We seek your help to bring to the notice of United Nations the unprecedented number of extra-judicial killings, amounting to a clear genocide, in Punjab, which started from 1984. We have based our data on reliable information gathered by Human Rights activitis.
Alleged militants are being killed in large numbers by the polite. According to the police, these militants had Killed 2 very large number of innocent people. Going by the figures provided by the police, 134 militants killed by the Police during the period March 1992 February 1993 were responsible for 23646 killings. According to another Police Press release issued last month, the number of militants killed in 20 police districts of Punjab 1992 was 2119.
Thus out of 2119 militants, 134 alone were responsible for 23646 killings it means that on an average each of these militants had killed 175 people. Even if the tow average of 10 killings is attributed to each of the remaining 1985 militants, it would work out to 19850 Killings. The total would add up to (23646 + 19850) 43496. These are alleged figures of killing by the militants who were killed by the police during 1992. What about the killings by those militants who have not been captured of the killings by militants who were killed over the past 10 years?
Petty criminals belonging to the lower economic & social groups like the Dalits and small farmers are also being eliminated by the Police but shown as either killed by militants or as militants Killed by the police. One wonders how militants could target this particular section of society when their fight is against the State. As against about 9000 criminals in jails a few years ago today Punjab Jail has less than 2000 criminals. The rest are political detainees. The number of killings of petty criminals and political have been added to the number shown as Killed by the militants in order to cam reward by the police officers, to strike terror and cover up extra-judicial killings in the State and account for disappearances, By targeting of Dalits and small farmers and then attributing the killings to the militants the Police is attempting to drive a wedge between the militants and their primary support base.
Govt. figures, howsoever accurate, reveal the extent of killings by the Government in the State for which Human Rights Groups have been demanding judicial inquiries but without Success. By common reckoning well Over a hundred thousand Sikhs have been killed since 1984, Many methods of Killings have been evolved by the Police.
Take a suspect in a police vehicle for recovery of arms. The vehicle allegedly comes under fire by militants but only the militant being transported by the police is killed. Over 400 such deaths have been reported during the last two years (Govt. figures for the period Oct. 1991 to Sept.1992 are enclosed.
Arrest of person, without showing the arrest, put him through interrogation by torture and in the process if he dies, to dump his body into a canal or river MASR investigated such canal killings and brought them to the notice of the Press. The Pioneer correspondent carried out an independent investigation. This was followed by another investigation by Indian Telegraph correspondent. Both confirmed that on random check of different canals (checked 19 kms), they found evidence of 19 dead bodies with hands tied behind the back and eyes bandaged. Most of them were young Sikh boys. Considering that the Canal System in Punjab is spread over thousands of kilometers one can get an idea of the enormity of such killings by the Government. Three such especially shocking cases were that of S. Jagdev Singh Khudian, Member Parliament in whose case the High. Court Judge conducted an enquiry and indicted the Government Last month of Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, former head priest of Akal Takht (whose body was reportedly thrown in the river) and last week of the lawyer Kulwant Singh, his wife and their 14- month-old child (Report appended),
Carry the arrested person from one area to another, to shoot him and declare him an unidentified militant. In reply 10 4 starred question in the Assembly the Punjab Government dis-closed that in one police district alone in-1991, out of 151 persons killed, 91 were “unidentified militants” (States reply appended),
The number of people missing in Punjab is rising every day and today the number of missing people runs into many thousands. After the construction of the border fence, Police is unable 6 say, as earlier, that they have run away to Pakistan.
Lists of individuals to be eliminated have been drawn by the police and extra-judicial killings have been carried out systematically. That these extra-judicial killings are within the: knowledge of the Central Government is reflected in the letter dated Dec.30, 1991 from V.G. Vaidya, Special Director (now promoted as Director of 1:B,)to K.P.S.Gill, Director General Punjab Police) they (the district officials) should refrain from ¢yen implicitly hinting that they indulge, Connive, or approve of anything which is in violation of the law of the land. Their professional compulsions in executive action should not get reflected in their public utterances, (reported in India Today Oct.15, 1992 ).
The situation aggravated sharply after the Congress (I) formed the Government in Punjab in February, 1992, Even before this Government came into power, the Human Rights Groups jointly had written a letter to the Prime Minister of India on Jan.15,1992 demanding a census on killings by an independent body to be followed by judicial inquiries,
Operation Blue Star 1984 various figures have been given about the number of those killed and wounded in Operation Blue Star, IT will be recalled that Army too suffered heavy casualties and these were evacuated to hospitals THIS throughout north India and bulk -of them were shown as casualties sustained in Ladakh. The Governments White Paper gives a figure of 493 killed and 35 wounded in simultaneous attack by the Army on 74 other Gurdwaras, Rajiv Gandhi disclosed in September 1984 while addressing the Session of the National Students Union fat Nagpur, that 700 soldiers and officers were killed in the Operation Blue Star as cited in The Tragedy of Punjab by Kuldip Nayar and Khushwant Singh. As this was an operation planned over a period of months and executed over a period of days with deployment of heavy armaments like helicopters, tanks, APCs and artillery against militants who were equipped with small arms, the ratio of militant Army casualties should be on a normal ratio 1.5.
Again according to the Governments White Paper, the number of those killed is placed at about five times the number of those who were wounded from this it is apparent that pilgrims, temple attendants and others were massacred after the Operation. This is also borne OUL by the photographs showing dead bodies with the hands tried behind their backs.
The day selected for the attack was the Martyrdom Day of the 5th Guru of Sikhs, when a large number of pilgrims traditionally visit the Golden Temple, 74 other Gurdwaras were also attacked simultaneously by the Army. Thousands of villagers walking towards the Golden Temple from the country side was subjected to aerial bombing, machine gunning and ground fire in a bid to Stop them. Unarmed Sikh Amy deserters moving toward Punjab and Golden Temple were intercepted and many of them were killed. One may estimate that the total number of killed during this operation exceeded 10 thousand.
Operation Wood rose it is difficult to assess the casualties in operation Wood rose as Army had clamped 4 total curfew for a period of one to (wo months, There were rumors that a very large number of boys had escaped, especially from the border districts in. the Pakistan. The Indian Express dated Oct.15, 1984 reported that more than 8,000 people were missing from their homes or had been detained by the Police. The Punjabi language newspapers estimated much higher figures.
1984 Genocide; During the November 1984 Genocide the Congress (I) party men led mobs with the help of the police indulged in organized massacre of Sikhs in Delhi and at a number of other places, mainly in the Congress (I) ruled states. These killings went on unchecked for four to five days. While the government placed the death toll in Delhi at 2700, Human and Civil Rights activists were able to identify 3872 persons killed. Delhi is a large sprawling city and if we add the number of. Sikhs killed in scattered localities and in transit, the number of the death would be between 8 to 10 thousand.
Other places where the Sikhs were massacred by organized mobs were in the Congress (I) Government ruled states in the Hindi belt. The ferocity of the killings was more at Bokaro, Daltanganj, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Ratlam, Rewa, Sonepat and Panipat. Goods Transport operations in North India was at that time mainly in the hands of Sikh operators and thousands Of tucks were held-up enroute and destroyed and crew killed,
It is estimated that anywhere between two to three thousand Sikh commuters were slaughtered in the trains. Though the Railway Board and the Government of India have refused to disclose the number and identify of those killed, a former Minister for Railway’s inquired into the matter belatedly two years ago, and unofficially confirmed that between six to seven hundred Sikhs killed in the trains had been identified till then.
Cumulative figures of those killed during 1984 Genocide could he placed around 20,000.
We do not expect the Government of India to carry out an impartial Census of the killings in Operation Blue Star, Operation Wood rose, November 1984 riots and the killings in Punjab since then. In is well known that evidence in Criminal cases evaporates with passage of time and immunity encourages the oppressor through removal of accountability what we’re asking forts not retribution but recompense to those who have suffered and relief from fur their persecution for holding diverging political views. For this Genet necessary to put the search light of unbiased investigation, The magnitude Of the killings that have occurred and are taking place call for an independent and comprehensive census of those killed and missing.
We would like the United Nations Organizations to undertake a detailed Census of genocide of the Sikhs involving millions of people. There are precedents where United Nations Organizations has taken cognizance of such genocide and provided relief to tie affected communities.
Inderjit Singh Jaijee, Ajit Singh Bains, Mohinder jit Singh Sethi, Partap Singh, Mrs. Baljit Kaur, Ajit Singh Sarhadi, Narinder Singh, Ashok Singh Bangrian, G.S. Grewal, Punjab.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 7, 1994
