1984 anti-Sikh riots |

USCIRF 2015 Annual Report addresses religious freedom of Sikhs in India

July 9, 2015 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In its 2015 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) continued to express concern about the state of religious freedom in India, particularly after the election of current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Placing India in its “Tier 2” category (which the USCIRF defines as “countries where the violations engaged in or tolerated by the government are serious and are characterized by at least one of the elements of the ‘systematic, ongoing, and […]

Categories: 1984, Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, anti-Sikh genocide, anti-Sikh pogroms

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1984 through Indian Eyes: Part VI — “My People’s Heart” by Preeti Kaur

December 4, 2014 by American Turban Guest Contributor

1984 through Indian Eyes: Literary Accounts of Operation Blue Star and the Anti-Sikh Pogroms By Lori Way Part VI – “My People’s Heart” by Preeti Kaur In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar in Amritsar, India, in June, 1984, and the anti-Sikh pogroms that took place the following November in New Delhi, Lori Way concludes her six-installment review of works of literature focusing upon these events. Many thanks to Lori for providing to us insights and discussions as we […]

Categories: Literature • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, anti-Sikh pogroms, Lori Way, My People's Heart, Operation Blue Star, Operation Bluestar, Preeti Kaur, Rabindranath Tagore

"Mourning Chants" by cartoonist Vishavjit Singh. (Source: sikhtoons.com)

Picture of the Day: “Mourning Chants” by Vishavjit Singh

November 4, 2014 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Cartoonist (and often Captain America) Vishavjit Singh of Sikhtoons has created a cartoon documenting the timeline of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom orchestrated by Indian government officials against Sikhs in New Delhi, India, and other places across the country. This week marks the 30th anniversary of the orchestrated genocide of Sikhs in which thousands of innocent men, women and children were slaughtered in the streets of New Delhi in a matter of just days, and for whom justice has been denied since. The phrase […]

Categories: 1984 • Tags: 1984, 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms, 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Sikh genocide, Sikhtoons, Vishavjit Singh

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1984 Living History Project to launch “Reclaim the Flames” campaign

October 31, 2014 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The 1984 Living History Project, a grassroots initiative that is creating a video archive of testimonials and experiences related to the events of 1984 in India, is embarking on a campaign in November called “Reclaim the Flames” (#ReclaimtheFlames): Thanks to the participation of volunteers and sangats around the world during this thirtieth anniversary year of 1984, #1984LivingHistory Project has collected powerful and diverse videos. Beyond the known facts of November 1984, what else do these accounts tell us? What else can we learn? […]

Categories: 1984 • Tags: #ReclaimtheFlames, 1984, 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms, 1984 anti-Sikh riots, 1984 Living History Project, Operation Blue Star, Operation Bluestar

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1984 through Indian Eyes: Part V — Helium by Jaspreet Singh

October 21, 2014 by American Turban Guest Contributor

1984 through Indian Eyes: Literary Accounts of Operation Blue Star and the Anti-Sikh Pogroms By Lori Way Part V – Helium by Jaspreet Singh In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar in Amritsar, India, in June, 1984, and the anti-Sikh pogroms that took place the following November in New Delhi, Lori Way continues her series of essays discussing works of literature focusing upon these events. You can see her entire series here. A senior Congress leader, his Nehru-Gandhi khadi […]

Categories: Literature • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, anti-Sikh pogroms, Carbon, Congressional Briefing on the 1984 Anti-Sikh Pogroms in India, Helium, Jaspreet Singh, Lori Way, Operation Blue Star, Operation Bluestar

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1984 Through Indian Eyes: Part IV — Delhi: A Novel by Khushwant Singh

September 12, 2014 by American Turban Guest Contributor

1984 through Indian Eyes: Literary Accounts of Operation Blue Star and the Anti-Sikh Pogroms By Lori Way Part IV – Delhi: A Novel by Khushwant Singh In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar in Amritsar, India, in June, 1984, and the anti-Sikh pogroms that took place the following November in New Delhi, Lori Way continues her series of essays discussing works of literature focusing upon these events. You can see her entire series here. “A deep depression enters my […]

Categories: 1984, Literature • Tags: "Delhi: A Novel", 1984 anti-Sikh riots, 1984 Living History Project, anti-Sikh pogroms, Balwinder Kaur, Khushwant Singh, Lori Way

Photo from Kush. (Source: Kush website.)

Kush, film about 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, wins award at Venice film festival

September 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Recently featured at the 70th Venice International Film Festival, the film Kush by Shubhashish Bhutiani– set during the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom in New Delhi, India — has been awarded the festival’s “Best Innovative Budget” award: “Kush” was made on a shoestring budget thanks to private contributions including by the Film Director and other individuals who sacrificed their fees and charges to make the film possible. The Director, a student of the School of Visual Arts in New York was also […]

Categories: 1984, Art, TV/Movies • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Indira Gandhi, Kush, School of Visual Arts, Shubhashish Bhutiani, Venice International Film Festival

Scene from Kush, a short film by Shubhashish Bhutiani. (Source: Kush website)

Kush, film about 1984 anti-Sikh riots, to be screened at Venice film festival

August 22, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Based on a true story, Kush is a short film set in Delhi in the aftermath of the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in October, 1984, when organized mobs engaged in an anti-Sikh pogrom in India’s capital city and beyond. Thousands of innocent Sikhs were killed, burned alive, beaten, raped and tortured to avenge the Prime Minister’s death. To this day, few — including government officials implicated in the massacre — have ever been held to account by India’s […]

Categories: 1984, Art, TV/Movies • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Indira Gandhi, Kush, Shubhashish Bhutiani, Venice International Film Festival

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill lay a wreath at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi on July 23. Gandhi's granddaughter, Tara Gandhi, is at right. (Source: Deccan Chronicle)

The Veep visits India

July 24, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

As Vice President Joe Biden visits India this week, I was reminded of President Barack Obama’s visit to India in late 2010, in which he avoided visiting the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, Punjab, a site which reportedly draws up to a hundred thousand of visitors per day, not including Presidents of the United States. For a well-known location which has such appeal to Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike and to residents of and visitors to India, it was noteworthy that […]

Categories: 1984, Politics • Tags: 1984, 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Amritsar, anti-Sikh pogroms, Barack Obama, Darbar Sahib, drug trade, drugs, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, Joe Biden, Mahatma Gandhi, November 1984, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, Vice President of the United States

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: 1984 anti-Sikh riots

USCIRF 2015 Annual Report addresses religious freedom of Sikhs in India

1984 through Indian Eyes: Part VI — “My People’s Heart” by Preeti Kaur

Picture of the Day: “Mourning Chants” by Vishavjit Singh

1984 Living History Project to launch “Reclaim the Flames” campaign

1984 through Indian Eyes: Part V — Helium by Jaspreet Singh

1984 Through Indian Eyes: Part IV — Delhi: A Novel by Khushwant Singh

Kush, film about 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, wins award at Venice film festival

Kush, film about 1984 anti-Sikh riots, to be screened at Venice film festival

The Veep visits India