Baku Initiative Group prepares report on mass violence against Sikhs in India

The Baku Initiative Group has prepared a report on systematic mass violence committed against the Sikh community in India.

The organization said this in a statement.

The report titled “Who Are the Guilty?” is an independent fact finding document jointly prepared in November 1984 by two prominent Indian human rights organizations – the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR).

The document is based on investigations conducted in the areas where the 1984 massacres took place.

The main purpose of the report is to objectively examine the systematic mass violence committed against the Sikh community in Delhi and surrounding areas on 31 October 1984, and to provide a structured analysis of the causes of these events, the mechanisms of organization, the perpetrators, and their social and political consequences.

The report is based on interviews with survivors who escaped the violence and persecution, eyewitnesses, individuals residing in refugee camps, police and administrative representatives, as well as political officials. The main conclusion of the report is that, contrary to official statements, the violence was pre planned and organized by government forces.

The peak of the violence was recorded between 1 and 3 November 1984. Based on direct eyewitness accounts, the research group notes that the total number of victims in Delhi alone exceeded 1,000. Hundreds of deaths were recorded in the Trilokpuri and Mangolpuri districts of Delhi. The broader social and economic consequences of the violence were also profound.

According to official data, 20,000 people were registered in relief camps, but in reality more than 50,000 people were left homeless and displaced. Thousands of families were left without heads of households, hundreds of children were orphaned, and many individuals sustained serious bodily injuries. The psychological impact was long lasting, with most survivors suffering severe trauma, refusing to return to their homes, and facing deep mental distress.

According to the report, Sikh men aged 20 to 50 were forcibly dragged from their homes and killed using extremely brutal methods, including beatings, stabbings, lynching, or being burned alive, often after being doused with kerosene or petrol and sometimes with tires placed around their necks. Widespread looting also took place, with homes, shops, gurdwaras (Sikh temples), and schools set on fire, and incidents of gang rape reported. At least four cases of sexual violence against women aged 14 to 50 were documented.

Taking into account the systematic nature of these events and the responsibility of state institutions, the report called for an immediate independent judicial investigation and the punishment of those responsible. Although these demands later influenced the establishment of the Mishra (1985) and Nanavati (2005) commissions, the culture of impunity continues. None of the high ranking officials or political figures responsible for the violence against Sikhs have been punished.

The massacres committed by the Indian government have been described by international human rights organizations as “organized carnage” at the state level and are regarded as one of the key documents widely cited in this context.

It should be noted that at the end of an international conference held in Baku last month at the initiative of the Baku Initiative Group, representatives of Sikh communities operating in various countries around the world called on the Indian government to stop these persecutions and recognize the massacres committed.