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WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (PTI) The anti-Sikh riots of 1984 marked the “darkest year” in India’s modern history, a U.S. senator said, stressing the need to remember the crimes committed against the Sikh community. atrocities so that those responsible may be held accountable.
Violence erupted in Delhi and other parts of the country after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguard on October 31, 1984.
More than 3,000 Sikhs were killed across India, mostly in the capital.
“1984 was one of the darkest years in the history of modern India. The world witnessed several outbreaks of violence among various ethnic groups in India, several of which were particularly directed against the Sikh community,” Senator Pat Toomey said in the Senate.
“Today, we are here to commemorate the tragedy that began on November 1, 1984, after decades of ethnic tension between Sikhs in Punjab and the government of central India,” he said recently.
“To prevent human rights violations in the future, we must acknowledge their past forms. We must remember the atrocities committed against Sikhs so that those responsible are held accountable, and such tragedies do not target the Sikh community or the rest of the world Repeat,” said Republican Toomey.
Senator Toomey, a member of the U.S. Sikh Congressional Caucus, said the nearly 600-year history of Sikhism can be traced back to the Punjab region of India. With nearly 30 million followers worldwide and 700,000 in the United States, Sikhism is one of the world’s major religions.
Toumi said he had witnessed the Sikh spirit firsthand and had a better understanding of the Sikh tradition founded on equality, respect and peace.
He said it was clear that the presence and contributions of the Sikh community had thoroughly enriched their communities across the country.
He also mentioned community service provided by Sikhs in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, nine Indian-American rights groups here on Saturday ran an ad in The New York Times calling out what it called “religious persecution, discrimination and deadly mob violence” against the Indian minority.
The ad was released on the eve of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday.
The nine institutions include the American Muslim Association, the American Indian Muslim Association Howard Kane, the ICNA Commission on Social Justice, the Dalit Solidarity Forum for Hindu Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council International Peace and Justice Society, and the American Sikh Council. They each paid $1,000 for the ad.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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