They say a picture speaks a thousand words. The iconic picture of a Sikh being stoned and beaten on the streets of Delhi in November 1984 is in many ways representative of the terror and carnage that took place twenty eight years ago. How could the thousands of Sikhs who were attacked and killed have ever known that members of their own government were organizing mobs, providing them with municipal lists and kerosene and leading them on a murderous spree that lasted almost an entire week?
Recently, a group of prominent members of civil society in India announced the “Justice Campaign for the Forgotten Citizens of the 1984 Sikh Genocide”. The travelling exhibition which has gone from Amritsar to Delhi, showcases photographs and paintings from November 1984 which saw the slaughter of thousands of Sikhs on the streets of Delhi and many other towns and cities across India.
In the current era of social media and instant blogging, almost every event in the world is well photographed and documented. Twenty eight years ago, the same resources didn’t exist but still, several newspapers and journalists were able to record the events of November 1984 in pictures. Although some image galleries exist online, WSO has uploaded three galleries with many pictures that are currently not as commonly available.
The three galleries that have been uploaded are:
November 1984- Terror in the streets
November 1984- The aftermath and survivors
Burned Alive
For a reflection on why 1984 still matters to Sikhs and why it must also matter to India and the rest of world, please see WSO’s article Why 1984 Still Matters…
Lest we forget.
