1984 Anti-Sikh Pogrom Congress Did Not Initiate Anti-Sikh Riots In 1984: Gadkari

[spnadmin]

Congress did not initiate anti-Sikh riots in 1984: Gadkari

Congress did not initiate anti-Sikh riots in 1984: Gadkari - India - The Times of India

IANS, Apr 26, 2010, 10.52am IST

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari says it's not entirely correct to blame the then Congress government for initiating the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

In an interview to the BBC Hindi Service, Gadkari said: "Some people might be involved in those riots but it would not be entirely correct to say that the riots were initiated by the government.

"Nobody can manipulate or organise such incidents; these are unfortunate reactions of the people at large."

Gadkari was replying to questions on the alleged involvement of the BJP and its government in the demolition of the Babri mosque and the 1992 Gujarat [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]riots[/COLOR][/COLOR].

"Gujarat riots were unfortunate. But when riots take place in other states, why aren't governments and chief ministers blamed for that?" the newly-elected BJP president asked.

"Why don't you corner Congress governments and their chief ministers for riots which took place in Congress-governed states, the way you are cornering Modi and the BJP? Riots took place in Mumbai in 1992 and the way Sikhs were killed in Delhi..."

He also said the BJP was not anti-Muslim, and shot back, "If our party were against the Muslims, why would we nominate Dr. Abdul Kalam as the president of the country?"

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

BBC: Can you assure the Muslim community that your party is not against them?

Gadkari: If our party were against the Muslims, why would we nominate Dr. Abdul Kalam as the president of the country?

BBC: Dr Abdul Kalam was surely made the President but how would your party wash the blemish of Gujarat riots?

Gadkari: More serious riots took place in Mumbai (in 1992) but why wasn't the government (in the state) blamed? Why wasn't a Special Investigating Team set up against the then chief minister of Maharashtra?

BBC: Do you think Muslims will forget the Gujarat riots and the demolition of the Babri mosque?

Gadkari: Gujarat riots were unfortunate. But when riots take place in other states, why aren't governments and chief ministers blamed for that?

BBC: Can Muslims forget Gujarat riots and the demolition of the Babri mosque?

Gadkari: This is only a section of the media and certain individuals who write or say unfounded things about us.

BBC: Are you saying that Gujarat riots and the demolition of the Babri mosque never happened and these incidents are media's creation?

Gadkari: Both these incidents did happen. I am asking you why don't you corner Congress governments and their chief ministers for riots which took place in Congress-governed states, the way you are cornering Modi and the BJP? Riots took place in Mumbai in 1992 and the way Sikhs were killed in Delhi...

BBC: But the Congress party is answerable for that...and the media has been questioning the party...

Gadkari: The basic thing is that nobody can manipulate or organise such incidents. These are the unfortunate reactions by the people at large.

BBC: Do you think '84 riots were also a reaction of the people and there was no manipulation involved?

Gadkari: Look, some people might be involved in those riots but it would not be entirely correct to say that the riots were initiated by the government.

 

[BhagatSingh]

Riots occur because of deindividuation, where people lose their identity and sense of self completely and are prone to performing acts which they would normally would never even think about doing.

The fact that they all happened to be in the same religious group would only accelerate deindividuation. And the fact that we were all in under one banner made it easier for them to see us all as enemies.

Actually, I think if the congress were to blame and if they were going around telling everyone to kill Sikhs, people would resist it (at least at first). It would then take time to create a motivation to perform horrible attrocities such as in riots. People cannot simply jump to that level of evil just like that (unless there is deindividuation), you need to slowly take them up the ladder step by step. It is unlikely that congress had much of a role in the riots, it just wouldn't be as quick. There is another phenomenon that explains the quick reaction by Hindus and that's deindividuation.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deindividuation

 

[spnadmin]

Bhagat ji

Some political analysts, anthropologists, social psychologists might have said on the contrary that India was laboring under a mother complex. And the woman who carried all of their projections as The Great Mother was Indira Gandhi. That would be another theory and not the only possible theory.

This is my theory:

Nitin Gadkari is talking out of both sides of his mouth -- or more like a serpent with a forked tongue -- because he is trying to smooth things over for BJP and its putative role in Mumbai in 1992.

 

[harbansj24]

My take is that in 1984, a fertile ground was available in form of popular Hindu anger against the Sikhs, first for allowing Harmandir sahib to become a "sanctuary" for criminals and plain murderers. That the premises needed to be rid of such elements was the unanimous view of 99% of Hindus. Only there was disagreement on the modus-operandi and here too a large majority favored storming of the temple. After operation Blue Star the genuine anger among the Sikhs was not appretiated by a large majority of Hindus. And thereafter the escalation of terrorists activity made them livid. It was a tinder box waiting for a spark and that came in the form of Indira Gandhi's assassination.

And make no mistake the systematic way in which Sikhs were targeted had a distinct stamp of RSS. I have a feeling that the lumpen elements both in the Congress and RSS collaborated and Rajiv Gandhi just allowed it to happen for a couple of days before ordering the army to step in.

In the initial days as prime Minister in 2004 Manmohan Singh did say that RSS was responsible for the 1984 riots but presumably he was ordered by Sonia to clam up. He has not spoken about it since then.

So in a way Gadkari may be right.

It must also be understood that though there was popular anger against the Sikhs, it rapidly turned into revulsion against the mayhem that was caused by the lumpens.

 

[spnadmin]

You lived it harbhans ji

And your description of the interplay of human emotion is very clear. And it makes sense.

 

[kds1980]

Actually RSS was divided at that time.BJP was formed in 1980 by Vajpayee and it was vajpayee who helped sikhs in 1984 .It was he who questioned the government when the first official figure of of only 425 people was given by govt.He himself intervened in 1984 riots at some places..I even read somewhere that Some RSS Leader at that time told the voters to vote for congress and not BJP

 

[spnadmin]

Another good article was posted today related to this discussion.

http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/1984-anti-sikh-riots/30197-of-murderers-traitors-and-quislings.html