New Delhi, India: In November 1984 Sikhs were subjected to genocide in India. Sikhs were subjected to genocidal violence carried in series of massacres of Sikhs throughout India. Indian state and media never accepted the fact of Sikh genocide of 1984.
Indian media always projected these massacres as ‘riots’ using terms ‘anti-Sikh riots’ to refer to Sikh genocide of 1984.
Use of term “riots” tends to absolve the responsibility of perpetrators of Sikh genocide 1984 for worst crime (i.e. “genocide”) recognized under international law.
In 2010, when the Akal Takht Sahib issued a directive commanding Sikhs and media outlets to use the term ‘genocide’ to refer to Sikh genocide of 1984, headlines in Indian media read that “1984 riots were ‘Sikh genocide’: Akal Takht”.
Two days back, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that November 1984 Sikh massacres were ‘genocide’ not ‘riots’. But Indian media reported that “Rajnath Singh termed ‘1984 anti-Sikh riots’ as ‘genocide’. This shows that Indian media is hell bent to label Sikh genocide as ‘riots’.