California Assembly resolution seeks to declare 1984 anti-Sikh riots as genocide

The California State Assembly has approved a resolution that calls on the United States Congress to formally acknowledge and denounce the 1984 anti-Sikh violence in India as genocide.

Introduced by the first-ever elected Sikh member of the State Assembly, Jasmeet Kaur Bains, the resolution was passed unanimously by the California State Assembly on March 22.

Assembly Member Carlos Villapudua co-sponsored the resolution, and it received support from the only other Hindu member, Ash Kalra, who also voted in favour.

The resolution highlights the fact that the Sikh community in the US has not yet fully recovered from the physical and psychological trauma inflicted by the riots.

Therefore, it calls upon the US Congress to recognise and condemn the November 1984 anti-Sikh violence as a genocide.

The resolution points out that the "Widow Colony" in New Delhi continues to house Sikh women who were subjected to assault, rape, torture, and forced to witness the brutal dismemberment, burning, and murder of their families.

According to the resolution, these women are still seeking justice against the perpetrators, according to the resolution.

Pritpal Singh, coordinator of the American Sikh Caucus Committee and other US Sikh organisations, issued a statement expressing gratitude to the members of the California State Assembly for introducing and passing the resolution.

In 2015, the California Assembly had also passed a resolution describing the anti-Sikh violence as pogroms.

Violence erupted in Delhi and other parts of India following the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

The violence resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 Sikhs across India, primarily in the National Capital.

(With inputs from PTI)