Shri H S Phoolka who has been consistently fighting for justice for the last 28 years reminded the audience that in the 48 hours, from 1st November 1984 to 2nd November, one Sikh was being killed in the capital every minute.
Speaking on behalf of the organisers, Shri S Raghavan, President, Lok Raj Sangathan, said that we are marking the 28th anniversary of this sad event when the whole state machinery watched the killing of some 4000 innocent people of Sikh faith in broad daylight right in the heart of the capital. He said the recent judgment awarding punishment to criminals, including the BJP Minister Kodnani, who carried out the massacre in Naroda Patiya during the Gujarat genocide in 2002, has given impetus to get the guilty of organising the 1984 genocide punished. At different times, different communities are targeted like people of Muslim faith in 1993 and 2002, people of Christian faith in 2007, Bodos and people from the Northeast in 2012. Those responsible for the massacres are not punished but actually rewarded. For example, Narsimha Rao who was the Home Minister when 1984 massacre was carried out later became the Prime Minister. Shri.S.Raghavan said that, had those responsible for the massacre of the Sikhs punished, the massacres in 1993, 2002 and 2012 would not have taken place.
An appeal to the Prime Minister demanding effective measures to punish the guilty, including a law based on the principle of command responsibility, has been signed by prominent citizens like Justice V R Krishna Iyer, Shri T S Sankaran, Justice Hosbet Suresh, Shri Fali nariman, Justice Ajit Singh Bains, Comrade Lal Singh, Shri S Raghavan, Shri Shanti Bhushan and many others.
The campaign will be kicked off this Sunday from the gate of the Jallianwalla Bagh and a mobile photo exhibition will travel from Amritsar to Delhi via Sultanpur Lodhi, Jalandhar, Anandpur Sahib, Chandigarh and Delhi. In Delhi, the exhibition will go to the Delhi University, Ashok Vihar, Jail raod, Patel Nagar, Kalkaji, Bangla Sahib and Jantar Mantar. At Jantar Mantar, a candlelight vigil will be held to remember the thousands who lost their lives. On 4th November, a seminar has been organised in the Indian Law Institute for an effective legislation against communal and sectarian violence. On 9th November, a People’s Court will be held for a public hearing of the victims of the 1984 genocide.
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