Author: Surendra Munshi
Publication: The Times of India
Date: April 30, 2009
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Editorial/SUBVERSE-Justice-on-trial/articleshow/4464477.cms
From all the accounts that have appeared about
him in the press, Jarnail Singh, the journalist who threw his shoe in the
direction of home minister P Chidambaram recently, seems to be a sober person.
He has been described as a mild-mannered and religious person, and a thorough
professional. Why then did he behave in such an irresponsible manner?
Chidambaram, who showed composure under attack,
has admitted that he did not think the journalist wanted to hurt him. Indeed,
Jarnail Singh has also clarified that his intention was not to hurt anyone.
It was, according to him, an act of protest that happened in the heat of the
moment. He was protesting against Chidambaram feeling happy about the clean
chit given by the CBI to Jagdish Tytler.
Chidambaram has forgiven Jarnail Singh for his emotional outburst and he,
in turn, has expressed his regret at the manner of his protest. Both Tytler
and Sajjan Kumar have been asked to withdraw from the coming election. Should
the matter be allowed to rest here? This is the time to raise issues that
are of national importance. Chidambaram is reported to have said that the
Sikhs had legitimate grievances over the riots of 1984 in so far as not enough
people had been punished. This is just a part of the story.
We need to remember what happened in 1984
and after. 'Who Are the Guilty?', a report based on the joint inquiry conducted
by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and the People's Union for
Democratic Rights (PUDR) into the causes and the impact of the riots in Delhi
from October 31 to November 10, 1984, argues that the attacks on Sikhs in
Delhi and its suburbs were not spontaneous expressions of "grief and
anger" at the assassination of Indira Gandhi but the outcome of a well-organised
plan. The report gives a list of the people who were identified by survivors
as those who allegedly instigated violence and protected criminals.
The list includes the names of Tytler and
Kumar. Names of police officials are also given who were allegedly guilty
of negligence. While the report shows how anti-Sikh sentiments were consciously
whipped up, there are also exemplary examples of how Hindus tried to save
their Sikh neighbours at considerable risks to themselves.
The report demands a public inquiry into the
events of those days. Numerous commissions and committees were constituted
to investigate the riots, right from November 1984 when the Marwah commission
was constituted. From that time till now, India has seen nine prime ministers,
representing not only the Congress party but also other parties, including
Bharatiya Janata Party under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But the issue of justice
has remained elusive.
It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs
in this country that those who were principally responsible for the attacks
that were carried out - in which about 3,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone
- have gone unpunished. It is therefore not surprising that Kuldeep Kaur,
a widow who saw her husband get killed in a narrow bylane of Trilokpuri during
those riots 25 years ago, lamented recently that Tytler had just lost an election
ticket while her husband had lost his life.
It is one of the principal tasks of the state
to administer justice. Nehru's vision for India included the creation of social,
economic and political institutions which would ensure justice and fullness
of life to every man and woman. It is this vision that is now seriously undermined.
The state that does not provide justice cannot
command the respect of its citizens and that erodes the legitimacy of that
state. The agony of the riots of 1984 is not just the agony of the Sikhs but
it should be the agony of all Indians who wish to see that justice is assured
to every man and woman in this country.
- The writer is a Kolkata-based social commentator.
