Nov. 1984 Anniversary

[SIDDHARTHV at delphi.com]

** Please Sign ** This will be sent to the Indian & U.S. press ** 

              AN APPEAL TO ALL WOMEN AND MEN OF CONSCIENCE  

      ** Ten Years After the Delhi Massacres of November 1984 **
_________________________________________________________________ 

     It is now ten years since the massacre of more than three
thousand people in Delhi and other cities following the
assassination of Indira Gandhi. Although official and independent
inquiries have implicated police officers, government
functionaries and leaders of the Congress(I) in those killings,
no action has been taken against them. Individuals whose
prosecution was mandated by official panels continue to occupy
positions of influence whereas their victims  have yet to be
adequately compensated and rehabilitated.
     Since 1984, communal violence has been repeatedly organised
all over the country, most recently in the wake of the demolition
of the Babri Masjid. In Bombay and Surat, for example, various
political parties and organizations - besides the police - are
known to have played a prominent role. Why are such incidents
allowed to take place, and why are those involved in perpetrating
this violence not brought to book?
      The years following the 1984 massacres have seen four
different governments at the national level, headed by Rajiv
Gandhi, V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar and Narasimha Rao. In
addition, the BJP has held power in states such as Delhi and
Uttar Pradesh. Despite this rotation of political parties and
leaders, the guilty have not been punished. The failure of
successive governments to give justice to the people suggests
that there are serious shortcomings in the ability of the present
political system to protect the rights of citizens. Not only are
the instigators of communal violence never apprehended but it is
also not uncommon for cases of murder, disappearances and
custodial killings to go uninvestigated and unpunished - as
events in Punjab, Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere serve to
remind us. The rule of law has, in effect, been rendered a dead
letter as the perpetrators of violence are allowed to freely go
about their business.
     Ten years after November 1984, the task of ending this
appalling state of affairs remains as urgent as ever. The
government must ensure that the rights of all citizens are
protected and respected. No official, party or political
personality should be above the law.

ON THE OCCASION OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1984 MASSACRES,
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, CALL UPON EVERYONE TO DEMAND THAT THE INDIAN
GOVERNMENT: 

1. Compensate and rehabilitate the victims of November 1984 and
all incidents of communal violence.

2. Prosecute those involved in crimes against the people,
regardless of their political or official affiliation.

3. Bring about an immediate end to all acts of violence against
the people. 
                            
                |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|
                | PARTIAL LIST OF SIGNATORIES TO APPEAL |
                |_______________________________________|

(Institutional affiliations for identification purposes only) 

Anurag Acharya, Carnegie-Mellon University
Dr. Pal Ahluwalia, University of Adelaide
Prof. Meena Alexander, Poet
Dr. B. Ananthanarayan, Lausanne
Prof. Frederique Apffel-Marglin, Smith College
Prof. Ravi Arunkundram, New York University
Association of Indian Progressive Study Groups
Jasbir Bhangoo, University of New Mexico
Raghu R Bhat, University of Karlsruhe
Prof. Crispin Bates, Edinburgh University
Prof. Ravi B. Boppana, New York University
Prof. Sugata Bose, Tufts University
Shonali Bose, University of California at Los Angeles
Kusumlata Chaddha, Kiel University
Banjot Singh Chanana, Brown University
Dr. Anuj Dawar, University of Swansea
Mandeep Singh Dhillon, Raleigh, NC
Ahmed Farooq, Stanford University
Rajesh Gopakumar, Princeton University
Vivek Gore, University of Edinburgh
Jamal Hassan, South Asia Legal Aid, Toronto
Indian Progressive Action Group, Austin
Prof. Roger Jeffery, Edinburgh University
Gurinder Singh Johar, Bell Labs
Sibi Kuruvilla, North Carolina State University
Dr. David Lelyveld, Columbia University
Harsha G. Marti, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sanjoy Majumder, Northwestern University
Dalvinder Singh Matharu
K. Mohit, Californina Institute of Technology
V. Nagarajan, University of Washington
Prof. C.M. Naim, University of Chicago
Harminder Kaur Nayar
Dr. Bedabrata Pain, Indian Progressive Study Group
Dr. R.M. Pal, Peoples' Union for Civil Liberties, New Delhi
Rehana Patel, University of South Carolina
Prof. Sheldon Pollock, University of Chicago
Prof. Gyan Prakash, Princeton University
Hem Ramachandran, University of Texas
Mallika Ramdas, Columbia University
Dr. Raghu Rangarajan, University of Callifornia, Santa Barbara
Basav Sen, University of Texas
Gautam Sethi, University of Callifornia, Berkeley
Prof. S. Shankar, Rutgers University
Manjit Singh, Maryland
Paramjit Singh, Georgia
Tej-Preet Singh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Satinder Pal Singh, Berkeley
Suminderpal Singh, University of Wisconsin
Virinder Singh, Columbia University
V. Siddharth, New York University
Kripa Sundar, Buffalo
Dr. Nandini Sundar, University of Edinburgh
R. Subramaniam, Carleton University
Vanita Varma, University of Toronto
Dr. Urvashi Vij, Imperial College, London

_________________________________________________________________ 
To add your name to this appeal, or to make a donation towards
publicising it, please contact:

ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN PROGRESSIVE STUDY GROUPS
Email: siddharthv at delphi.com
SMail: Earl Hall, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
Telephone/Fax: (212) 749-5719