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Indian Response to European Motion on 1984
May 2, 2004 | Comments Off on Indian Response to European Motion on 1984
The Indian Express has an article on the April 19 declaration tabled at the European Parliament on experiences of Sikhs in 1984, including the November 1984 pogroms against Sikhs in India. Although government officials see this motion as “motivated mischief to embarrass India,” it simply calls for a Truth Commission to “comprehensively investigate whether the slaughter to which Indian Sikhs were subjected in 1984 constitutes genocide as defined in the Genocide Convention and the relevant international law.”
Former foreign secretary and now Congress politician J.N. Dixit’s response reveals the prejudices and excuses that still color the debate on the November 1984 massacre:
“What happened here was only for three days. I agree it was very bad but the violence was provoked by some Sikhs who killed the then Prime Minister.’’
Dixit thus describes the systematic and coordinated attack against Sikhs living throughout India as a justified response to the acts of two Sikh individuals.
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