Standing Up To Be Counted

Last September when the CBI gave a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler for hisalleged role in the 1984 carnage of Sikhs and sought closure of the casesagainst him on the ground that it could not get any witnesses, it was déjà vufor the Sikh community in Punjab. But anguish at yet another setback in the twodecades old would was soon replaced by ennui and the Sikh leadership went backto its now familiar state of indifference towards a cause which moves few toaction. Not so within the expatriate community in the US though, which hasdecided to take things into their hands and push the agenda for getting theperpetrators of history's worst carnage against Sikhs convicted.

Result: a few damaging witnesses, who the CBI claimed could not be traced,have surfaced in the last few days to say, that they are ready to depose againstthe high profile accused Congressmen if they are assured of rehabilitation andsome protection. This is mainly due to the efforts of the US based 'Sikhs forJustice' (SFJ) led by advocate Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a coordination ofcommittee of gurudwaras in the US which is currently raising funds andmobilizing community leaders to join hands for this cause. Says its spokesman inIndia, Karnail Singh Peermohammed, "On November 5th we took a vow tomobilize the Sikhs and drum up support for the beleaguered witnesses so thatthey can depose fearlessly. We have managed to bring out three of them and haveidentified another 17 of them in different parts of the country who had earlierresiled from their testimonies due to pressure but are now prepared to speak thetruth. They are eyewitnesses to the involvement of not only Tytler but KamalNath and Sajjan Kumar too." 

That expatriate Sikhs have been setting the agenda for Punjab based Sikhorganisations in religious and temporal matters in recent times is a wellacknowledged fact. Consequently, the SFJ's appeal to the highest temporal bodyof Sikhs the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurudwra Prabandhak Committee (SGPC)both of whom are facing considerable flak for not giving the right leadership tothe community, responded immediately. 

The SGPC has made a public offer to protect and give succor from harassmentto all such witnesses in the larger interest of the Sikh community. SurinderSingh, (see interview linked at the bottom of this page) the head granthi of agurudwara in Delhi is the one of the first to respond to the appeal, followed byGurcharan Singh a bed ridden 60 year old living in Mohali and his two brotherswho had filed an FIR against Sajjan Kumar for allegedly being instrumental inthrowing him into a burning truck along with others in 1984. 

Following Surinder Singh's declaration at a press conference some days agothat he is ready to tell the truth the CBI, a few days ago, recorded his fivehour long testimony in which he has reportedly dwelt at length on Tytler'sinvolvement . It relates to a case of rioting and killing of three persons inGurudwara Pul Bangash on November 1st, 1984 soon after the then PM IndiraGandhi's assassination. Interestingly, in 1992, 31 persons were acquitted inthis matter after a trial and though Surinder Singh was named as a witness hewas never called by the police for investigation. Later he deposed before theNanavati Commission which in 2005 referred this, and six other cases to the CBIfor reinvestigation. Surinder Singh is currently in Punjab and wants the SGPC tokeep its word and help him re-settle here. "I cannot go back to Delhibecause that will be suicidal for me. Tytler's henchmen will not leave me",he told Outlook.

Another witness traced by the SFJ is Jasbir Singh now living in the US. When theCBI sought closure of this case against Tytler and told a Delhi court that itcould not locate Jasbir, he appeared on a news channel saying he is ready todepose. Following this, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Majistrate Sanjiv Jainrejected the CBI's appeal and directed further investigation in the case.However, Jasbir Singh who had earlier told the Nanavati Commission on August31st , 2002 that "he had overheard Tytler rebuking his men on the night ofNovember 3red 1984….. for nominal killing of Sikhs in his constituency",has expressed apprehensions about coming to India to depose. His counselNavkiran Singh told Outlook, "Jasbir wants the CBI to record histestimony in the US either through video conferencing or by sending an officialas he fears for his life."

That no one of note has been punished for the carnage is a festering sore forthe Sikhs as a whole, even today. It crops up in public discourse and in privateconversations, and was most starkly visible when last year a Chandigarh courtconvicted the assassins of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh who was killedin a bomb blast outside the Chandigarh secretariat in 1994. The popular mood asarticulated at that time by the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Joginder SinghVedanti, was that these youth should not have been given the death penalty for acrime which they had committed in the heat of the moment. Most felt that whenthe accused in the 1984 carnage against Sikhs are still scot-free why shouldthese Sikh boys be convicted.

Equally palpable is a strong resentment against the Sikh political leadershipin Delhi and in Punjab for its failure to pursue these cases doggedly and avengethe wrongs done to the entire community. Says Navkiran Singh, "There is arealization now that the cases have not been handled properly by the Sikhpoliticians of Delhi many of whom have played a negative role by not ensuringthe protection of witnesses. Even the SGPC, which has offered to help thewitnesses is even now not playing a constructive role. Look at how SurinderSingh is running from pillar to post to get rehabilitated in Punjab. Yes, weSikhs are feeling let down by our own leaders but who cares?" 

This week HS Phoolka, Delhi advocate and co author of When a Tree ShookDelhi who has doggedly pursued 1984 carnage cases for the last two decades,wrote a letter to the Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal seeking PunjabPolice security for the witnesses who are coming out of the woodwork. He told Outlook,"The security provided by the Delhi police is counterproductive as it isdesigned more to keep an eye on the witnesses. The Punjab government shoulddepute its own policemen. We strongly feel that this is an issue which affectsPunjab directly even today because by not ensuring punishment for the accusedyou are increasing resentment. Militancy increased in Punjab mainly after the1984 carnage and the resultant sense of outrage. Militancy may have died downbut remove the underlying causes too, we say."