Two Decades After Manmohan Singh’s Apology, Sajjan Kumar To Get Verdict in 1984 Sikh Riots Case
New Delhi: “… What took place in 1984 is the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our Constitution,” said then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the floor of the Rajya Sabha on August 11, 2005. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s public apology for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is hailed in an American diplomatic cable as a “singular act of political courage” and an “almost Gandhian moment of moral clarity in India’s long march to religious harmony.”
The violence in northern India, primarily in Delhi, targeting members of the Sikh community broke out following Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination on October 31, 1984.
The scarred Sikh community waited decades for an apology for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which occurred during Congress rule and were instigated by some party leaders. Yet, neither Sonia Gandhi nor Gandhi family scion Rahul Gandhi expressed regret and apologised to the minority community for the riots. It was India’s first Sikh Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who offered the apology.
Singh’s apology came in the wake of the Nanavati Commission report, which implicated several Congress leaders, including Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, in the violence against the Sikhs in 1984. The report’s findings reignited demands for accountability and justice, particularly from the BJP and other opposition parties.
Almost two decades since the apology, a Delhi court may pronounce its verdict in the murder case against the key accused, Sajjan Kumar, Congress leader in the 1984 riots. Special Judge Kaveri Baveja was to pass the order on Wednesday, which was related to the alleged murder of 2 people in Saraswati Vihar area during the riots, but the judge said, ‘The next date of hearing is fixed as January 21.’
Sajjan Kumar, who is currently lodged in Tihar Central Jail, appeared in court through a video conference. In the case of murder of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984, the court reserved the verdict. Initially the case was registered at Punjabi Bagh police station, but later the investigation was taken over by a special investigation team. On December 16, 2021, the court framed charges against Sajjan Kumar and found the case against him ‘prima facie’ true.
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