This happened in 1987 in Uttar Pradesh. Like Delhi in 1984, Uttar Pradesh was then governed by the Congress. And the victims this time were innocent Muslims.
The story has been told umpteen times. Yet, I will repeat it.
On a cold winter evening, a company of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) descended on the Aara Machine Wali Gali at Hashimpura in Meerut and singled out healthy young Muslim men. As dusk fell, the men were taken to the banks of the Ganga canal at Muradnagar, hardly 40 km from Delhi.
The brutal killings there could never have become public knowledge had it not been for two survivors. One of them, Babuddin, a handloom worker from Bihar, survived the .303 barrage from PAC rifles, fired from close range.
Vir Bahadur Singh was then the Congress chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The party had a majority in the state assembly. The central government was led by none other than Rahul Gandhi’s father, Rajiv Gandhi.
- See more at:
Has Congress ever apologised for its failure to protect Muslims? - Free Press Journal
Rediff On The NeT: Sonia says sorry to Sikhs for 'June 6' army action and 1984 riots
Sonia says sorry to Sikhs for Bluestar, 1984 riots
Sonia Gandhi kicked off the party's election campaign in Chandigarh by tendering a veiled apology for the army storming the Golden Temple, and the anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
Addressing a public meeting at the Ramlila grounds, Gandhi also touched upon the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, rising corruption and crime, the slump in the economy and general lack of governability at all levels, in her ten-minute speech in Hindi.
Indirectly referring to Operation Bluestar, Sonia Gandhi said, "
Ju kuchh June 6 ko hua, uska mujhe dukh hua (I am anguished by the events of June 6). The then prime minister Indira Gandhi ordered the army into the Sikh community's holiest shrine on June 6, 1984, after Punjabi militants set up their headquarters within the temple complex and conducted their war against the State from there. Subsequently, she was riddled with bullets by her own bodyguards who held her guilty of sacrilege, which in turn resulted in the worst-ever pogrom against Sikhs allegedly by Congressmen.
On the riots, Sonia Gandhi said she could ''understand'' the pain of Sikhs as she herself had experienced it, losing her husband Rajiv and mother-in-law Indira Gandhi that way.
''There is no use recalling what we have collectively lost. No words can balm that pain. Consolation from others always somehow sound hollow,'' she said.
''Three generations of my family have contributed in the fight for the country's independence. I ask you on their behalf to ensure victory to their dreams.''
Punjab and Haryana, she said, was the bread basket of the country. The hardworking people of Punjab have to learn to put back the years of terrorism and contribute to the nation's growth.
Recalling how Rajiv Gandhi dreamt of a prosperous Punjab, Sonia said, ''So much work is still to be done''.
She, however, reminded the people that no progress was possible in a climate of rising caste and communal politics. ''The politics of division is destroying what was carefully nurtured over years by our great leaders.''
''I have never entertained any political ambitions. I do not have any such dreams now. But how can one sit back quitely in such times,'' she asked.
She began her speech with a ''
Namaskar,'' and in Punjabi, ''
Sat sri akal.'' She ended her address with the slogan ''
Jai Hind'' --
ala her mother-in-law -- three times.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal dubbed Sonia's apology as an ''election gimmick.'' He expressed surprise that it was not Congress president Sitaram Kesri but Sonia who was making such statements.
Neither the Congress's election manifesto released on Saturday or the half-a-dozen manifestoes released since 1984 ever mentioned Operation Bluestar or the anti-Sikh riots, he said.
Even Narasimha Rao visited Punjab twice as prime minister but never uttered a single word of sympathy to the Sikhs, he charged.
This happened in 1987 in Uttar Pradesh. Like Delhi in 1984, Uttar Pradesh was then governed by the Congress. And the victims this time were innocent Muslims.
The story has been told umpteen times. Yet, I will repeat it.
On a cold winter evening, a company of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) descended on the Aara Machine Wali Gali at Hashimpura in Meerut and singled out healthy young Muslim men. As dusk fell, the men were taken to the banks of the Ganga canal at Muradnagar, hardly 40 km from Delhi.
The brutal killings there could never have become public knowledge had it not been for two survivors. One of them, Babuddin, a handloom worker from Bihar, survived the .303 barrage from PAC rifles, fired from close range.
Vir Bahadur Singh was then the Congress chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The party had a majority in the state assembly. The central government was led by none other than Rahul Gandhi’s father, Rajiv Gandhi.
- See more at:
Has Congress ever apologised for its failure to protect Muslims? - Free Press Journal
Manmohan Singh's apology for anti-Sikh riots a ‘Gandhian moment of moral clarity,' says 2005 cable
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.
Writing on August 12, 2005 (38469: unclassified), Robert O'Blake, Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in New Delhi, noted that Dr. Singh had done “what no Indian leader in 20 years has been willing to do.”
“The PM's singular act of political courage stands in exquisite contrast to the opportunism and hatred directed by senior GOI officials against Sikhs in 1984. The PM's act of statesmanship will raise his already strong reputation as a representative of the nation's highest Gandhian ideals,” he said, adding that the apology “pre-empted BJP's efforts to capitalize on the (Nanavati Commission) report, which named two high-profile Congress leaders as conspirators in the riots.”
The cable, accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks, said the Congress party's “swift action'' against Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar in the wake of the commission's report “raised questions about the fate of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi if a similar commission investigating the 2002 Gujarat riots finds his government at fault.''
In his apology in Parliament on August 12, 2005, Dr. Manmohan Singh said: “I have no hesitation in apologizing to the Sikh community. I apologize not only to the Sikh community, but to the whole Indian nation because what took place in 1984 is the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our Constitution.”
The cable, describing the riots as “one of the saddest and darkest moments in recent Indian history,” said: “The PM apology and forced resignation of a minister with long ties to the Gandhi family has surprised Indians who only expected the worst of their politicians. The PM's singular act of political courage will be long-remembered as a momentous — almost Gandhian — moment of moral clarity in India's long march to religious harmony.”
Subsequently Sardar Patel Himself lifted Ban on Sangh saying that there is No proof and ban is lifted unconditionally.
Congress will never apologize but the problem is that Muslims have no objection.
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.
Writing on August 12, 2005 (
38469: unclassified), Robert O'Blake, Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in New Delhi, noted that Dr. Singh had done “what no Indian leader in 20 years has been willing to do.”
“The PM's singular act of political courage stands in exquisite contrast to the opportunism and hatred directed by senior GOI officials against Sikhs in 1984. The PM's act of statesmanship will raise his already strong reputation as a representative of the nation's highest Gandhian ideals,” he said, adding that the apology “pre-empted BJP's efforts to capitalize on the (Nanavati Commission) report, which named two high-profile Congress leaders as conspirators in the riots.”
The cable, accessed by
The Hindu through WikiLeaks, said the Congress party's “swift action'' against Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar in the wake of the commission's report “raised questions about the fate of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi if a similar commission investigating the 2002 Gujarat riots finds his government at fault.''
In his apology in Parliament on August 12, 2005, Dr. Manmohan Singh said: “I have no hesitation in apologizing to the Sikh community. I apologize not only to the Sikh community, but to the whole Indian nation because what took place in 1984 is the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our Constitution.”
The cable, describing the riots as “one of the saddest and darkest moments in recent Indian history,” said: “The PM apology and forced resignation of a minister with long ties to the Gandhi family has surprised Indians who only expected the worst of their politicians. The PM's singular act of political courage will be long-remembered as a momentous — almost Gandhian — moment of moral clarity in India's long march to religious harmony.”
Congress has apologized for 1984 riots, Modi has not for 2002: Singhvi - The Times of India
Congress has apologized for 1984 riots, Modi has not for 2002: Singhvi
NEW DELHI: Congress on Tuesday said apology from the party leadership for 1984 riots set it apart from Narendra Modi who is accused of orchestrating the 2002 anti-Muslim carnage, slamming the comparison between the two parties as well as the pogroms as "odious".
AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had apologized for the anti-Sikh riots more than once and that too 10 years ago. He said the Gujarat riots were different because apart from apology, the process of reconciliation over the 12 years as well as transfer of riot cases out of Gujarat showed that the state government was suspect.
"There was en masse transfer of cases from Gujarat, done for the first time in the country. That was a vote of no-confidence (in the state) else why would the Supreme Court transfer cases," Singhvi said, adding "This was done to ensure an impartial outcome which, it was felt, could not be had in the Modi-led Gujarat."
The Congress spokesman faced persistent questions on the issue after Rahul Gandhi's interview to Times Now in which he dealt with the two riots.
The spokesman said terrible events like riots could not be compared because they were all unpardonable but Congress could not be blamed for the Sikh riots like Modi is for Gujarat riots.
Singhvi reminded that PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had reminded Modi of his "raj dharma" during the riots, asking what was the reason for the public reprimand.
He said the 1984 riots started just after the assassination of Indira Gandhi while in Gujarat, it was orchestrated over three days after the burning of a train carrying kar sevaks with dead bodies handed over to organizations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad to stoke emotions.
Praising Rahul for his interview to Times Now, Singhvi said, "Gandhi has not only spoken and interacted. He willingly subjected himself to a no-holds barred 80-minute in-depth cross-examination and he has done it with humility." Singhvi pointed to Rahul's emphasis on transparency as the standpoint of the interview.
In what appeared a dig at Modi, Singhvi said, "He (Rahul) is quite unlike a number of persons in our political system who aspire for big office but are habituated to speaking with a forked tongue, who are self-centred and have illusions of infallibility."
