Acknowledgements, Explanatory Note And Demands

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We remember with great sorrow Dr. Alfred D’ Souza, Director of Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, who passed away suddenly. His untimely death is a great loss to the democratic movement. We record our gratitude to him for his interest, guidance, encouragement in starting and continuing with this investigation. We are extremely thankful to Prof. LotikaSarkar, Mr. Chanchal Sarkar, Dr. Jose Kannanaikal of the Indian Social Institute and Prof. Dalip S.Swamy, Head of the Deptt. of Business Economics, Delhi University for their co-operation and suggestions in preparing this report. A large number of friends and organizations have helped in various valuable ways, namely Mrs.Nirmal, Messrs. Ashok Panda, Ranjan Dwivedi, Tejinder Singh, Laxmi Kant Gaur,K.M. Singh, Vishnu Gupta, Ashok Bharti, Rajat K. Das, Prem Chand, Nagrik EktaManch, students of Vidya Jyoti, numerous students of Delhi University and staff of Delhi University.

We received immense assistance from the news and articles published in the Statesman, Indian Express,Jansatta, Times of India, Hindustan Times, Patriot, Surya India. We are grateful to various journalists who fearlessly reported the news of the Delhi carnage. 

AN EXPLANATORY NOTE

1. The names of all persons accused of having planned or executed or participated in the various incidents of violence described in this Report have been withheld, except where they have been specifically mentioned in a FIR lodged at a police station or in an affidavit before a court of law. Wherever the names have not been disclosed, they have been substituted by cross-marks, i.e.xxxx. We are prepared to disclose all the names of the accused in the event of a judicial inquiry into the Delhi violence.

2. The reference to castes and communities in the Report does not imply any prejudice or aspersion to them but merely constitutes a faithful record of the evidence given by the survivors relating to the identification of the assailants. Furthermore, this reference does not imply that all persons belonging to the specified castes and communities participated in the violence, rather that some of the persons who participated were identified by the victims as belonging to them.

3. This Report mentions the "Nanaksar Report" in several places as one of the valuable sources of information. The "Nanaksar Report" "Nanaksar Report", sponsored by the Nagrik EktaManch, New Delhi, derives its name from the fact that it is based on interviews with inmates of the relief camp in Nanaksar Ashram located in theTrans-Yamuna area of the Capital.

DEMANDS

A number of voluntary organizations and responsible citizens made the following demands immediately after the violence:

1. Immediate appointment of a judicial commission to enquire into the role of the administrative machinery and of members of the ruling party in perpetrating this catastrophe on the innocent Sikhs of Delhi;

2. Deterrent punishment to all those found guilty;

3. Adequate compensation to and rehabilitation of widows and orphans and other victims;

4. Overhauling the police machinery with a view to make it a law-abiding force;

5. Restoration of the people’s faith in the secular character of the State; 

We fully support the above demands. We place this report before the Nation so that justice may be done and shattered faith may be restored.