US court summons Congress for Sikh 'genocide' in 1984
NEW YORK: A US court has issued summons to the Congress in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, acting on a Sikh rights group's petition which accused it with "conspiring, aiding and abetting" organised attacks on the Sikh population of India in November 1984. The US district court for the southern district of New York issued the summons on Tuesday in a class action law suit filed by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US based community group, along with several Sikh survivors of the 1984 attacks.
The proceedings are still at the pretrial stage in New York, agencies reported on Wednesday. A statement issued by "Sikhs for Justice" said the killings could not be described as riots and they were not confined to Delhi alone but were led by Congress leaders in 18 states and 100 cities. The complaint against Congress alleges that in November 1984 the 'organised killing' of Sikhs took place only in states where Congress was in power. Senior Congress leader and Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath is a defendant in the lawsuit.
The complaint against Nath stated, "the defendant was seen and heard by many on the scene of Gurudwara Rakab Ganj. In this particular incident defendant was leading and in control of a mob of about four thousand people ." Nath has repeatedly denied any involvement and has been cleared by the Nanavati Inquiry Commission, which described the minister's testimony as "vague" but concluded that there was no evidence that he had incited a mob.
"The gravity, scale and specially the organised nature of these attacks was concealed by the Indian government portraying them as Nov 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots of Delhi," Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to "Sikhs for Justice" said. The complaint says Congress committed the crime of genocide against Sikhs as defined in Article 2 of UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948.
Pannun said, the government of India, by painting the attacks on Sikhs in November 1984 as 'riots' instead of 'genocide' and by failing to punish leaders of Congress party, violated its duties under Article 1 of the Genocide Convention. Seeking relief under Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture Victim Protection Act is motivated by an interest in seeking some form of justice for the victims of November 1984 Sikh Genocide, he said.
It will raise awareness to the international community regarding denial of justice to the victims and is a means of holding parties in power accountable for their gross violations of human rights - while also offering the potential to deter future abuses, Pannun said. The SFJ complaint also refers to the February 2011 discovery of a mass grave of Sikhs who were killed in November 1984 in Haryana. According to the Government of India's record, a total of 3,296 Sikhs were killed while a total of 35,535 claims for deaths and injuries were received throughout India, the group said.
US court summons Congress for Sikh 'genocide' in 1984 - Economic Times
NEW YORK: A US court has issued summons to the Congress in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, acting on a Sikh rights group's petition which accused it with "conspiring, aiding and abetting" organised attacks on the Sikh population of India in November 1984. The US district court for the southern district of New York issued the summons on Tuesday in a class action law suit filed by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US based community group, along with several Sikh survivors of the 1984 attacks.
The proceedings are still at the pretrial stage in New York, agencies reported on Wednesday. A statement issued by "Sikhs for Justice" said the killings could not be described as riots and they were not confined to Delhi alone but were led by Congress leaders in 18 states and 100 cities. The complaint against Congress alleges that in November 1984 the 'organised killing' of Sikhs took place only in states where Congress was in power. Senior Congress leader and Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath is a defendant in the lawsuit.
The complaint against Nath stated, "the defendant was seen and heard by many on the scene of Gurudwara Rakab Ganj. In this particular incident defendant was leading and in control of a mob of about four thousand people ." Nath has repeatedly denied any involvement and has been cleared by the Nanavati Inquiry Commission, which described the minister's testimony as "vague" but concluded that there was no evidence that he had incited a mob.
"The gravity, scale and specially the organised nature of these attacks was concealed by the Indian government portraying them as Nov 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots of Delhi," Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to "Sikhs for Justice" said. The complaint says Congress committed the crime of genocide against Sikhs as defined in Article 2 of UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948.
Pannun said, the government of India, by painting the attacks on Sikhs in November 1984 as 'riots' instead of 'genocide' and by failing to punish leaders of Congress party, violated its duties under Article 1 of the Genocide Convention. Seeking relief under Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture Victim Protection Act is motivated by an interest in seeking some form of justice for the victims of November 1984 Sikh Genocide, he said.
It will raise awareness to the international community regarding denial of justice to the victims and is a means of holding parties in power accountable for their gross violations of human rights - while also offering the potential to deter future abuses, Pannun said. The SFJ complaint also refers to the February 2011 discovery of a mass grave of Sikhs who were killed in November 1984 in Haryana. According to the Government of India's record, a total of 3,296 Sikhs were killed while a total of 35,535 claims for deaths and injuries were received throughout India, the group said.
US court summons Congress for Sikh 'genocide' in 1984 - Economic Times
