In June it will be thirty years since Indira Gandhi ordered the massacre in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, at the end of October the anniversary of her assassination will be observed, and the tens of thousands murdered by Hindu mobs led by Congress Party goondas will be remembered. What has the Indian government done since then to bring about justice?
Well, the answer to that is simple: nothing.
They've created commissions.
Formed august bodies.
And covered-up.
Admitting the role of prominent politicians and the upper echelons of the Delhi police in the mass murder that took place over five days in November 1984 would upset the apple-cart.
Can't do that. It would shake the foundations.
Political leaders who distributed kerosene so that Sikhs might be burned alive have thrived, and charges against them have been dismissed.
The Delhi police -- usually singularly useless -- proved themselves adept at standing by during events, denying all responsibility since, and destroying evidence in the years afterwards.
In the years since then, the Congress Party has solidified its position as the home away from home for murderously corrupt officials, and the other political movements have appealed to the Hindu Nationalists and entrenched interests, when not sanctioning "enforcement" against non-cooperative businessmen, or organizing sectarian conflict.
In point of fact, the majority of officials in India are beneficiaries of corruption on a monumental scale, and consequently have no interest in law and order, or even justice, beyond what is necessary to keep the lower classes at bay and incendiarists from burning down the edifice of state.
Rectitude would destroy the government.
And impoverish the rulers.
When India boasts that it is the world's largest democracy, it would be well to remind them that they are also the world's largest corruptocracy.
There is very little that can be said that puts the Indian state in a good light. Perhaps the only thing that makes them look good is that Pakistan is a far greater failure as a nation.
Afterword: yes, I realize that January 26 or August 15 would both be better publishing days for this little essay. But feel free to reread it then; it will be just as accurate, and ever apposite.
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5 comments:
Well, to be fair, I am not sure if it would fit the traditional definition of "massacre". There was an impressive amount of weaponry holed up in that temple... And Mrs Gandhi paid for her decision just four months later.
And Delhi is STILL the gang-rape capitol of the world.
See rape of a Danish woman
"The 51-year-old tourist was raped at knife-point by a group of men in the Paharganj area on Tuesday evening after she lost her way and asked for help."
Seems like they can't keep their eyes and hands off of the fairer sex.
No wonder the most popular insult in Hindi is "bhainchot".
"A man has also been arrested in Chennai after allegedly raping an 18-year-old German on a train last week."
Wow. Nationwide phenomenon.
Kudos, Indians, kudos.
It's unity!
Further important sentences from that BBC article: "
"Delhi police acted with unusual speed in responding to this case, "
And:
"Although cases involving foreigners continue to get far more attention in the media and from the police, Indian women who are raped are still far less likely to receive justice, our correspondent says. "
I cannot think of anything more spiritual than being violated by the heir to five thousand years of civilization and enlightened philosophy. It's very liberating. That's what all tourists want.
The Indian Tourist board should start publicizing this, instead of pretending it doesn't happen.
Hi e-k,
Those are indeed factors to consider, yet there is also evidence that Indira Gandhi created Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, in the sense that covert actions were taken to establish a counterforce to other movements in Panjab that didn't co-operate with Congress and her government. And it should be noted that several other options were discussed before the assault, but that for the sake of India's honour (in other words, sheer arrogant stubbornness), the army was sent in.
Indira Ghandi had deliberately allowed the situation to deteriorate.
The Hindus needed blood.
And the Sikhs were too uppity by half.
What happened in Delhi in the first few days of December (after Indira Gandhi was killed) was, however, unequivocally a massacre, enabled and organized by the Congress Party, and participated in by thousands. It is a blot that three decades later, hardly anyone has been held to account, no one has been convicted, and the Indian National Congress is still considered a valid political entity both within India and in the outside world.
Despite the very clear evidence that numerous functionaries at all levels of the Congress Party AND the government were complicit, there has been no justice.
And there never will be.
However, there's only one Gandhi left, and with a bit of luck she'll follow her husband, in a similar manner. But preferably this time clearly engineered by Hindu factions from her own party.
However, there's only one Gandhi left,
WRONG! There are two more besides her. Her children, specifically.
Rahul Gandhi, born 1970, and his younger sister Priyanka, born in 1972.
Total of three.
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