The 1984 anti-Sikh riots remain one of the darkest stains on India‘s history. The fact that it took 34 years to convict a single leader and that many others died without facing trial is a testament to the failures of the justice system. While the sentencing of Sajjan Kumar provided a small measure of justice, it came far too late for many victims.

The assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by her Sikh bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, set off a horrific chain of events that led to one of the darkest chapters in India’s post-independence history. In the days following her killing, a pogrom was unleashed against the Sikh community in Delhi and other parts of India. Mobs, reportedly orchestrated and incited by political leaders, targeted Sikh homes, businesses, and gurudwaras. More than 3,000 Sikhs were brutally murdered, and thousands more were displaced. The violence, marked by extreme brutality, was widely seen as a state-sponsored massacre.

Despite the scale and nature of the violence, justice remained elusive for the victims and their families for decades. Successive governments failed to take decisive action, and many of those accused, including prominent political leaders, continued to hold positions of power. One such figure was Sajjan Kumar, a senior leader of the Congress Party, who was finally sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018—34 years after the pogrom, and he remained behind bars as the legal system slowly caught up with those responsible. His sentencing was a momentous but long-overdue step, illustrating the maxim that “justice delayed is justice denied.”

The anti-Sikh riots that erupted in Delhi and other parts of India from November 1-4, 1984, were not spontaneous acts of mob violence. They were widely believed to be organized, with Congress Party leaders allegedly directing the rioters and police standing by as Sikhs were killed. Eyewitnesses testified that the mobs were armed with voter lists to identify Sikh households. The rioters used petrol, kerosene, and tires to burn Sikh men alive, while women were assaulted and children killed mercilessly.

The violence was most pronounced in Delhi, where over 2,700 Sikhs were killed. Other affected areas included Kanpur, Bokaro, and other parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. The police were accused of being complicit, either refusing to register complaints or actively supporting the rioters. The central government, led by Rajiv Gandhi, failed to intervene effectively, with the infamous justification that “when a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”

Over the years, multiple commissions and committees were formed to investigate the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom. However, justice remained elusive due to deliberate delays, political interference, and lack of willpower to hold the powerful accountable. Some of the most prominent inquiries included:

Marwah Commission (1984): The first inquiry, led by Ved Marwah, was abruptly stopped by the government before it could complete its report.

Misra Commission (1985): This commission, led by Justice Ranganath Misra, was widely criticized for its bias in favor of the Congress Party. It absolved many top leaders of wrongdoing, further eroding Sikh trust in the system.

Jain-Banerjee Committee (1987): This committee recommended the prosecution of several Congress leaders, including Sajjan Kumar, but its findings were ignored.

Poti-Rosha Committee (1990) and Jain-Aggarwal Committee (1991): These commissions recommended further investigation but faced obstruction from political forces.