During the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, had the Army been deployed sooner in Delhi, at least 2,000 lives could have been saved. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi writes the delay was due to then Army Chief Gen AS Vaidya’s decision. However, the deposition of Gen Vaidya and the Misra Commission findings busted those claims 40 years ago.
“Many contradictory reports have appeared about that harrowing period, some concerning the delay in the deployment of the army,” writes Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in her memoir on the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom that followed the assassination of the prime minister and her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi. The pogrom, in which over 2,700 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone, is one of the darkest chapters in modern Indian history and blamed on Congress leaders.
Among several issues, Sonia Gandhi’s account of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on Tuesday (November 10), has sparked an intense debate.
Sonia Gandhi says the Army was ordered to be deployed on October 31, 1984, the very day when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, but the delay was on part of the military brass.
In his submission to the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission that was set up in 1985 to inquire into the 1984 riots, Army Chief General AS Vaidya said soldiers had been deployed on October 31 itself but never utilised.
The delay, as the Misra Commission would hear, was due to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor and the Police Commissioner, who insisted on going around and taking stock of the ground situation before soldiers could be deployed.
The Misra Commission found that had the around 5,000 soldiers present in Delhi been pressed into service, the lives of at least 2,000 Sikhs could have been saved.
Several people have now countered Sonia Gandhi’s accounts of the 1984 massacre in her memoir, questioning her version of the timeline.
HS Phoolka, a Senior Advocate who fought for the 1984 victims and is now a BJP member, said her claims were “absolutely false”.
Columnist and author Tavleen Singh said Sonia Gandhi’s memoir was “fascinating”, but “the whitewashing of the Congress role in the 1984 pogrom is unforgivable”.
Let us have a look at the timeline of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the days of the rioting and killing to put the debate in context.
TIMELINE OF INDIRA GANDHI’S ASSASSINATION AND ANTI-SIKH POGROM OF 1984
June 1–8, 1984: Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the Army to storm the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar as part of Operation Blue Star to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale-led Sikh insurgents.
October 31, 1984: Indira Gandhi shot by her bodyguards around 9.30 am. Rushed to AIIMS, where doctors pronounced her dead at approximately 2:20 pm.
October 31, 1984: Initial unrest begins with crowds outside AIIMS targeting the motorcade of President Zail Singh at around 5.30 pm. Rajiv Gandhi sworn in as PM, Indira’s death announced on Doordarshan. Late-night attacks on Sikhs
November 1, 1984: Organised attacks on Sikh-majority neighborhoods across Delhi, including Trilokpuri, Sultanpuri, and Mangolpuri
November 2, 1984: Large-scale killings continues unchecked in outer Delhi colonies. Curfew declared in Delhi, and Army deployment announced in the afternoon.
November 3, 1984: Army receives shoot-at-sight orders and starts patrolling Delhi streets. Indira Gandhi cremated in the afternoon
WHAT SONIA GANDHI WRITES ABOUT 1984 RIOTS IN MEMOIR
In Chapter 17 (Page 265) of her memoir, Sonia Gandhi writes that Army deployment was ordered on October 31 itself but General Vaidya didn’t prefer the mobilisation of some nearby units.
“Although the Chief of Army Staff, General AS Vaidya, had received his orders the same night as the assassination, we heard later that he decided not to mobilise the nearest units because they were manned by Sikh soldiers, a factor that might have exacerbated the situation,” writes Sonia in Belonging.
“Following Operation Blue Star, there had been sporadic mutinies in Gurdaspur, Ramgarh in Bihar, Pune, and Jammu by Sikh soldiers, in which a number of Sikh officers had also participated,” she explains.
“Whatever the reason, General Vaidya ordered units further away, in Dehradun, to move to Delhi. This took some time, but by the night of November 1, army units had started moving into place and by noon of November 2 had been positioned in parts of the city affected by rioting; a curfew was in force and shoot-at-sight orders had been issued,” writes Sonia.
“Meanwhile, civil society had also helped with setting up relief camps around the city to protect and feed the traumatised survivors. Order was finally restored, and the rioting came to an end.”
WHAT GENERAL VAIDYA SAID ABOUT ARMY DEPLOYMENT IN DELHI IN 1984
General Vaidya’s remarks are captured in the Misra Commission report, and not the Nanavati Commission (2000-2005) report.
General Vaidya was assassinated in Pune by Khalistanis on August 10, 1986. He didn’t live to see the final report. The Misra Commission report was submitted in August 1986, but tabled in Parliament only in February 1987.
General Vaidya told the Misra Commission that by about 10.30 am on October 31, 1984, he had directed a Brigade from Meerut to be moved to Delhi and this Brigade had reached Delhi before midnight. This Brigade had 1,600 fighting officers and jawans.
At Delhi, the usual Army strength was somewhere between 5,500 and 6,000 strong.
Major General JS Jamwal, GOC Delhi Area, was ordered to provide all assistance, and told the Commission that he had 6,100 soldiers with him in Delhi, 3,000 for field duty and 3,100 who were being used for controlling movements at Teenmurti Bhavan where Indira’s body was lying in state, and at Shakti Sthal where she was to be cremated.
By the time the brigade directed by General Vaidya to reach Delhi arrived on the night of October 31, the number of troops ready to be mobilised had risen to 5,000. This number included two infantry brigades, two artillery regiments, an engineering regiments, and personnel at the Rajputana Rifles Training Centre.
All that was needed was the go-ahead from Delhi’s civil authorities.
WHO DID MISRA COMMISSION BLAME FOR THE KILLING OF SIKHS IN 1984?
The Misra Commission found the statement of Police Commissioner Subhash Tandon that adequate Army personnel were not available in Delhi to be without basis.
Lt Governor PG Gavai stated to the Commission that in the early morning of November 1, he was apprehensive that the situation might worsen and “had advised the Commissioner of Police that the Army may be called”.
The Commission also noted that Gautam Kaul, Additional Commissioner of Police, had warned Tandon that the Delhi Police “were not in a position to match the challenging task that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi.”
“It is at that point of time that the Commissioner of Police wanted a personal assessment to be made of the situation by moving around. This took quite some time,” according to the Commission’s report.
The Misra Commission blamed the delay in Army deployment squarely on Lt Governor Gavai and the Commissioner of Police. Both were under the Congress-led Union government. And both were the only ones who could request the Indian Army’s assistance to curb the violence.
There have been eyewitness accounts stating that Congress leaders, including Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, directing mobs to attack Sikh families.
Tandon was removed as the Commissioner of Police in November 1984.
“If the Army had been called in on the morning of November 1, 1984 — and by then about 5,000 Army people were at Delhi — the position would certainly not have been as bad as it turned out to be. 5,000 Army jawans divided into columns and moving into. the streets properly armed would not have brought about the death of at least 2,000 people,” the Commission concluded regarding Army deployment.
THE REACTION TO SONIA GANDHI’S 1984 ARMY CLAIMS
The Ahuja Committee, set up in 1987, put the all-India death toll in the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 at 3,325, of whom 2,733 Sikhs were killed in Delhi.
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on November 19, reacting to the anti-Sikh pogrom, said: “… When Indira’s assassination happened, there were riots in the country. We know that the hearts of the Indian people were full of anger and that for a few days people felt India was shaking. When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”
Timely deployment of Army personnel, who were present in the Capital, could have saved at least 2,000 Sikhs in Delhi, according to the Misra Commission. General Vaidya said he had given the orders, and the Commission said it was the civilian administration that delayed the deployment.
Sonia Gandhi, in her memoir Belonging, says the Army got the order on October 31 itself, and the delay was due to the decision of General Vaidya.
BJP leader HS Phoolka said on Tuesday said the claim was “absolutely false”.
“As per the official record by the [Misra] Commission, by the Govt, the Army was called in on the evening of November 1 and the Army arrived only on the evening of November 2. In its report, Misra Commission stated that 5,000 Army personnel were available within Delhi, and they were not deployed,” Phoolka told ANI.
He cited the Misra Commission to say that “had they been deployed, lives of 2,000 Sikhs could have been saved.”
