Delay in Army action: How Sonia Gandhi's 1984 anti-Sikh riots claim was busted 40 years ago

Detailed summary

During the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, had the Army been deployed sooner in Delhi, at least 2,000 lives could have been saved. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi writes the delay was due to then Army Chief Gen AS Vaidya's decision. However, the deposition of Gen Vaidya and the Misra Commission findings busted those claims 40 years ago.

"Many contradictory reports have appeared about that harrowing period, some concerning the delay in the deployment of the army," writes Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in her memoir on the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom that followed the assassination of the prime minister and her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi. The pogrom, in which over 2,700 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone, is one of the darkest chapters in modern Indian history and blamed on Congress leaders.

Among several issues, Sonia Gandhi's account of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on Tuesday (November 10), has sparked an intense debate.

Sonia Gandhi says the Army was ordered to be deployed on October 31, 1984, the very day when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, but the delay was on part of the military brass.

In his submission to the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission that was set up in 1985 to inquire into the 1984 riots, Army Chief General AS Vaidya said soldiers had been deployed on October 31 itself but never utilised.

The delay, as the Misra Commission would hear, was due to Delhi's Lieutenant Governor and the Police Commissioner, who insisted on going around and taking stock of the ground situation before soldiers could be deployed.

The Misra Commission found that had the around 5,000 soldiers present in Delhi been pressed into service, the lives of at least 2,000 Sikhs could have been saved.

Several people have now countered Sonia Gandhi's accounts of the 1984 massacre in her memoir, questioning her version of the timeline.

HS Phoolka, a Senior Advocate who fought for the 1984 victims and is now a BJP member, said her claims were "absolutely false".

Columnist and author Tavleen Singh said Sonia Gandhi's memoir was "fascinating", but "the whitewashing of the Congress role in the 1984 pogrom is unforgivable".

Opening of the article, excerpted from India Today. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.