Politics of Genocide - Punjab 1984 - 1998
Politics of Genocide - Punjab 1984 - 1998
Politics of Genocide - Punjab 1984 - 1998
THE BACKGROUND
2
WHY PUNJAB?
In 1849 the Sikh empire fell to the British army; it was the
last of their conquests. Nearly a hundred years later when
the British were about to relinquish India they were
negotiating with three parties; namely the Congress Party
largely supported by Hindus, the Muslim League
representing the Muslims and the Akali Dal representing
the Sikhs.
The gap in the area was bad enough but the position was
actually much worse when one considers factors such as
fertility of the soil and means of irrigation. This precluded
equitable exchange. Graded cuts were therefore
introduced; up to 95 per cent in the case of the largest land
holdings.
With partition, the Sikhs were totally cut off from the
Islamic world. Communication with peoples living to the
north and west was abruptly snapped by the creation of an
international border. Within India, Sikhs formed only 2 per
cent of the Indian population, with 75 per cent of this
population residing in the Punjab. Before the division of
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the Punjab on a religious basis, they were in a minority
even within the Punjab. Partition meant that the full
weight of Hindu India pressed down on the Sikhs.
Demography of Punjab
A look at the government’s Census figures gives an idea of
what was happening.
According to the 1991 Census the population of the
Punjab is approximately 2.2 crore. This is roughly
equivalent to the combined population of the neighbouring
states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.
The Census of India’s “Paper of 1995 - Religion” provides
the 1991 figures on distribution of population by religion
which can be compared with the 1981 figures.
Christian Jain Buddhist Muslim Sikh Hindu
Punjab
1981 1.10 0.16 0.00 1.00 60.75 36.93
1991 1.11 0.10 0.12 1.18 62.95 34.46
Haryana
1981 0.09 0.27 0.01 4.05 6.21 89.36
1991 0.10 0.21 0.01 4.64 5.81 89.21
Himachal
1981 0.09 0.02 1.23 1.63 1.22 95.77
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1991 0.09 9.02 1.24 1.72 1.0 I 95.90
Delhi
1981 0.99 1.19 0.11 7.75 6.33 83.60
1991 0.88 1.00 0.15 9.44 4.84 83.67
Chandigarh
1981 0.99 0.42 0.10 2.02 21.11 75.27
1991 0.78 0.24 0.11 2.72 20.29 75.84
Labour has been flowing into the Punjab since the early
1970’s or perhaps the late] 960’s. This has been a
continuous trend. The 198] Census found 9 lakh migratory
labourers in the Punjab. Of this 9 lakh it was assumed that
at least 7 lakh were Hindus (thus comprising 4.16 per cent
of the total population). Of the remaining 2 lakhs, these
may be Hindus, or Scheduled Castes, or Muslims or others
but they were not Sikhs. If we subtract the migratory
labour (4.16 per cent Punjab’s total Hindu population)
then the 198] Hindu population (including Dalits and other
Backward Castes) comes down from 34.46 per cent to
30.30 per cent. 40 per cent of this population is Dalit, the
balance is divided between the OBCs and the upper castes
in the ratio of 60 : 40. 1991 figures for migratory labour
have not been published yet but it can be roughly
estimated that the figure will not be less than 12 lakh.
The 1991 Census figures show that on the all India canvas
over the past decade the population of Buddhists has
shown over all growth of 35.98 per cent, Muslim growth
stands at 32.76 per cent and growth-of Sikhs is 25.48 per
cent. This is higher than the national average growth of
23.79 per cent. The figures indicate a drift of the Dalits
and tribals toward these religions.
India Today dated April 13, 1998 pointed out that, “In
1947, nearly 90 percent of the Indian Army was from
North Western India, almost all from the rural areas ...
Economics
But given the pegged grain prices, what did the farmers
get for their revolutionary labours? A complex economic
analysis laced_ with figures and formulas provides an
answer but the same answer pops up if one simply walks
through a Punjab village:
The conflict between the Sikhs and the Centre, which was
to have such tragic consequences for lakhs of individuals,
was building up over decades, but three events - Operation
Bluestar, Operation Woodrose and the November
massacres - which occurred in that Orwellian year, 1984,
were in effect a sort of Last Trumpet that signalled the
onset of Punjab’s Armageddon.
1984
Operation Bluestar
THE POLITICAL BUILD-UP
Tully also asks: “Why did Mrs Gandhi not act earlier?
There’ are plausible political explanations. During her last
period in office Mrs Gandhi had abandoned her party’s
traditional supporters Muslims and Harijans, or
Untouchables - and tried to forge the majority Hindu
community into one solid vote block. This had never been
achieved before because of the deep divisions of caste.
The catalyst for this new political synthesis was the Hindu
revivalism sweeping through India. Hindus were
beginning to see themselves as the victims of more than 30
years of secularism in which Muslim family law had been
protected. Sikhs had been given a state of their own and
Harijans or Untouchables had been given special
opportunities for education and employment, all at the
expense of caste Hindus. As M.J. Akbar put it: “Hindu
revivalists began saying that in Hindu-majority India it
was Hinduism, not Islam that was now in danger.”
MILITARY PREPARATIONS
The Centre had sent four advisors to the state to help the
governor. Two were Sikhs. The “law and order charge”
was given to Surendranath, an IPS officer aligned to a
Jalandhar-based radical Hindu group. Surendranath
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functioned like a super director-general of police,
bypassing the Chief Secretary and Home Secretary, giving
orders directly to the police officers. None of the four
advisors belonged to the state cadre but were brought from
outside. The orders to legitimise the entry of the Army into
Punjab came not from the state administration but from
the deputees of the Centre. Governor Pandey who was
opposed to operation Bluestar also resigned a few days
later.
The Army brought four bodies out of the Akal Takht and
placed them on ice slabs. The bodies were identified as of
Thara Singh, Amrik Singh, Shabeg Singh and Jarnail
Singh Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale’s body was badly
mutilated and the officials could not positively identify it.
In their report, the officials merely gave a general
description of the body but did not assign a name.
The civil service officials went out and got a shop opened
from which they purchased shrouds to cover the bodies.
The Army objected to this as “showing undue respect” to
the deceased. The officials conveyed this objection to
Governor Pandey who then directed that all the dead
bodies be covered at the time of cremation. In the mass
cremations, a single shroud would cover 25 to 30 bodies.
Some two months after the action on August 10, 1984, the
Punjab Police accepted this long-delayed report without
murmur. In the interim 65 days between the operation and
the filing of the FIR, thousands of people taken into
custody were being held illegally No charges had been
made against them, no cause for detention had been made
out, no magistrate took cognisance of them. They were
simply hostages.
QUESTIONS
The law provides that the Army can be called out to assist
civil authority. In such cases, it functions under the District
Magistrate. Gurdev Singh was the Deputy Commissioner
of Amritsar from July, 1983, to June, 1984. General Brar
described him as “a known supporter of Bhindranwala”
but when Gurdev Singh speaks for himself, one gets a
different impression. Ram Narain quotes him at length in
his book. He told Narain: “I had told the government at
Chandigarh that if they wanted to arrest Bhindranwale
there would be no major difficulty. My information said
that the terrorists inside the Golden Temple did not have
more than 200-300 guns. Their guns were not even
sophisticated. The Army later complained about the
inadequate intelligence. I do not know what intelligence
they had used. There were half a dozen or more agencies
working independently and often at cross purposes. I had
confidence in my CID. Given clear instructions, I would
have organised an operation to arrest Bhindranwala.
However, the Chief Minister Darbara Singh, Governor
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B.D. Pandey and Punjab’s Chief Secretary K.D. Vasudeva
made it clear that the initiative to take action against
Bhindranwala had to come from Chandigarh. Chandigarh
was taking its orders from Delhi. We had been talking
about the need to use force since DIG Atwal’s murder in
April, 1983. I was against the proposal to call the military.
My reason was simple: the involvement of the local police
was crucial for the success of the Golden Temple raid.
There are myriad approaches to the Temple from the old
city. The army and other paramilitary forces, with their
ignorance of topography, prevent the terrorists from
moving in and out of the Temple complex. I had also told
them that the Sikhs of Punjab would resent an Army action
much more than a police action. It was possible to tell
them that the police action had become necessary because
scoundrels and criminals had taken over the Darbar Sahib.
However old memories of alien aggression against the
Sikh Vatican would inevitably revive if we sent in the
military. When I raised this point, they told me ‘Look
Gurdev, there is no such plan.’ I must have been repeating
my position to the Governor very often. I became cautious
when Director General of Police Bhinder and my SSP
Ajay Pal Singh Mann advised me that it was not wise that
I repeat my position so often. That by over-repetition, the
point might be misunderstood.
For many days after the action, the pilgrims taken into
custody inside the Golden Temple continued to be held in
Army camps and detention centres as “prisoners of war.”
It was much later, that on the advice of Punjab officials,
the Army stopped referring to them as “prisoners of war”
and began to call them “terrorists and terrorist
sympathisers.” Which label was worse? In any case the
“prisoner of war” label did the captives no good as they
were denied the safeguards of the Geneva Convention.
Jodhpur Detainees
Operation Woodrose
When that didn’t work, the NGO’s were told that they
were under surveillance and everything they did would be
reported with dreadful consequences. To the credit of the
NGO activists, they did not cower before such threats.
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The government had taken the precaution of airlifting an
18-member shouting brigade from India. (The team
included three Members of Parliament from Punjab,
namely Jagjit Singh Anand, a CPI member of the Rajya
Sabha, and Surinder Singla and Gurcharan Singh Ghalib,
Congress members of the Lok Sabha.) But the
government’s ruffians could not prevail: they were
themselves shouted down and NGO’s from all over the
world joined in denouncing this official chorus as
“gongos” - government-organised NGO’s.
The NHRC during the very first year of its working noted
with concern the serious snags and short comings with
which the Act suffered. Consequently in its very first
statutory annual report it made specific recommendations
suggesting amendments to the Act with a view to remove
ambiguities and impediments concerning competence of
the Commission. Since no action on the recommendations
was taken by the government the commission was
constrained to repeat the recommendation in its annual
report for the second year requesting for an early action by
the government. In response the Home Ministry of the
Union government after consulting ministers of law and
finance, wrote to the commission, “We need to gain more
experience in the working of National Human Rights
Commission, before we assess the actual need for changes
in the already carefully worked out provisions of the
statue.” The matter rests there. The NHRC is in-vain
making repeated recommendations in its subsequent
annual reports that the matter be reconsidered at an early
date.
Plainly, the NHRC cannot (and will not) bite. It’s only
value up to now is that it has occasionally barked. The
most that Indian human rights NGO’s expect from the
NHRC is that it will continue to bark and perhaps bark
louder and more frequently. This serves the useful purpose
of awakening the citizens to the human rights violations
taking place in the country.
II
POWER VERSUS RIGHT
- THE INDIVIDUAL
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DECADE OF BLOODSHED
[NOTE: In the same speech Gill also said “only 0.07 per
cent of the 16,000 to 17,000 people held for militancy in
Punjab were convicted as people were afraid to give
evidence.” He added that at present there were 700
militants under detention in Punjab and 1,700 policemen
and an equal number of army men had lost their lives in
tackling terrorism.”]
The Akali Dal Human Rights wing and the Amritsar Akali
Dal (A) filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana
High Court requesting the Court to order an independent
probe into the cremation of thousands of unidentified or
unclaimed bodies in Amritsar district during the years
from 1992 to 1995. The petition noted that about 2,000
families in Amritsar district “are in eternal wait for their
children to return as they do not believe the police version
as to whether their children are dead or alive. In a number
of cases where the police claimed the man was dead, he
was in fact found alive.”
Conclusion
Operation Bluestar
1984 Genocide
Whose Statistics?
SOURCES:
Pick any death toll: it will still say the same thing: the vast
majority of victims ·were people who shared a common
religious identity, they were Sikhs. When an entire group
representing a particular racial or religious identity are
targeted for annihilation, and in consequence hundreds of
thousands of people are killed, the word for it is
GENOCIDE.
Pogrom Policy
Extrajudicial Killings
The police version of these extrajudicial killings as
reported in the press evoked scepticism and even derision.
The very word “encounter” became a joke. Their own
officer, Senior Superintendent of Police Izhar Alam, at a
press conference held at Patti on October 1, 1987 (reported
in The Tribune) admitted that “terrorists, who had
committed five or more murders were killed by the police
after they were caught.” Elaborating on this he said that
“the police had to resort to killing terrorists because the
possibility of their being punished by law was remote due
to lack of evidence.” Mr Alam then assured the press that
“those terrorists with four or less were not killed in fake
encounters.”
It may be noted that it was the same K.P.S. Gill who had
offered to present an AK47 rifle to Hindi film actress
Sridevi when she was his guest in Chandigarh in 1992.
(Another Hindi film actor, Sunjay Dutt, was arrested under
TADA for possession of an AK56 - but he wasn’t shot. In
fact, during these years, many private citizens were armed
by the police with automatic weapons and also taught how
to fire them.)
But by this time 12 of the men in the first list were missing
and presumed dead. The names omitted from the second
list were:
In the first list were two men named Jaswant Singh, one
listed at number 19 and the other at number 49. In the
second list only one Jaswant Singh was listed. Similarly in
the first list two Kashmir Singhs were named, one at
number 23 and one at number 35; in the second list only
one Kashmir Singh was listed.
Too bad the police officers had not read their Bibles: “Put
not thy trust in princes” it says.
Custodial Killings
The upshot of the March 20, 1992, incident was that the
government of Rajasthan decided not to hand over to the
Punjab Police any more Punjab terrorists arrested within
its state boundaries until their complicity in violent
activities was proved. The government, “found that several
such terrorists, some with marginal involvement in
terrorist activities, were shown to have been ki11ed in
encounters” no sooner than they had crossed the Rajasthan
border under Punjab Police escort. Over the past few years
they had handed over 200 alleged terrorists without any
bureaucratic delays. In some cases, the Punjab Police got
hold of people even without producing any warrants.
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“KILLED IN CROSSFIRE”?
“DEATH BY CYANIDE”
KILLED IN CUSTODY
MISSING PERSONS
“UNIDENTIFIED MILITANTS”
“HUMAN SHIELDS”
When it was all over, the police claimed that Surjit Singh
Behla, deputy chief of the BTFK, Madan Singh Maddi,
Niranjan Singh, advisor to the militant outfit, Sakatar
Singh an area commander and five other unidentified
militants had been gunned down in a 28-hour encounter
while no civilian had been killed or injured.
The house did indeed look like a sieve: the outer walls and
roof had gaping holes and rubble was strewn all over. The
villagers said that the security forces had also brought
Sutjit Behla’s four sisters to the house to persuade him to
surrender but he refused. On the day after, newsmen saw a
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truck loaded with wheat bags and household goods taken
from Manjinder Singh’s house, parked on the roadside.
“DEATH BY DROWNING”
Bounty Killings
Police had long maintained that the only good militant was
a dead militant but when the lure of cash awards was
added this maxim was rapidly modified to declare that the
only good corpse was a militant corpse. From “We killed
him because he was a militant” it was but a short hop to
“We killed him and therefore he is a militant”. And the
more “dreaded” the better.
Elimination Lists
Election-Related Killings
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After the dismissal of the Akali government Punjab was
put under President’s Rule. Constitutionally President’s
Rule can be imposed for a period of six months. Further
extension must be ratified by Parliament. In the case of
Punjab, from 1987 when the Surjit Singh Barnala’s Akali
government fell, President’s rule was extended time and
again, until February 1992. During this period police
unleashed a reign of terror that stopped at nothing to curb
dissent, whether expressed within the political systems in
accordance with constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, or
outside the law in the form of militancy.
“The former IG, M.S. Bhullar, had also started out with
trying to weed out corruption. A couple of officers
including the former SSP of Batala, Mr Gobind Ram who
was subsequently shot dead by terrorists at Jalandhar were
shifted during his tenure. Three others were made to return
money they had taken. Then Mr Bhullar submitted a list to
the headquarters of persons missing from Amritsar district
during Mr Izhar Alam’s days as SSP. Mr Bhullar had
stated that their relatives continued to inquire about their
whereabouts some three to four years after they went
missing and recommended that they should either be told
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where their kinsmen were or that they should be declared
dead. Mr Bhullar was shifted to a newly created post of IG
Training and the post of IG Border was suspended.”
The poll boycott strategy had the full support of the Sikhs
in Punjab, and in terms of compliance it was a roaring
success. It did seem strange however, that having so
effectively succeeded in boycotting the elections, the
Akalis took no follow up action. It is here that the role of
the main proponent of the boycott strategy, G.S. Tohra
comes into doubt.
Political/Religious Assassinations
Right from the beginning, the Sant made it very clear that
apart from the spelt out clauses of the accord there was a
secret clause which he would disclose at a later date and
which should satisfy the doubters among the Sikh
community. Only he and Rajiv Gandhi were said to be
privy to this clause. Rajiv Gandhi had also at various times
talked about this additional understanding with the Sant.
BALWANT SINGH
TARGETTED GROUPS
Counter Terror
The police records (FIR 68 and DDR 21) showed that the
police had fired in self-defense and recovered a .32 calibre
revolver and ammunition. SHO R.S. Bhullar told the
PHRO team that on finding himself surrounded Harpal
had first shot himself in the thigh and then in the bridge of
the nose.
Vulnerable Sections
MILITANTS’ RELATIVES
“STRATEGIC KILLINGS”
But Manchanda’s death was not the last act in the drama
-the final scene was the well advertised “manhunt” for
Amrik Singh Kauli. A man who has committed a murder
would normally try to flee but Kauli met his end at a place
quite near Ambala. The Provincial Civil Service Officers
Association, in it’s memorandum to the Governor dated
August 26, 1993, had pointed out that Kauli had close
links with the police.
HOSTAGES
HARBOURERS OF MILITANTS
DALITS
The other body and its leader was less tolerable. At 3 a.m.
on the night of September 24 a police party took Buta
Singh Bhatti from his house in Leelan village, District
Ludhiana. A day later, the police returned, searched the
house and took away a photo album, some MDMF-P press
statements and a clock. Efforts to trace Bhatti were in vain
and on September 28, the SSP of the Jagraon Police
announced at a press conference that militants disguised as
policemen had spirited Bhatti away and killed him. DGP
Gill and the Punjab CM assured a MDMF-P delegation
that Bhatti’s death would be investigated but later, an
irritated CM washed his hands of the case. Gill denied that
any Buta Singh Bhatti had been held in any police station.
Influential Persons
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CLERGY
TEACHERS
She said that she learned that the Ludhiana SSP had
interrogated him but when she met the SSP and asked to
be allowed to meet her husband, he threatened her with
dire consequences. She feared that her husband would be,
or already had been, killed in a fake encounter and
mentioned the encounter listed in FIR 45 of the Ludhiana
Police in which the identity of the slain terrorists had not
been disclosed.
LAWYERS
When they did not return home Saini’s father, Jagir Singh,
was worried. In the morning he met Santokh Singh Gill,
advocate, and related the story. On January 27 Jagir Singh,
Gill and Rana met the Ropar SSP, Sanjeev Gupta. The SSP
denied that the Ropar police had any information as to
Saini’s whereabouts but directed the DSP to inquire into
the matter. The same day Jagir Singh also met M.M.
Mittal, MLA and Punjab BJP president, and told him what
had happened.
JOURNALISTS
At this police post Billing was able to give his calling card
to one Gurcharan Singh who was there to inquire about the
arrest of his cousin. He asked Gurcharan Singh to inform
his parents at Dhadhogal. On receipt of this information
the next day, Billing’s uncle, Sant Singh, a member of the
Dhadhogal panchayat, along with the village sarpanch,
Jaswant Singh, and two other members of the panchayat,
Harkam Singh and Sikander Singh, rushed to the Lohat
Baddi police post where they saw Billing.
TORTURE
Venues of Interrogation
A man who has been picked up but not yet charged with
an offence may be legally detained in two ways: he may
be held in jail if he is remanded to judicial custody or in
various types of police lock-up if he is remanded to police
custody. Interrogation and torture take place when the
prisoner is under police remand. A convicted prisoner goes
to jail to serve his sentence, but in total violation of the J
ail Manual, prisoners are known to be taken from jail for
interrogation ... and torture. (See Justice Cheema’s report
given in detail in Section 3 Chapter 2, The Judiciary).
Methods of Interrogation
Many lives might have been saved if the police had had
absolutely nothing to fear in consequence of torturing a
man. Then they might have got whatever information they
wanted out of the prisoner, taken ransom from the
relatives, and released him while he was still alive. The
law places the onus of proving a charge of murder in
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police lock-up on the accusers, but nevertheless, torture is
a criminal act punishable under Sections 330 and 331 of
the Indian Penal Code carrying a maximum sentence of
seven year’s imprisonment, and if it comes to the notice of
the courts, the judge has no choice but to take a dim view
of it.
Judicial Intervention
Other Cases
Torture Continues
On May 10, the ASI Gurdev Singh had the brothers taken
to the Shutrana Police Chowki, some 7 kms away. They
were kept there without food or water and again that
evening around 8 p.m. the ASI, the “cat”, and other
policemen, all drunk, dragged Amrik Singh out of the
lock-up and began to kick him. Bhagwant Singh watched
this from his cell and pleaded with the policemen to spare
his brother. Amrik Singh died under the kicks and blows
of the police. The ASI removed the cord from the
waistband of Amrik Singh’s underwear, tied it around
Amrik Singh’s neck, and dragged him back to the lockup.
Bhagwant Singh screamed on seeing his brother’s corpse
and was taken away to another cell and warned to remain
silent or he too would be killed. He saw the policemen
running to and fro and saw Surjit Singh, the “cat” fleeing
from the police station.
While the father and son were at the chowki, the Sub
divisional Magistrate accompanied by a woman
Superintendent of Police, arrived and asked the two if they
wanted to lodge any report. They remained silent so that
they might be let out of the police chowki. The SDM and
SP also made the father and son sign papers. At 5 p.m. the
body of Amrik Singh was brought back to the chowki and
Inder Singh was told to take it and cremate it immediately
without informing anyone, otherwise the police would
burn his entire family on the same funeral pyre. While the
body was being burnt, the police surrounded the village
and ensured that no photograph was taken nor any kind of
rites performed.
“When the police acts within the powers given by law, its
actions are considered legitimate and are accepted, even
though grudgingly, by the public ... It is only when the
police person, in an anxiety to produce results or for
personal gains, transgresses the legal limits and harasses
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innocent persons, that these methods are questioned and
the conduct criticised. This damages the police image and
erodes people’s faith in the institution. It is sad but true
that police in India is the single largest violator of human
rights in its day-to-day functioning at the police station
level. Unauthorised detentions, third degree methods and
concoction of evidence have come to be accepted as
routine features of police working.... Most of the police
officers will be found to be aware of this malignancy in
the system.
“It is sad that many of them not only condone but also
justify these malpractices by citing a variety of
extenuating circumstances. They hold that the police,
assigned a negative and adversarial role and entrusted with
a stressful and low paid job, suspected by the law and
shunned by the public, and constantly harassed by the
politicians and often ill-treated by the superiors, develops
a low self-esteem giving rise to a peculiar mindset which
induces him to take out frustrations on the people. The
increasing workload, conflicting demands from different
directions, pressure of public opinion and media,
impatience of influential complainants and desire for
quick results impels one to use shortcut methods and
circumvent laws. Many of them believe with all sincerity
that they are serving the larger public interest by
transgressing laws to detect a case...
DETENTION
Jail Capacity
This kept police morale high and sent the message to the
public that the state was in control. Human Rights groups
investigated these incidents and concluded that the men
had died in fake encounters and asked for a judicial
inquiry in the incidents but this was refused.]
Black Laws
But TADA was not the only black law. A person might
also be held under the National Security Act. This act was
widely used and provided for detention without charge or
trial for up to one year (two years in Punjab).
Rape
All over the world a rape victim suffers not only the
trauma of the attack itself but also is made to feel forever
deprived of self respect and social standing. This is
particularly so in a highly conservative society.
Comparatively few rape cases were reported, not because
they didn’t happen, but because the women and their
families could not bear the additional suffering of
publicising the wrong done to them.
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In many cases, rape was committed as a form of torture.
However, we felt that these crimes against women
deserved to be presented separately. These are some cases
in which the victims lived to tell the tale. Cases in which
they were murdered afterwards are recorded in the section
on killings and disappearances. It may also be mentioned
that at the time of Operation Rakshak, a very stupid Army
commander, Brigadier Sinha collected the panchayats of
several villages and made himself highly unpopular by
threatening villagers with rape of village women to “breed
a race through his soldiers that will be loyal to India”.
EXTORTION
III
INTRODUCTION
The rule of law concerns itself not only with the rights of
individuals but the rights of institutions as the
implementers and mediators of the rights of the citizen. All
over India, institutions have come under increasing
pressure. Once a party comes to power it begins to think of
ways to remain in power. The subversion of institutions is
obviously a very powerful means to that end.
Belief and cultural values are more than raiment but the
outward aspects of faith also have their place.
Traditionally Sikh men wear turbans and take it as a
religious obligation to do so. This tradition has been
respected by the defence services and the security
services. Even in the USA Canada, UK and other
countries. In these countries, Sikhs have occasionally had
to approach the court over the issue of their right to wear
turbans while on duty, but to the credit of those courts, the
right has been upheld under the principle of freedom of
religion.
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POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
Another practice that gave the game away was the way
constituencies were cleverly delimited so as to deprive
minorities - and in the case of reserved constituencies,
sometimes even the Scheduled Castes they were intended
to strengthen - of a voice in the state assembly or
parliament. For example, Madhya Pradesh Assembly has
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not a single Muslim despite a sizeable Muslim population
and likewise only one Muslim MLA represents the entire
Muslim population of Gujarat.
The total turn out of the poll was 21 per cent but, in spite
of massive rigging, the Congress polled only 6 to 8 per
cent of the votes. The boycott turned into a reverse
referendum in favour of the Akali demands.
Sikh Institutions
During most of its history, the SGPC and the SAD have
worked in tandem with one bolstering the other. Since the
emergency, when the government came into conflict with
the SAD, efforts have been made to make the SGPC serve
Congress party interests, or if that were not possible, to
prevent the SGPC from advancing Sikh interests.
10
THE JUDICIARY
But aside from this blatant approach, there are many ways
to encourage judges to anticipate the requirements of the
executive and work accordingly. Being appointed to head
a commission of inquiry carries a bit of money and other
perks and is generally a welcome thing to a judge,
358
especially a retired one. But inquiry commissions don’t go
to judges who have been “bad boys.”
This indeed came to pass in 1998 when the BJP, the ruling
party began waving the Hindu flag. Human rights lawyers
are haloing onto cases for months hoping to place them
before more open judges.
“In another few hours it will be dawn. The sun set quite a
while back and chill wind has been blowing from the
366
Dhauladhars. It matters little what the time is but it is
important that it is dark for dark deeds are best
accomplished at night. Can anyone imagine Macbeth
enacted in broad daylight?
So you just lock them up, throw the key away and send
them on a merry-go-round. When his time is over you
release him and say it was part of a package or a dose of
the healing elixir.
11
One secretary remarked that it was the police that had got
elections in the state postponed as it served their vested
interests and that it was the police which was perpetuating
militant violence in the state.
About the arrests of S.S. Bains and Kulbir Singh, the PCS
Association claimed that the arrest was made to browbeat
and demoralise the magistracy. The memorandum said that
the police officers were in a vindictive mood on account of
some complaints which the PC officers had investigated in
the previous weeks.
12
JAIL SERVICES
IAS and PCS officers were not the only unhappy officers
of the government. The staff manning the jails were also
sore with the police. Indian jails do not function directly
under the police, but Jail Service is sometimes headed by a
senior Indian Police Service officer posted as Inspector-
General (Prisons) on deputation. Jail Services and Police
Services are separate.
13
MEDICAL SERVICES
14
The fact that this had happened when Barnala, a Sikh and
an Akali, was the chief minister of Punjab made the insult
even worse. Barnala, of course, was under heavy pressure
from the Centre and refusal to accept the Centre’s hand-
picked police chief, Ribeiro, may well have cost him his
ministry.
Deployment
i. PUNJAB POLICE
the strength of this force was raised from
55,000 to 70,000
ii. HOME GUARDS
25000
iii. SPECIAL POLICE OFFICERS
These are irregular recruits. They do not
figure as permanent employees of the
Police Department. They were assigned to
guard VIPs and carrying out covert
activities and some were planted in
educational institutions as students to keep
an eye on activities there: 40,000. DGP
Ribeiro in his book discloses: “Gill decided
to arm a few villagers in every affected
village, designating them as home guards,
village defence officers (VDOs) or special
police officers. In many places, home
396
guards and VDOs took advantage of the
situation to misbehave with other residents.
They mistook the authority given to them
as a signal to extort and loot, making the
government even more unpopular. In a note
to the governor; I specifically opposed this
large-scale arming of unknown quantities.”
Who were the arms meant for? The Indian Army does not
need to import rocket launchers by clandestine means. It is
understood that RAW was arming the LTTE at one point
but the date of the consignment rules out that possibility as
the IPKF was still mopping up the LTTE after the Battle of
Jaffna. No other Tamil groups had been reported to use
rockets. The obvious destination was Punjab.
Sloppy Accounting
Yours sincerely
(J.S. Chahal)
Additional Director General of Police (Crime)
The table and the memo more or less tell the whole story.
“Case property” in police jargon, of course refers to
weapons allegedly seized from militants. These weapons
were subsequently issued to police and paramilitary
forces, politicians and even ordinary civilians. Ordinarily,
seized weapons become the property of the court until the
402
conclusion of the cases and cannot be issued to anybody.
The reporter, Harinder Baweja, surmises: “Most police
districts seem reluctant to send in verification certificates.
The reason: the issue could open a can of worms that may
cause heads to roll.”
“In the years when the Punjab Police had a free hand there
were occasions when the same weapons were twice listed
as having been recovered.”
Intelligence Agencies
Paramilitary Forces
(All but the SSG and IRF are statistics taken from India
Today, April 15, 1995, and reflect the period of the early
‘90s.)
407
Regarding the Central Industrial Security Force, according
to a report carried in The Hitvada (November 6) “Mr
Surendranath [governor of Punjab] played an all important
role to give strength to the hitherto lesser known CISF and
it is being alleged that some of its men were used to kill
innocent persons, including family members of police
personnel, as well as teachers, doctors, engineers, media
men and political personalities.”
Expenditure
15
THE ARMY
16
VIGILANTES :
REGULAR, AD-HOC AND FREELANCE
Recruitment:
17
INFORMATION / COMMUNICATION
Some people reason that the only thing they can be certain
of is their self-interest and group identification, so it is
better to believe whatever bolsters that and not worry over
428
something as uncertain as truth. This is one of the most
dangerous fall-outs when the objectivity and credibility of
the media is eroded.
It was reported that two Nihangs had been shot dead while
trying to flee the Golden Temple and “on medical
examination” they were found to be Pakistanis.
Circumcision was taken to mean Muslim and therefore
Pakistani and Pakistani in Nihang robes meant spy or
agent provocateur. Such news “proving” the link between
Sikh extremists and Pakistan, could only confirm Hindu
listeners’ worst fears.
Censorship
The order, marked “Top Secret” dated May 25, 1994, from
the Home Secretary to all its agencies and the Department
of Posts and Telegraphs read :
447
IV
18
19
Import - Export
But Pant was not the only one who was eager to invite
Sikh refugees who would develop difficult areas.
Immediately after independence the Maharaja of Patiala
went 00 the radio to broadcast an invitation to all Sikh
refugees to come to his state. Patiala State was the premier
Sikh state and a large number of Muslims had migrated
from Patiala to Pakistan. Many refugees responded to the
maharaja’s call but at the same time the invitation set off
alarm bells in the Congress leadership. They were not
comfortable with the prospect of a large Sikh majority
state emerging.
The next day Guru Nanak and his companions set out
again. Seeing the rejecting village in the distance, the
Guru said: “May these people always remain settled where
they are, may they never be disturbed or uprooted,” and
477
then turning to the good village he pronounced: “May all
these people be scattered.”
For years, the pivot on which the Congress Party had been
able to swing election after election was a composite of
Muslims, other minorities and scheduled castes and tribes.
Particularly in areas where the Hindu population
constituted the overwhelming majority, these groups
regarded the Congress as their “protector”. Indira’s new
strategy required her to sacrifice this image.
Five years later the PAC and other UP police forces stood
back and watched mobs massacre the Sikhs in Kanpur,
Varanasi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Lakhimpur, Meerut and
numerous other towns of the state.
The anti-Sikh push was kept rather discreet but it was real.
In UP the UP Revenue Minister sent a written directive to
all District Magistrates to “squeeze out the Sikhs”. Land
ceiling was reduced to 12.5 acres knowing that the Sikh
farmers who had reclaimed large chunks of the once-
uninhabitable terai and farmed large spreads would be the
main oustees. Why wasn’t the UP government taken to
court for issuing this blatantly communal circular?
Over the past three years, pushed by the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund, the government of India
has at last seen fit to dismantle the old License-Permit Raj
that had choked private sector initiative in the days of the
Nehrus. The entrepreneurs are starting to experience their
“glow of freedom” and the government babus are
reluctantly relinquishing the iron control that had provided
them an enviable income from graft. It has been seen that
India will not lapse into anarchy if a bit of dirt is removed
from the economic system. This lesson will undoubtedly
be applied to the political system as well.
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