The Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU is a national university with its headquarters in New Delhi, Delhi, India. Named after former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, the university was established in 1985 when the Parliament of India passed the Indira Gandhi National Open… read more>>

Aniruddha sent me this nice cover from Thane, India, thank you! It was posted on August 31, 2009.

The cover commemorates the Air Force Squadron No. 48; the top right stamp was cancelled with the commemorative postmark. It depicts the Sri Pratap College in Srinagar. The top left stamp commemorates the Indian economist D. R. Gadgil. The left definitive stamp in the second row depicts the famous Indira Gandhi (1917-1984). The next stamp commemorates the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille (1809-1852). Finally the bottom right stamp depicts Abdul Qaiyum Ansari.

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister was attacked by a bystander when he was greeting people in Milan. The suddenness and the ferocity of the attack took his security men by surprise. A bloodied Berlusconi was bundled into a car with blood splattered face. The man insisted on coming out again from the car and show to the people and the press there as to what had happened to him. He was then driven off to the hospital, where it was reported that he has a fractured nose and has lost two teeth. This is the first time that a leader of a western nation has been attacked like this. There is a sense of shock in the western world. The 42 year old Italian man who attacked Berlusconi has been taken into custody and initial reports say that the man has a history of mental illness. That the attacker was mentally ill should not be a source of consolation for the security set up of western nations nor can this be taken as a one-off case. Remember, President Bush was also attacked by an Iraqi in the now famous shoe throwing incident.

Silvio Berlusconi  after the attack

There is a lesson in this for all of us. The western world and other democratic countries take our leaders for granted. We lampoon them, we ridicule them and we love to run them down. That we have a right to criticize our leaders is a given. In democracy the right to free speech is a fundamental right and we love to exercise this right, as indeed we should. But sometimes in the process we tend to go overboard. The leaders of democratic nations learn to take criticism in their stride and many of them actually encourage such constant dialogue between the administration and the media and intellectuals from the society. Many a times we tend to criticize our leaders looking at the ‘facts’ that are before us. It goes without saying that those in power are privy to much more information than what the public has. The ‘facts’ as we see are generally not the whole story and because of reasons of national security those in power can divulge only so much and no more. The media goes hammer and tongs criticizing every decision made by those in power. The leaders have no option but to grin and bear many a times.

I am not saying that there should be a blanket ban on criticism of those in power. What I object to is the circus that we make in the name of criticism of our leaders and how we reduce them to a shadow of themselves by the constant badgering. It is the democratic countries that are maintaining sanity in this world and it therefore becomes incumbent on the free world to tred carefully lest we end up shooting ourselves in the foot. Here in India we did that to our leaders. Two of them lost their lives because of the misrepresentation by the media and the misperception created about these leaders. The Gandhi family was neither anti-Sikh nor anti-Tamils. Yet, because Indira Gandhi ordered forces to clear the Golden Temple of the ultras was construed in the media as an anti-Sikh posture by the Gandhi family. The lady was blissfully unaware of the threat to her life and never thought that any Sikh would ever harm her. She was unaware as to how the media had played up the whole thing. I am also not convinced that Rajiv Gandhi ordered the murder of thousands of Sikhs in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s death. That Sardar Manmohan Singh was made the prime minister by the widow of Rajiv Gandhi is a testimony to the fact that the Gandhi’s bore no ill-will against the Sikhs. Rajiv Gandhi’s murderers were  Tamils who saw in him a monster who had sent forces to northern Sri Lanka to clean up the Tigers. What the media failed to point out was that India wanted peace in the region and this was not an anti-Tamil operation – after all India boasts of a separate state of Tamil Nadu and Tamils have contributed so wholesomely in the development of the nation. India without Tamils is unthinkable, then how can the prime minister of India be anti-Tamil. But a perception was created and we lost a genuinely good person who may been a hugely successful prime minster after the elections which were due, when he was murdered.

In the west they have run-down most leaders including George Bush and Tony Blair. This is not an attempt to justify the Iraq invasion. But I was much surprised when I heard that there was an Iraq Inquiry instituted to look into the reasons for going to war and the subsequent events. In fact the Iraq Inquiry in Britain is looking at events from 2001 to 2009. The BBC has reported about this Inquiry as follows:

The Iraq Inquiry, headed by Sir John Chilcot is looking at events between 2001 and 2009, covering the decision to go to war, whether troops were properly prepared, how the conflict was conducted and what planning there was for its aftermath. Ministers say the terms of reference are unprecedented in their breadth and the inquiry will be free to apportion blame where it sees fit. But the opposition is unhappy the inquiry has taken so long to begin and that Parliament has had no say in its remit. It also wants more involvement from military figures and people with aid and reconstruction experience. 179 British service personnel were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2009. Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians died over the period, though estimates vary considerably.

As said earlier, I have always been vehemently against the Iraq war. I have always maintained that the war was illegal and unjust and that the west had no right to go into Iraq and manage a regime change. I think that this whole concept of painting Saddam as a devil-incarnate was the fertile imagination of the west because the few thousand Iraqi’s that he killed over the decades was nothing compared to the hundreds of thousand Iraqi’s killed by the allied forces in these few years. The Iraq war was a mistake of the west and such mistakes should not recur. The way Saddam Hussein was treated and his family members including his sons were murdered was not something that the west can be proud of. It is only once the west withdraws completely that they will understand as to what a big mistake it was for the west to dislodge Saddam Hussein.

I think that the Iraq Inquiry is an effort at keeping up that famous British sense of fairness that flummoxes many. This is not an inquiry – this is a circus. What are they trying to prove? The facts are there for all to see. Did 10 Downing Street go to Iraq unilaterally? This was a bilateral decision between the US and Britain. How can this inquiry be fair and all encompassing if it fails to look at the American angle of the whole sequence of events? Does this inquiry have the jurisdiction to summon the American players in this sordid attack on a hapless people? How can an inquiry that is headed not by a judge but by a retired bureaucrat come to any conclusive proof? And why is the inquiry limiting itself to the period from 2001 – 2009? The western posture vis-à-vis Iraq was consistent since the early 1990’s. Debilitating sanctions were imposed on Iraq by the international community initiated by the USA and actively supported by Britain and the rest of the world. Thousands of Iraqi’s died because they could not get basic medicines and things of daily use because of the sanctions. Were these international sanctions any less of a crime against a people? Why were these sanctions thrown at a people who were not an enemy of the west? The fact is that the west supported Iraq in its war against Iran. The American president Bill Clinton ordered bombing of Baghdad during his tenure. These attacks were not sanctioned by the Security Council and were wholly illegal. Must we not take into account these ferocious attacks on a people who could not even retaliate? The Iraq story is a long drawn one and cannot be condensed into a period of a few years. It must be looked into in totality. Obviously the British are in no mood to look at the Iraq war in its entirety. There is an anti-Tony Blair sentiment in the UK and that mirrors in this ridiculous Iraq Inquiry. ‘Crucify the man’ cry ye in unison!!! Tony Blair was just being honest when he said that he would have gone ahead and ensured a regime change regardless of whether Saddam had WMD’s or not. The reasons for the Iraq war were way too compelling for Blair or Bush not to do what they had to do. The reason was that they had to have the ‘strategic resource’ (read oil) that they said cannot be denied to the west. The war was set in stone. Bush and Blair only carried it out as best as they could. Had there been any other president or prime minister (including Nobel laureate Barak Obama and His Holiness Gordon Brown) they would have done exactly the same as Bush and Blair did. For that matter how much has Obama deviated from the Bush doctrine except increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. They have still not withdrawn completely from Iraq and my hunch is that it will take the US longer than they anticipate to exit completely from Iraq. The bad news for the west is that the west may not be able to lay their hands on the one ‘strategic resource’ that they went into Iraq in the first place – because it is clear that there is going to be complete chaos once the west withdraws completely from Iraq.

The Iraq Inquiry may be an attempt at making sure that the highest in office know that they can be called up to explain their decisions but this gives a very wrong impression to the rest of the world. People see in Bush and Blair men with no conscience and with a convoluted sense of justice. To put it straight – they see them as villains. A silly inquiry like the one instituted by the British only tends to give the leadership a bad name. And then when the leaders of western nations are attacked we wonder as to what has become of this world. Democracy with all its limitations is still the best bet for mankind. It is the democratic free world that has given us so much and that is so different from the hell that is the alternative system. It is the democratic, free world that has induced the kind of growth and welfare that is unprecedented in history of human kind. While those in power must be made to account for their actions, there is also a need for the free world not to crucify our leaders in the name of accountability. Here the press and the media need to be more responsible. We must make sure that our leaders are given some space to maneuver. My hunch is that Tony Blair turned Catholic out of compulsion and not out of faith. The man knew he would be hounded and therefore he turned to the Church for succor. The Iraq Inquiry must be folded up forthwith and we must let history judge our leaders who have tried their best in some very difficult situations. Would Margaret Thatcher have faced an inquiry had Britain lost the Falkland war? Looking at these developments I am forced to believe that perhaps she would have.

The free world must avoid painting our leaders in colors that are not complimentary. Bush and Berlusconi have been targeted. Soon a situation will come when no world leader will be able to make public appearances and meet people face to face. I know that the Italian prime minister has a very colorful life but that does not give license to anyone to physically hurt the man. The media is as much to be blamed for these attacks as those who have carried them out. We are no saints and we cannot expect our leaders to be saints either.

“We are not going to compromise ecological security in the name of development……The Ministry of Environment and Forests is going to be quite fundamentalist on these issues” - Jairam Ramesh, environment minister

India’s energetic and enthusiastic environment minister has many critics, which is not surprising given his appetite for wading into controversies. As if his battles over India’s climate change policy (see my blog post two days ago) are not enough, he is now building up an assault on environmental approvals and wildlife conservation that will bring him up against tough and often rough political and business opponents who are accustomed to flouting regulations.

As I wrote in that post, Jairam Ramesh is India’s first non-corrupt, policy-oriented and knowledgeable environment minister for a decade. He is determined to clean up a ministry that has been allowing India’s environment and wildlife to be plundered and to decay in the ten years it has been headed by nominees from a regional Tamil Nadu-based party, the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK). And he is backed by Sonia Gandhi, president of the ruling Congress Party, and Manmohan Singh, the prime minister.

“Not since Indira Gandhi have we seen so much positive focus on wildlife issues,” says Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, referring to the country’s former prime minister.

Jairam Ramesh at Sariska tiger reserve, July 2009

Two announcements made by Ramesh on Wednesday (December 9) at a Wildlife Institute of India conference in Delhi underline how meticulous and tough he is hoping to be.

First, he said that he would not allow two coal-mining projects linked to an Adani Group 2000MW power project, and located 10-12kms from near Maharashtra’s Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve, to go ahead. Initial environmental approval (terms of reference or TOR) was granted last year, but the mines would be within a proposed buffer zone of the reserve. Sonia Gandhi took up the cause in August and Ramesh said on Wednesday they could not go ahead.

This pits him against powerful business and political forces. The Gujarat-based Adani trading and infrastructure group has notoriously strong government links (especially on coal imports where it dominates). Its power project is located in Gondia, the home town of Praful Patel, India’s business-oriented aviation minister, who has complained to Ramesh about the decision.

According to reports, Patel has said that while protection of environment is important, industrial development too was equally important.

Ramesh challenged that when he said on Wednesday, while referring to this project, “We are not going to compromise ecological security in the name of development……..The Ministry of Environment and Forests is going to be quite fundamentalist on these issues”.

He also intends to stop a 231km river-linking canal project between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. “I was shocked to find that Panna Tiger Reserve is involved in the Ken-Betwa river link which is the only project (on inter-linking India’s rivers) that has progressed so far,” he said.

When Ramesh was appointed in May, many observers assumed that his job was to speed up big project approvals, which have for years been hampered by often mischievous and corrupt environmental blockages. That speed-up has been an unfulfilled aim of the prime minister’s office (PMO) for most of this decade.

But Ramesh’s pro-environment approach is stalling or stopping several projects, not speeding them up  – so I asked him how he could explain this apparent dichotomy.

“No dichotomy,” he said in a quick e-mail reply. “Both the Congress president and the prime minister deeply concerned with environment and forest issues as well. Balance is crucial – sometimes it is a NO and sometimes it has to be a YES, BUT”.

That brief answer is packed with messages. He acknowledges the need to speed up project approvals, but is striking a balance between that and protecting the environment – as he showed in the remark about “not going to compromise ecological security in the name of development”. And, as I said, he has the backing of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.

On Wednesday, he outlined some of his other plans:

-      Amending 1972 wildlife legislation early next year, which would include “steeply increasing penalties which are laughable” so that they match those in, for example, foreign e change and money laundering legislation. Also protecting biologists and other academics from the ire of “bad” wildlife officials.
-      Making wildlife management a more attractive civil service career, maybe by creating a formal specialisation within the Indian Administrative Service (an issue, he said, first raised by Indira Gandhi in 1972).
-      Providing state government’s with a direct stake in tiger conservation and the government’s 26-year old, but ailing, Project Tiger. Maybe by providing them with funds to boost the occupations and livelihoods of local people who are moved out of sanctuaries to nearby areas - possibly with the help of the World Bank.
-      Improve the handling of human-animal conflict, which currently often turns local people against wildlife conservation.

He also had some dire statistics to hand out. Of Project Tiger’s 38 areas, only 12 are in “relatively good condition” while nine are “satisfactory but could be better” and 17 are in a “very very precarious state”. Last year the government said the total number of tigers in India was down to 1,400, and that was probably an over-estimate.

World Bank project “institutionalised corruption”

Ramesh’s initiatives are welcomed by wildlife experts, apart from the possible involvement of the World Bank, which is condemned by many environmentalists in India. 

Belinda Wright  blames it for “financing the devastation of huge swathes of tiger habitat without any accountability or comment,” and adds: “Along with its fossil fuel projects, dams and highways, the Bank is not – and never has been – good news for the tiger”.

It does seem odd that India is bending to pressures to allow the World Bank to become involved in wildlife conservation. The Bank has no expertise that is not already available in the country, or that could be brought in from specialist conservation organisations abroad, and its record in forest management is dismal.

“The Bank’s forestry programmes in India single-handedly institutionalised corruption in the Forest Department, and took it took its eye off the ball as far as protection and forest management is concerned,” says one environmentalist.

As I mentioned in my post two days ago, Ramesh is sometimes criticised for being too prone to fall into line with the wishes of the US government. It would be a pity if that leads him to allow the World Bank into an area where it arguably is not needed – unless he can put together a cogent argument about why the bank’s involvement would be good for India.

Just saying, as some observers are doing, that Robert Zoellick, the World Bank president, is pushing for a role in India because he is personally interested in tigers,  is surely not enough.

Despite that controversy however, Ramesh has to be regarded as one of the main stars of the current government – and just what India’s environment needs.

Peaceful Path Quote – Be Still

“You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.” Indria Gandhi

Peace and joy,

Jane

www.goldenlightcentre – The Golden Light Art Gallery and Holistic Services

www.in-silence.net

From Facebook:

Subroto Roy believes the great optimism about the Indian Republic that he had felt as a 7-year old boy upon meeting Jawaharlal Nehru at Colombo Airport on Oct 13 1962 (the first days of the surprise Communist Chinese attack on India), has now dissipated, and apart from Nehru’s immediate successor (Lal Bahadur Shastri) all Indian Prime Ministers since then have been gravely, perhaps catastrophically, disappointing.

Subroto Roy thinks President Obama’s informed lawyerly academic approach to the Afghanistan decision, whether or not it has its intended good consequences, has a positive demonstration effect for other capital cities, e.g. New Delhi, where public policy decisions are too often made to appease special interest groups inside a cloud of meaningless rhetoric.

Subroto Roy says of India and China in summary discussion at Edward Hugh’s Wall: “Well, both have massive and energetic populations, each with relatively little capital per head; raising the capital per head with new production and exchange processes leads to growth. (But the nominal economies are weak, public finances are absymal and paper money is out of control.)”

Subroto Roy recalls again Pericles of Athens: “Here each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well; even those who are mostly occupied with their own business are extremely well-informed on general politics- this is a peculiarity of ours:we do not say that a man who takes no inter…est in politics is a man who minds his own business;we say that he has no business here at all.”

THE NATION REMEMBERS ITS BELOVED LEADER.

INDIRA GANDHI – 25 YEARS AFTER THE ASSASINATION OF THE SPIRIT OF AN INDIAN  :

25 years ago, on October 31, 1984, Srimati. Indira Gandhi was brutally assasinated by her own bodyguards. The Nation has recently mourned her death and has also celebrated her 92nd Birth Anniversary. A year before her assasination, on September 18, 1983, Srimati. Indira Gandhi was unaware of the fact that a tiny flame got extinguished; a  spirit  got crushed at the Ministry of Defence Headquarters, South Block, the Secretariat Building in New Delhi. The Prime Minister’s office is also located in the same building. I would like to share that story; the story about a young Medical Officer who had joined the Army Medical Corps with a spirit to serve the Nation. The top bureaucrat of the Army Medical Corps chose to use his power and position to kill the spirit of this Junior Officer in broad daylight. The story begins and ends during the years Srimati. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India. This story narrates events in the course of my life’s journey and it does not mean that it pertains to past. These events belong to the life of the Nation. The entity called ‘NATION’ has a life and has an existence of its own. As long as this entity known to us as ‘INDIA’ exists, this story remains relevant and it cannot be buried as the remains of an individual’s past life. As long as I am alive, I would keep my memory alive and I will ask the Nation to read pages from its own life.

THE NATIONAL SPIRIT - A TINY FLAME GOT EXTINGUISHED. This Flame represents the 'National Spirit' of a Junior Officer who was serving in the Indian Army Medical Corps.This Flame got extinguished not because of Enemy Action.

 The top bureaucrats in 1983 were not able to grasp any ethical considerations. A sense of objectivity got lost and only the sense of self-preservation characterized the actions of top ranking officials. Srimati. Indira Gandhi had also paid a very heavy price because of the trust she had placed in some of these career opportunists who had no real interest in serving the Nation.

THE SPIRIT OF INDIAN NATIONALISM  :

I grew up in the post-independence era of a newly born Nation and was inspired by the Father of the Nation.

I grew up as a kid drawing inspiration from India's First Prime Minister.

On November 14, 1958, I was a student at Danavaipeta Municipal High School, Rajahmundry when we first celebrated the Children’s Day. The School had received a brand new Public Announcement System and I gave a very inspired and eloquent speech during the School Assembly and had expressed my love and a sense of attachment to Prime Minister Nehru. During 1962, Prime Minister Nehru visited Nizamabad District to inaugurate the irrigation project at Pochampadu on the banks of River Godavari. Government Giriraj Arts College, Nizamabad had declared a Holiday. Myself, my father R. Suryanarayana Murthy who was then the Principal of that college, a large number of Staff Members and students converged at that venue in show of our love and admiration for Prime Minister Nehru.

THE CHINESE AGGRESSION AND THE INDIAN ARMY'S DEFEAT IN 1962.

During 1962, in the wake of massive brutal attack by Communist China across the Himalayan frontier, I had developed a desire to serve in Indian Army which had experienced a very humiliating defeat. I was a student at Government Giriraj Arts College, Nizamabad. From 1962 to 1965, I had participated in the National Cadet Corps training, but I was not sure as to how to get into Army Service.

On January 24, 1966, Indira Gandhi became the First Woman Prime Minister of India heralding the Dawn of a New Era in India's national life.

I was a second year M.B.B.S. student at Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool when Srimati. Indira Gandhi was chosen as the third Prime Minister of India. She had symbolized the spirit of Indian Nationalism. She had transcended the limitations imposed by region or religion. I was instantly attracted by the charisma of her personality which portrayed my vision of National Unity.

The Charisma of Indira Gandhi - She had portrayed my vision of National Unity.Image by Bettmann/CORBIS

I sent her a letter in my own hand writing expressing my sense of pleasure for her appointment as the Prime Minister. She had graciously sent me a reply. In the year 1967, I met her at her official residence in New Delhi along with a batch of Student Delegates attending a National Student Seminar on National Integration.

Srimati. Indira Gandhi - A symbol of National Unity and a call for National Integration.

National Integration represents the idea of people of all regions and religions coming together, to work together, and to particiapte in National Affairs as equals. During 1969, a team of Army Medical Corps Officers had arrived at Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool to conduct interviews for selection of Final Year M.B.B.S. students for the grant of Short Service Regular Commission. Myself, and another student by name Ahmad Vali Jan got selected in the interview but he opted out. I was granted the rank of Second Lieutenant. I made this deliberate choice to join the Indian Army Medical Corps to serve the Nation and to participate in National Affairs to the fullest extent that could be possible.

I made a deliberate choice to join the Army Medical Corps to serve the Nation.

On 26 July 1970, I had reported for duty at Officers Training School, Army Medical Corps Centre & School in Lucknow. I had completed my training in Ambala Cantonment during 1971 and was fully prepared for my role as a Medical Officer to provide medical care and support to our troops. Indeed, the opportunity to serve the Nation came to be true to my desire and my expectations.

The Prime Minister whom I knew. The first posting of my Indian Army Career took me to the Prime Minister's Cabinet Secretariat.

During 1971, I had joined the Special Frontier Force on deputation from Indian Army. I was sent to work at Headquarters Establishment No.22 and as my service was supervised by the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Secretariat, I got an opportunity to know and to implement Indira Gandhi’s decisions in furtherance of her Foreign Policy initiatives. During the conduct of Indo-Pak War of 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had approved the military operations in the Chittagong Hill Tracts which initiated the Liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistani military dictatorship.

MS-8466 CAPTAIN R.R. NARASIMHAM,AMC/SSC. During the 1971 War, at a critical juncture, as the Unit waited for Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's decision, this Medical Officer acted with decisive Courage inside the enemy territory and had accomplished his military Mission.

This Medal Known as 'POORVI STAR' symbolizes India's victory in Indo-Pak War of 1971.

THE SWEETEST MOMENT OF MY MILITARY SERVICE :

The Sweetest Moment of my Military Career - I had experienced a very Sweet moment called "MADHURYA" when I had medically evacuated my battle wounded casualties from the helipad at BONAPANSURIA, a Border Security Force Post in Mizo Hills after capturing the first enemy position during the 1971 War.

The Medical Directorate at the Indian Army Headquarters had failed to process the citation that was forwarded to them by my Unit which took part in the Chittagong Hill Tracts military operation. I was recommended the Gallantry Award of ‘VIR CHAKRA’ and I was the only Officer in my Unit who had not received the Award for which the Unit had submitted a citation. However, I had enhanced the prestige of Army Medical Corps and for the first time in the history of the Army Medical Corps; I had performed the duties of a Medical officer, a Nursing Assistant, and an Ambulance Assistant while medically evacuating critically wounded soldiers; marching in a remote, roadless, forest terrain for over forty miles and I had maintained the patients in a stable condition throughout the difficult land journey. I was overjoyed by this uplifting experience. My patients had survived their battle injuries. I had narrated the story to the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services in an interview that was held in September 1972 at the Headquarters Ministry of Defence, New Delhi and I was granted Direct Permanent Commission in the Army Medical Corps just based upon the powerful story that I had narrated to the DGAFMS.

This Medal known as Sangram Medal symbolizes my transition from Short Service Commission to that of Direct Permanent Commission. President V.V. Giri under his signature granted me the Short Service Regular Commission. President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy signed and proclaimed the grant of Permanent Commission. I was connected to these two National Leaders from my early childhood days spent in Madras before the formation of the State of Andhra and later Andhra Pradesh.

THE PROUDEST MOMENT OF MY MILITARY CAREER :

Visiting the War Memorial in Walong, Arunachal Pradesh(North East Frontier Agency) was the Proudest Moment of my Military Career.

“The Sentinel Hills that round us stand

Bear witness that we loved our Land;

Amidst shattered rocks and flaming Pine,

We fought and died on Namti Plain.

O’ Lohit gently by us glide,

Pale stars above us softly shine,

As we sleep here in Sun and rain.”

This Medal known as 'Sainya Seva Medal' with 'NEFA' clasp speaks of the time I spent serving in North East Frontier Agency, now known as Arunachal Pradesh.

During 1962, Indian Army had resisted the Chinese aggression and the men gave their lives defending Walong. During 1972, I had the good fortune to visit the War Memorial and had filled up my heart with a sense of pride. There is Dignity and Honour in fighting for the Nation and in resisting the enemy. I had received the 25th Independence Anniversary Medal during the 25th year of my life’s journey and I had received the Medal as a Blessing. Pride is not defined by Victory or Defeat in the Battle. I display PRIDE in resisting the enemy and in defending my territory; victory and defeat are shaped by forces beyond my control.

25th Independence Anniversary Medal symbolizes my desire to serve the Nation with DISCIPLINE, DIGNITY, AND HONOUR.

INDIA ENTERS THE NUCLEAR ERA  :

During 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made the bold decision to test a nuclear device at Pokhran, Rajasthan.

I fully support India’s decision to test a nuclear device and defend our National interests, and our territorial integrity. During 1979, while taking part in a military exercise, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the test site at Pokhran in Rajasthan State.

I WAS BACK  STABBED AT ARMED FORCES MEDICAL COLLEGE , PUNE  :

I had attended 'The Advanced Training in Paediatrics Course at Armed Forces Medical College, Pune from December 1975 to April 1976.

Major General B.D.P. Rao was the Commandant at Armed Forces Medical College, Pune while I had attended the ‘Advanced Training in Paediatrics Course from December 1975 to April 1976. He had literally back stabbed me by falsifying my performance sheet and had lied about the results of my performance in the Screening Examination. Group Captain Krishnamurthy, the Additional Professor of Medicine who acted as the Chief Examiner for the Screening Examination had personally expressed his sense of utter remorse and he was shocked beyond belief that I was not allowed to continue my ‘Advanced Training in Paediatrics’ Course.  I was most unceremoniously got kicked out of Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and was posted out. Group Captain Krishnamurthy was not only satisfied with my performance, but also he had actually communicated the results of my performance to my uncle( Dr. Rebbapragada. Anjaneyulu, M.D. Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology) who was then serving as the Dean, Faculty of Medicine at B.J. Medical College, of Pune University. In my physical presence, as I was closely listening to the phone conversation, my uncle had called Major General B.D.P. Rao and had questioned him about his decision to disqualify me from the Advanced Training Course in Paediatrics. I was hurt, the wounds did not kill my spirit to continue in Service.  I did not demand a Court of Inquiry to prove the guilt of Major General B.D.P. Rao who also belonged to my South Indian Brahmin community. I have very specific reasons to call him a ‘BACK STABBER’ and his daughter( Captain Uma Ramachandran) had also attended the same Advanced Training Course in Paediatrics and she was present when Group Captain Krishnamurthy had openly announced to the entire batch and had claimed that I had scored the highest marks in the Written portion of the Screening Examination.Before this Screening Examination, while serving at the Military Hospital Wing of Headquarters Establishment no.22, I had performed the duties of the Medical Specialist, and later also of the Surgical Specialist when these Specialist Officers had availed their two months annual leave. When these Specialists proceed on casual leave, I used to provide cover at their respective departments. The Units where I had served had immensely valued my professional service and the appreciation was duly recorded in my Annual Confidential Reports. Prior to the Screening Examination, the Department of Medicine conducted an interim test and I stood first in the entire batch getting  trained by the Department of Medicine at AFMC, Pune. All this Record of Service and performance did not help me to demonstrate a simple fact that I deserve a chance like all other trainees to complete my Advanced Training. General B.D.P.Rao had never believed in serving the Nation and was a mere  career opportunist who got promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General . His departure from  Armed Forces Medical College, Pune  gave me an opportunity to establish and to prove my academic merit.

THE AWARD OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ARMED FORCES MEDICAL SERVICES SILVER MEDAL IN 1976 :

I had attended the Medical Officers Junior Command Course No. 67/76 at Armed Forces Medical College, Pune from June to September 1976.

I was posted to First Armoured Division after my disqualification in ‘The Advanced Training in Paediatrics’ Course in April 1976. In June 1976, I again went back to Armed Forces Medical College, Pune to attend the Medical Officers Junior Command Course( MOJC 67/76). Major General Daryao Singh was the Commandant at AFMC, Pune. He had awarded me Grade ‘A’ for my performance in this Course. Later, Lieutenant General R.S. Hoon, the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services had invited me to come to Pune and receive the DGAFMS Silver Medal. I had attended the Awards Function held at AFMC, Pune along with my wife and daughter and had received this Silver Medal. My name as a recipient of the DGAFMS Medal in 1976 is displayed both at AFMC, Pune and at AMC Centre and School in Lucknow.

THE POLITICAL ECLIPSE AND THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN :

The Political Eclipse and the Triumphant return of Indira Gandhi.

This Nine Years Long Service Medal was awarded to me after Indira Gandhi's triumphant return to power in 1980 .

During my military service, Srimati. Indira Gandhi had lost her political power for a period of three years from 1977 to 1980. From 1976 to December 1978 I had served in First Armoured Division under the command of Major General K S Sundarji and have known his personal qualities as a military Commander.

The ambition for promotions and the career oppotunism of this Military Commander has played a role in the sad killing of Srimati. Indira Gandhi. She made a mistake in choosing him for execution of 'Operation Blue Star'.

I was posted to Army Ordnance Corps Centre, Secunderabad at the end of my tenure at First Armoured Division. I had witnessed the tragic loss of Mrs. Padma Sundarji and had commented about it at a different blog post. While I was posted at First Armoured Division, I had again tried to attend ‘The Advanced Training in Paediatrics Course’. Lieutenant General B.D.P. Rao, a fellow South Indian Brahmin had continued to delight himself by denying me an opportunity to improve my professional qualification. I had filed a ‘Non-Statutory’ Complaint and it was rejected by his office. I did not bring this problem to the attention of the Defence Minister and had silently endured this insulting and prejudicial conduct.

TELUGU PEOPLE VALUE SELF-RESPECT AND DIGNITY :

N.T.R. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao became the 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in January 1983.

I am not one of those Fan Club members. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao was an advocate of the Cultural Identity of Telugu people and he had demanded the restoration of Self-Respect for Telugu people. I was amongst those people who had voted in favour of Telugu Desam Party which he had created. My single vote did not put N.T.R. into the seat of power. My vote had only symbolized a desire to take part in National Affairs while upholding the principle of Self-Respect and Personal Dignity. I was acutely aware of my own ill-treatment and I was deeply offended by the behaviour of the top bureaucrat of Army Medical Corps. My applications for Study Leave were getting rejected without any reason.

A FLAME THAT GOT EXTINGUISHED AT SOUTH BLOCK, THE SECRETARIAT BUILDING, NEW DELHI :

My first application dated January 17, 1983 to relinquish my Permanent Commission got rejected. While I was in New Delhi waiting to meet the Defence Minister, Lieutenant General Banerjee, the Director of Medical Services contacted me and had asked me to submit an additional application. Fortunately, the Commandant of Army Ordnance Corps Centre, Secunderabad was also camping in New Delhi to attend a meeting at this Secretariat Building.On September 17, 1983, on the front foot steps of this South Block Building facing Rajpath, the Commandant of Army Ordnance Corps Centre had signed my application to relinquish my Permanent Commission in Army Medical Corps. This application dated September 17, 1983 was directly submitted to the Director of Medical Services and was not processed through the normal Staff Channels. Next day on September 18, 1983, I had a personal interview with the Union Minister of State for Defence.

On January 17, 1983, while serving as the Senior Regimental Medical Officer at Army Ordnance Corps Centre, Secunderabad, I had applied to Brigadier A M Bhattacharya, the Commandant of AOC Centre and sought his permission to relinquish my Permanent Commission in Army Medical Corps. At that time, Lieutenant General V.V.S. Pratap Rao was the Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services. General Rao had visited Military Hospital, Secunderabad during the AMC Day Celebration and had openly assured all the AMC Officers that he would support all Officers who would seek to relinquish their Commission. He did not view the job of AMC Officers in terms of a patriotic duty. I was personally frustrated as he would not allow me to improve my professional qualification and made me ineligible to seek any future Specialist Appointment in AMC. On the basis of his public assurance and his attitude about rendering Service to the Nation, I had decided to quit this hopeless struggle of serving without any Self-Respect or Dignity. Meantime, AOC Centre had also received a transfer order that had posted me to serve at a Unit located in Mizoram. People at the AOC Centre who had known my Record of Service had immediately recognized that the posting order was issued to specifically undermine my ability to seek advancement in the military career and to deny the opportunity to give me substantial Service Experience. At its face value, the posting order intended to insult me as a person showing no concern for my length of service and experience. The Commandant, AOC Centre, Secunderabad had refused to serve me that unfair and unjust posting order and he did not ask me to move to the new station. AOC Centre, Secunderabad had simply refused to issue a ‘Movement Order’ and did not relieve me from my duties and responsibilities as the Senior Regimental Medical Officer. The Centre Commandant had very firmly insisted that the Medical Directorate must first decide on my application to leave army service.

In Mizo Hills, I had experienced the 'Sweetest Moment' of my Army Career. In 1983, I had applied to seek permission to relinquish my Permanent Regular Commission because of General V.V.S. Pratap Rao's insistence that I should be posted to a Unit located in Mizoram. I had no fears about serving in Mizo Hills. During the final months of his service as the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services, General Rao had simply desired to delight himself by kicking me around. I had joined Armed Forces to render my Service to the Nation and was not willing to be humiliated. His decision had effectively extinguished the "FLAME" and General Rao had retired from Service after digging my grave and crushing my Spirit to serve.

SERVICE WITH PRIDE AND HONOUR :

Shri.Rebbapragada Ramananda Rao. He had served as an Officer in the British Royal Navy and had Commanded British Naval Vessels during the Second World War and had taken part in Allied Forces Naval Operations in the Indian Ocean particularly attacking German submarines and escorting mercantile vessels from the Port of Aden to Bombay. He had believed in Service with Pride, Dignity, and Honour. He had helped me to resist the undignified behaviour displayed by General V.V.S. Pratap Rao, the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services during the year 1983. He had written letters and spoke to the Union Cabinet Ministers and to the Member of Parliament to support my application to relinquish my Permanent Commission in the Army Medical Corps.

 General V.V.S.Pratap Rao had refused to give me permission to relinquish my Permanent Commission and had started demanding that AOC Centre must implement the posting order that was issued to me. I had decided to bring this issue to the attention of the Union Minister of State for Defence. Before I could get a chance to seek a formal interview with the Defence Minister, General Rao submitted my application to the Defence Minister and had recommended to him to reject my request. My request to leave Army Service got rejected and AOC Centre was again asked to implement my posting order. In an effort to uphold my personal dignity, and with help and support of my uncle( Shri. Rebbapragada. Ramanand Rao, Industrial Consultant ), I had contacted Shri. Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy who was then the Union Cabinet Minister for Shipping and Transport, Shri. Pendekanti Venkata Subbaiah who was then the Union Minister of State for Home & Parliamentary Affairs, and Shri. R. Prabhu who is the Member of Parliament( 7th Lok Sabha Member during 1983). All of them had strongly supported my view that I should demand to uphold my Self-Respect and personal dignity and had asked me to oppose the illegal harassment that I was facing. Shri. Pendekanti Venkata Subbaiah had also personally demanded General V.V.S. Pratap Rao to cancel the posting order that was issued. General Rao had asked Lieutenant General Banerjee who was the Director of Medical Services during 1983 to cancel the posting order issued to me and at the same time he insisted that I should be reposted to the same Station in Mizoram but in a different capacity. The Director of Medical Services was not allowed to deal with my situation in any other manner. I was then posted to the Border Roads Organisation Task Force located in Mizoram. Army Ordnance Corps Centre, Secunderabad had again refused to issue a ‘Movement Order’ in compliance with this new posting order. The Director of Medical Services  had openly expressed his remorse about this interference in his duties and responsibilities and had communicated his feelings to Brigadier A M Bhattacharya. Then, I had decided to travel to New Delhi and speak directly to the Defence Minister about my application that I had signed on January 17, 1983. Shri. Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo was the Union Minister of State for Defence. Shri. Singh Deo’s younger brother was serving as the Adjutant at 125 Infantry Battalion( Territorial Army) located at Trimulgherry, Secunderabad. This Territorial Army Unit was attached to the Medical Inspection Room of Army Ordnance Corps Centre, Secunderabad. As the Medical Officer of this Territorial Army Unit I had provided them medical support and Lieutenant Colonel Ranjit S Grewal, the Commanding Officer of the Unit was very pleased with my services. Shri. Singh Deo’s younger brother had helped me to plan my visit to New Delhi.  

Shri.Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, the Union Cabinet Minister for Shipping and Transport had arranged for my personal interview with the Union Minister of State for Defence on September 18, 1983.

Shri.Pendekanti Venkata Subbaiah, the Union Minister of State for Home and Parliamentary Affairs had arranged for my personal interview with the Union Minister of State for Defence on September 18, 1983.

Shri.PRABHU, R, the Member of 7th Lok Sabha spoke to Shri. K P Singh Deo, the Union Minister of State for Defence in support of my application to relinquish Permanent Commission.

THE ASSASINATION OF THE ‘SPIRIT’ OF AN INDIAN ARMY MEDICAL CORPS OFFICER - DISCIPLINE WITH DIGNITY:

Shri. Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo, the Union Minister of State for Defence granted me a personal interview and I had met him in his Office at Ministry of Defence, New Delhi on September 18. 1983.

My personal interview with Shri. K P Singh Deo was very frank and I had made my case very clear. He did not suggest to me that I should continue to serve in the Army with a sense of patriotism. He did not speak about any National Spirit or Nationalism. He did not say a word to justify the actions of General V.V.S. Pratap Rao. Prior to this interview on September 18, 1983, Shri Singh Deo had specifically directed General V.V.S Pratap Rao to change the rules that had made me ineligible to seek Study Leave, and to seek Specialist Appointments. General Rao did not act upon the ruling in spite of very clear and specific instructions given by the Minister. General Rao had kept that ruling as a secret and did not communicate the orders issued by the Defence Minister to the Director of Medical Services. At the time of my personal interview, the Defence Minister was not aware of the fact that General Rao had deliberately concealed information that pertains to my application. General Rao had apparently desired to keep both of us in darkness at the time of this interview. I went to the interview with the assumption that the Defence Minister had failed to act upon my application. Shri. Singh Deo met me under the assumption that he had already taken action to resolve my concerns about Study Leave and Specialist Appointments and my professional growth in the Army Medical Corps. The Defence Minister had believed that I have other personal reasons for relinquishing the Commission. I did not state any personal reasons in my first application but  I had illustrated some of them in my second application dated September 17, 1983 and I had emphasized the fact that I want to serve with a sense of Pride and Honour and uphold the principles of Service Discipline. I had joined Army Medical Corps as a Final Year M.B.B.S. student with a spirit to serve the Nation and to participate in National Affairs with a sense of Pride and Self-Respect. It was not my intention to support myself or my family without upholding my dignity to wear Uniform and serve with a sense of Honour. The Minister had accepted my request and I was granted the permission to relinquish my Permanent Commission and I was relieved of my duties on January 10, 1984 and I had lost no time and left Secunderabad immediately and had departed from India. General V.V.S.Pratap Rao could not move me to Mizo Hills and I had served at AOC Centre, Secunderabad until the morning of January 10, 1984. All of my statements could be verified from documents that are archived at Medical PersonnelRecords Section(Officers), Hq Ministry of Defence, New Delhi.

THE ASSASINATION OF THE PRIME MINISTER :

I had received the tragic story of assasination of the Prime Minister while I was working in the Land Forces of Sultanate of Oman.

Srimati. Indira Gandhi had unfortunately trusted her top bureaucrats. I had known the personal qualities of Lieutenant General T S Oberoi who was serving as the General Officer  Commanding- in – Chief at Headquarters Southern Command, Pune during 1983. General Oberoi had also served as the Inspector General of Special Frontier Force after sucessfully Commanding the troops during the Indo-Pak War of 1971 in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The Operation Blue Star had involved the participation of Commandos of the Special Frontier Force. General T S Oberoi had deeply cared for his men under his Command. He would have executed that kind of difficult military mission with due care and concern for his men and also the civilians.

Lieutenant General T S Oberoi, the Southern Army Commander during 1983, the former Inspector General of Special Frontier Force is seen in this photo wearing a helmet. The photo was taken during 1982 while he had visited A S C Centre, Bangalore. He would have executed Operation Blue Star with due care and concern to save the lives of his men and also the civilians.

THE FLAME GOT EXTINGUISHED – THE HEART HAS GIVEN PLACE TO LORD RAMA :

After departing from India in 1984, my heart is now filled with the image of Lord Rama to guide me in my life's journey.

After leaving India in 1984, I could not get a chance to revisit the country. Now, I continue my life’s journey with a new spirit guided by the image of Lord Rama.

Madhuri Dixit made a comeback of sorts in Aaja Nachle. The movie got a lukewarm response but the lady still dazzles. Now, the charismatic Dixit might be seen donning the avatar of Indira Gandhi  in Krishna Shah’s Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story.

If things go well, besides Madhuri, we might also see Abhay Deol as Rajiv Gandhi in this movie.

Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit is back as she will be seen as the former Indian Prime Minister in his upcoming film. She will play role of first woman prime minister Indira Gandhi in the film ‘Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story’.

The film ‘Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story’ is directed by Bollywood filmmaker Krishna Shah who’s writing this script from last 23 years. Talking about the film he says, “It will be in Hinglish. And while there will be songs, it’s not a Bollywood-style film.”

He is great fan of Indira Gandhi and thinks that Madhuri is well suited for the role. For the film and Indira Gandhi he said, “It’s such an exciting, dramatic story. The canvas of her life is too big to be contained in one film.”

It would be real treat to see again Madhuri Dixit on the big screens and especially in role of the Prime Minister.

On November 19:

1600  King Charles I of England was born.

1805  Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat and Suez Canal engineer, was born.

1816  Warsaw University was established.

1863 U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the military cemetery ceremony at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

1905  Tommy Dorsey, American bandleader, was born.

1916  Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn established Goldwyn Pictures.

1917  Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India was born.

1933  Larry King, American TV personality, was born.

1942  Calvin Klein, American clothing designer, was born.

1942  Battle of Stalingrad – Soviet Union forces under General Georgy Zhukov launched the Operation Uranus counterattacks at Stalingrad, turning the tide of the battle in the USSR’s favor.

1961  Meg Ryan, American actress, was born.

1962  Jodie Foster, American actress, was born.

1969  Football player Pelé scored his 1,000th goal.

1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat

became the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel.

1984 A series of explosions at the PEMEX petroleum storage facility at San Juan Ixhuatepec in Mexico City starts a major fire and kills about 500 people.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

A pogrom against Sikhs was carried out by workers of the then ruling party, Indian National Congress, after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikhs on October 31, 1984. The pogrom, lasting three days, took the lives of over 4000 Sikhs in Delhi and other parts of country. It is still considered to be the biggest mass-killing in the country since Independence. Journalists like Khushwant Singh compare it to the Jewish Holocaust. In 2001, the writer, a Sikh, famously said while deposing before the G. T. Nanavati Commission, “I felt like a refugee in my country. In fact, I felt like a Jew in Nazi Germany,”

Burining Sikh Houses

Media which is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy and also society’s watchdog, did not, by and large, play its role properly after the carnage. There were a few exceptions like The Indian Express, Illustrated weekly of India, EPW and The Times of India, which raised their voices against the pogrom; otherwise, the voice of the media was subdued by the government. In 2001, when a similar pogrom happened against Muslims in Gujarat, the electronic media started pushing government for speedy justice. This can be understood by the fact that until 1995, there had been only two convictions compared to 20 till 2009.

In August 2005, the G.T. Nanavati Commission’s report was tabled in Parliament. The commission claimed to have in its possession some credible information about local leaders like, Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and H K L Bhagat having instigated the mobs to violence. The very next day, The Asian Age ran a lead story with the headline, “1984 Sikhs Massacres: Mother of All Cover-ups.”  Jagdish Tytler discredited the Commission’s claims by saying that previous commissions had failed to name him as an accused.

From Siddharth Varadrajan’s blog on the 25^th anniversary of Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination: “I do not care how many innocent people might have died as a result of the actions Mr. Tytler is alleged to have committed. The answer to that question involves a burden of proof which is beyond the ken of an average person. The question I want an answer to is this: How many people did you save, Mr. Tytler? You were an important leader of the ruling party at the time and your clout is such that the Congress even today feels obligated to give you a ticket.”

A brave and new question, which no one else had ever dared to ask. This question is opening up new possibilities of discussions and discourse on responsibility sharing during carnage like this.

Being the 25^th anniversary of the assassination and violent retaliation against Sikhs, almost all news portals carried special reports on Indira Gandhi, but the focus of the content varied from Indira Gandhi, her politics and legacy to contemporary India. Surprisingly, only a relatively small space was devoted to plight of the victims and their kin.

I Accuse- Book by Journalist Jarnail Singh

Journalist Jarnail Singh, who had hurled his shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram, in his interview to Outlook said that the media of that time (1984) did not live up to its responsibility. He added, “We know the numbers, we know what happened. But very little of the literature dwells on the conspiracy part, and on the human sufferings brought by the violence, and this is the reason behind my writing ‘I Accuse…’.”

The Hindu, in its article “Manmohan a balm, but anger still lingers in Sikhs” by Anita Joshua, tries to point out that this issue is still alive and despite the government’s ‘time would heal’ strategy, the issue is easy to rekindle. This is evident from protests that followed the arrest of Jarnail Singh after he hurled his shoe at P Chidambaram.

The only problem with the media is that it is driven by sensational stories. If the media had played its role more responsibly, the victims of not only the Sikh pogrom but also Bhopal gas tragedy and other victims would have got their fair share of justice without having to wait for so long.

Media Coverage of 25th anniversary of Sikh Pogrom

Some important links to read further

http://www.sacw.net/i_aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html

http://amitavghosh.com/essays/essayfull.php?essayNo=20

http://www.outlookindia.com/content.aspx?issue=5086

In 1984, many things happened for the first time in India. The year started with hosting Asian games, which also coincided with the arrival of color television in India. This led to the production of first TV serial ‘Hum Log’. Then in June, 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to flush out Sikh militants who were hiding in Harmandir Sahib of the Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar. Nearly 5 months after this bloody operation,  on October 31, two of Indira Gandhi’s bodyguards assassinated her in retaliation for the sacrilege of the army entering Harmandir Sahib. The assassination triggered retaliation from ruling Congress supporters in the form of anti Sikh riots or ‘pogroms’ all across the country and especially in Delhi.

Initially, the pogrom started from places close to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Teen Murti Bhavan in Central Delhi, which later spread to other parts of the city like Shahdhara in the north, Tilak Vihar (often termed as ‘Widow Colony’) in the west and Trilokpuri in the east, across the Yamuna. Sikh houses were identified with the aid of voter lists and the residents, targeted. There was no police protection in the affected areas. As a result, 2733 innocent people were massacred in two days of brutal rioting (this is the official figure; unofficial figures put the toll at around 4000). Ved Marwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi at the time who also investigated the riots later, says that political influence was brought to bear on the police to refrain from taking action during the riots.

A culprit, a victim and a mute spectator!

Nirpreet Kaur, a victim who later joined the Khalistan movement, said, “My family’s appeal for mercy fell on deaf ears, and the people behind the violence were the same ones I had known all my life—my neighbors and acquaintances. But with the acquittal of the guilty, we can forget about any justice. What will happen with the next generation is something no one can predict.” Many Sikhs cut their hair, including the father of one of my friends, many children were forced to dress up like girls and had to tie up their hair as girls do, just to hide their identity as Sikh children. The wave of ethnic cleansing ended only with Mrs. Gandhi’s cremation on November 2.

The government’s seriousness towards restoring normalcy can be judged by the new Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s comment on the riots: “For some days, people thought that India was shaking. But there are always tremors when a great tree falls.” Within days of the riots, the usual vote bank politics and blame game  resumed in earnest: commissions and committees, assurances and some stupid political statements, charges and counter charges, and denials by the very leaders who incited the mob to violence.

It is no wonder that although ten commissions and committees have so far inquired into the riots, only 10 culprits have been convicted. Many among the primary accused were acquitted or never booked on murder charges; in fact, they were politically promoted, with some of them even ‘serving’ as Union Ministers. “What is the use of this report? It practically exonerates most of the Congress leaders we had accused of leading the mobs. Nothing will happen to the big leaders,” says Gurdip Singh, whose father Harbhajan was killed by the rioters. British statesman, William Gladstone once rightly observed: justice delayed is justice denied. That fits the case of anti-Sikh riots of 1984 very well indeed.

The past two and half decades have been an unending trauma for the victims of the pogrom, who had to eke out a living in the shanties and crumbling colonies earmarked for them. For the orphans of 1984, their lost childhood has been replaced by a miserable youth. Referring to the second generation of riot-affected victims, Ms. Kaur says: “The children of those who were affected in the riots have borne the brunt. They have not been able to complete their studies and have got involved in drugs, gambling, pick-pocketing and other anti-social activities. This in turn would affect their next generation. So in a way, because of the riots, the lives of at least three generations of Sikh families have been lost.” The condition is so pathetic in Garh Market area which is close to East of Kailash that today these youth are reluctant to get married because of anxiety about having more mouths to feed.

After 25 years of struggle, people are getting frustrated by the lack of delivery of justice. That’s why Jurnail Singh had to fling his shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram. Today (on anniversary) Sikh groups stopped the Rajdhani Express in Lucknow. Government must learn the right lessons from this unfortunate event.  A similar event has occurred in 2002 in the form ofethnic cleansing in Gujarat where police played important role in abetting the rioters. Unfortunately, the government is still not serious about police reforms and other issues.

25 Years of Pogrom:

Some important Links to read further:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_anti-Sikh_riots

http://www1.info.indiatimes.com/1984/

http://www.merinews.com/article/anti-sikh-riots-2733-killed-13-punished/127432.shtml

http://ambainny.blogspot.com/2006/05/1984-anti-sikh-riots-in-delhi.html

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ne250409police_used.asp

http://www.jarnailsingh.in/

http://www.carnage84.com/homepage/front.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8306420.stm

http://www.sacw.net/i_aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html

http://amitavghosh.com/essays/essayfull.php?essayNo=20

During emergency in Indira Gandhi’s regime one man was arretsed and produced before the court.

Magistrate: You are sentenced for one year plus nine years of rigorous imprisonment.

Accused: My lord two times punishment for such a small comment. I only said ” Indira Gandhi is a fool” .

Magistrate: Well you have committed two crimes. your punishment one years is for abusing a national leader and rest nine years for leaking the national secret to public.