dream.
“Today we are assembled here only to remember them & do Ardas in their memory. We pay homage to all of them. We will never forget this,” he said.
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