ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ॥ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਫਤਿਹ॥
We commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Ghallughara—the army attack, the genocide, the crimes against humanity, the extrajudicial killings, and the resistance—and condemn the state-led violence perpetrated against Sikhs across India.
In June 1984, the Indian government launched an all-out assault on the Sri Harimandar Sahib and Akal Takht Sahib Complex. Over 250 brave Sikh warriors valiantly defended the Complex and upheld the sovereignty of Sikhi.
Over 10,000 non-combatant Sikh civilians, gathered to commemorate the Shahidi Purab (martyrdom day) of Guru Arjan Sahib, were slaughtered by the Indian army during the assault on the Complex. The building of the Akal Takht Sahib, the manifestation of the Guru’s political power, was severely damaged by the Indian Army; they deliberately destroyed the Sikh Reference Library, constituting a libricide.
The Indian Army attacked over 108 other Gurduaras around Panjab in June 1984, resulting in the deaths of unknown thousands; thousands of Sikh soldiers who rebelled against them were killed. Multiple “operations” of the Indian Army resulted in the arrest, torture, and killing of thousands of Sikhs across Panjab.
In November 1984, the Indian government orchestrated a systematic genocidal massacre of Sikhs across India. Sikhs were brutally killed in various states, including Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Maharashtra. Sikh men and boys were burned alive, women and girls were sexually assaulted, Guru Granth Sahib Sarups were desecrated, and Sikh homes and businesses were destroyed. The violence in the capital city of Delhi alone claimed over 10,000 Sikh lives.
As recently as 2011, mass graves of Sikhs killed in 1984 have been discovered in the villages of Hondh Chillar and Pataudi in Haryana. The “Widow Colony,” the Tilak Vihar neighborhood in New Delhi, still houses hundreds of Sikh women who were victims of mass rape and witnessed the brutal murder of their husbands, fathers, and sons during the 1984 genocide and are still calling for justice. In 2013, a memorial next to Akal Takht Sahib was inaugurated to mark the defenders during the 1984 Ghallughara. In 2024, a gallery inside the Sri Harimandar Sahib complex was unveiled as a tribute to the martyrs of 1984.
To ensure perpetual remembrance of the 1984 Ghallughara and its importance in Sikh memory, we urge the Akal Takht Sahib to add a commemorative line to our daily Panthic ardas (supplication). This aligns with collective ongoing efforts to commemorate 1984, guided by the wisdom of Guru Granth Sahib, which leads us on the path to resilience and healing. Let us also pledge to support continued documentation and archiving, legal defenses, and Sikh narrative creatives.
In Remembrance of ੴ (Ik Oankar; 1 Creator), the adoption of this resolution acknowledges and denounces state-led violence directed at Sikhs across India and advocates and supports ongoing efforts at achieving justice.
Let us never forget that we serve the 1 Creator’s Darbar and Takht envisioned and built by the Guru Sahibs: “Your Court is great; Your Throne is eternal.” – Guru Granth Sahib 964
Panth Sewak Collective
Bhai Daljit Singh
Bhai Narien Singh
Bhai Satnam Singh Khandewala
Bhai Bhupinder Singh
Bhai Lal Singh Akalgarh
Bhai Amrik Singh Issru
Bhai Rajinder Singh Mughalwal
Bhai Hardeep Singh Mehraj
Bhai Satnam Singh Jhanjian
Bhai Sukhdev Singh Doad
Bhai Manjeet Singh Phagwara
੧੬ ਜੇਠ ੫੫੬ (ਨ.ਸ਼.)
(28 May 2024)