Anti-Sikh riot survivors recount horror on 40th anniversary, release documentaries

New Delhi: Sonia was three years old when her parents and uncles were killed during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.

Her sister, who was 13 at the time, later told Sonia about the violence and killings of people from the Sikh community following former prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination, she said in Delhi on Saturday at a press conference commemorating the 40th anniversary of the riots.

"I was three years old… My sister told me about the incident and how my father and uncles were killed," she said.

With tears in her eyes, she described how her sister took care of her in her parents' absence. Sonia now works with an NGO and has two children.

Gandhi was assassinated at her home on October 31, 1984, by her two bodyguards Beant Singh and Satwant Singh.

During the press conference, senior advocate HS Phoolka said he and his team were releasing a series of 20 documentary videos titled "1984 Genocide Unending Quest for Justice" on the riots' 40th anniversary.

The documentary videos follow survivors of the riots who narrate their experience of that time, Phoolka said.

Twelve videos were released on Saturday. The rest will be released in Chandigarh on November 9.

"The events of 1984 marked not only the murder of countless citizens but also the death of justice itself," Phoolka said.

The entire legal system collapsed and the "blindfolded" Lady Justice reflected the blindness of judges who failed to see the atrocities occurring around them, he alleged.

"It wasn't until 2017 that the Supreme Court began to take an active interest in punishing the perpetrators of this genocide. Justice Dipak Misra established a new special investigation team to reopen cases, signalling a long-overdue commitment to seeking justice for the victims," the senior advocate added.

Darshan Kaur, who was nursing an infant son and two toddlers at the time of the riots, recounted the day her life changed forever.

A mob descended on her home and, despite her repeated pleas, she watched helplessly as her loved ones were attacked.

"We had no television, no warning. The next day (November 1, 1984), when we learned of Gandhi's death, chaos erupted. They (mob) came, threw bottles filled with chemicals at our home, and my husband was taken from me," she said.

"Forty years have passed and we still grieve for our loved ones," Kaur said.

"But justice remains unattainable," she said.

The pain of that day lingers as a haunting reminder of a tragedy that has left indelible scars on families and communities, she added.

According to the Nanavati Commission report, 587 FIRs were registered in connection with the riots that witnessed the deaths of 2,733 people in Delhi. Of the total, the police shut about 240 cases as "untraced" and about 250 resulted in acquittals.

In May 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a charge sheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler for his alleged role in the killings of three people on November 1, 1984.

About 400 people in 27 cases were convicted. Of them, about 50 people were convicted of murder, including former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar.