Nanavati Commission and Future of Sikhs

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by Dr. Amrik Singh, 28 August 2005.

The justice for the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was believed to have been dispensed by hanging to death Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh in a hasty manner. The appeal to spare Kehar Singh’s life was, however, defeated in the Supreme Court and the office of the President of India. It was alleged that his involvement wasn’t supported by any concrete evidence. But the execution had to be acted out of compulsion to send the weird message that the death of people in power is different from those in the streets. The orgy of violence against Sikhs in an organized manner in Delhi, Kanpur, Bhilai, Jamshedpur and other places continued for three days. The Indian Legislative body, Executive, and Judiciary all appeared to have joined together to overlook the carnage as a natural consequence, a spontaneous reaction, a sincere tribute, and an exemplary show of strength of the nationalists for their leader. In USA after 9/11 attack, similarly a man named Frank Silva Roque declaring his extreme Love for America, shot Balbir Singh Sodhi to death. The average American might have sympathies for his disturbed state of mind for the victims of 9/11 and their secret empathy might be for him, but all this couldn’t stop the verdict of death sentence for Roque on 10/10/03. But in Delhi and elsewhere there were more than 5,000 Balbir Singh Sodhis butchered to death in horrendous manner, and it hasn’t evoked any reaction of the government, judiciary and executive of the largest democracy on the planet. On the other hand US Department of Justice wrote a letter to Sodhi family expressing their whole hearted support. Similar a letter was sent by UN Secretary also. It is in sharp contrast to Indian Government’s apathy to admit the barbarity of the crime on several thousand people of a particular faith.
Though Prime Minister has come out to tender an apology for the shameful incidents of Sikhs’ lynching in Delhi, it has not assuaged the wounded feelings of the community. The manner adopted by Dr. Manmohan Singh more speaks of the tactical move to avert the rising protests and support for the victims all over the world. Had it been the genuine feeling of the party, his government would not have made a statement of taking no action against the guilty ones at the first instance. The declaration of paying no attention to the recommendations of the Nanavati Commission by the government was probably in the background of the fate of other eight reports submitted to the government. The Sikh community is once again in for a shock after the Government clearly declared that no action would be taken against the members of the ruling party allegedly involved in the killing of 3200 Sikhs in the country’s capital. The killers of Sikhs in other states enjoy power both in the society and in the government. Perhaps no one can explain the cover up campaign in the democratic society.
The Nanavati Commission report on 1984 Sikh Massacre tabled in the parliament for discussion created a furor in the country largely because the Government immediately made its intention clear about taking no action against the guilty. The nine commissions and committees appointed after the dreadful killing of Sikhs in the presence of Delhi Police ‘twiddling their thumbs,’ didn’t bring any justice to the Sikh community. Now after twenty years, Justice Nanavati submitted a report that looked a little inimical to the interests of the activists of the Party, Government expressed its determination to throw all norms of justice to the winds in spite of compelling evidence against people in power. But the circumstances changed since 1984 as no party is enjoying an absolute majority in the parliament. Earlier, the party ruled like a dictator because they controlled both of the houses. In such circumstances, there was no effect of discussion on the government. But today CPI (M) a major partner of the coalition having refused to join the executive, has been acting vigilant to censure anyone who seem to be going against conventions of justice. Had CPI(M) not insisted on tabling of the Nanavati Commission report in the parliament, there was every chance that Government would have never brought the report in the parliament. NDA’s voice has nothing to do with justice, they are protesting more for political reasons.
“I felt like a refugee in my country. In fact, I felt like a Jew in Nazi Germany,” said a famous pro congress Sikh columnist Khushwant Singh after the massacre of Sikhs in Delhi. A Sikh soldier in his military uniform after vacationing with his family set out to report for duty. On the way he was attacked in spite of his entreaties that he was a military man to defend the same people who were attacking him. The mob killed him there and then, and threw his body in the sewage. Similarly Sikh soldiers were pulled out of the train and killed by unruly mobs. The probability of Jagdish Tytler organizing the crimes has been pointed out by Justice Nanavati. The strong evidence against him is that he removed all the Sikh police officers to other places and deployed the ones who were told to produce the maximum killing of Sikhs. He provided voting lists of the area and highlighted all names with Singh as last name. He didn’t sleep all night on the night of 31st October, 1984 and was closely closeted with his supporters as to arrange everything for the people to carry out attacks against Sikhs. The strategy was that the poor in slums would be most motivated when asked to loot Sikhs’ homes as wantonly as they willed. They were also told that the Government was on their side. People were explained about their mission, material and machinery was provided, the extralegal support was given, the routes were charted out, highlighted voting lists were given to the designated leaders. It wasn’t hard to prompt the people who already lived in the subhuman ghettos of depravity. They had nothing to lose yet had lifetime hope of gaining access to modern gadgets, money and access to the corridors of power.
“When the big tree falls, the earth trembles” was the reaction of Rajiv Gandhi to the killing of innocent people. The congress cadre was happy as they had made the stage ready to show to the world how popular was their leader. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India had taken the reigns of the government when thousands of Muslims on the one side and Hindus and Sikhs on other were killed for ethnic cleansing. Similarly Rajiv Gandhi assumed the charge by authorizing his supporters to show their love for his mother-land. Indira Gandhi was idolized by her supporters as Durga an angry goddess, a scourge to the evil-doers. The frustration of the Congress was obvious when they thought the power of Indira should be exhibited behind the mindless act of the mob. Was it a tribute to the memory of Indira Gandhi or an insult to her image? She adopted Machiavellian principles to run the country and overstepped the limits of propriety to prop herself in power. In fact after being defeated in 1977, Indira had made up her mind to cash on anything that created divisions and hatred among its own people.
The congress having tasted defeat at the hands of Jaya Parkash Narayan in 1977 was treading a very dangerous trek. All the atrocities and violation of human rights during National Emergency had upset Indira’s operation to become an indispensable leader. What Bangladesh war had done to hoist her image, the emergency had undone it. Then,Indira looked for a way to lead Indian people into Hindu revivalism to stop the discontent of poverty, unemployment, disease and death. The stealing of agenda of RSS coupled with leftist’s tirade against fundamentalism became handy instruments. All parties saw as if Indira was serving their ends in her fight against separatism. For all this, she needed to show to the nation that it was under seize. The Punjab became a bastion of her designs. She had most willing partner, loyal servants, and sycophants of the first water to carry out her Machiavellian machinations. Her mind has been continuously working on those lines when she picked up Giani Zail Singh as the President of India. The Sikh leadership could never measure up to the complexity of the game. Akali Dal declared support for the nomination of Giani Zail Singh as the President of India. It was the single most blunder Akali Dal committed to support the candidature of Giani Zail Singh. It showed that the cadre of Akali party never had a wind of what was coming next. Or they too might have played in Indira’s hands as most other parties willingly or unwillingly did, and were obsessed to support her campaign against religious fundamentalism.
The implication of Nanavati Commission Report for Sikhs is that it has advertised their grievance at the International level. Thanks to CPI(M) and the opposition insistence to force the government to table the report in the parliament. The dependency of Manmohan Singh’s government on the Leftist front brought all the pressure on Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar to resign from the public offices. This could never have happened during 20 years’ lack of concern for the battered community.
The military attack on Golden Temple on the day of Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev on June, 1984 forcing thousands of innocent devotees in the crossfire was to show to the world that there was a real threat to the sovereignty of India. The pogrom of November, 1984 is now observed as Fourth Sikh Holocaust; and the Blue Star operation being the Third Holocaust. Recently in Chicago a conference was organized by Institute for Conflict And Peace Studies (IFCAPS) to focus on June and November, 1984 mass killing of Sikhs by the majority community with the connivance of the Government of the time. With the tabling of Nanavati Commission Report, it has become certain that lynching of Sikhs in 1984 will go down in the history as Third and Fourth pogrom of Sikhs. It is true that Nanavati Commission Report is quite deficient in accounting for the barbarous acts of those responsible for organizing the crime.