Editing Persecution (section)

===Sikhs===
{{Main|Chhota Ghallughara|Vadda Ghalughara|1984 anti-Sikh riots}}
{{Category see also|Persecution of Sikhs}}
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots or the 1984 Sikh Massacre was a series of [[pogroms]]<ref name="toiprog">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110811083708/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-12-31/india/27838902_1_communal-tension-communal-violence-gujarat-riots State pogroms glossed over]. [[The Times of India]]. 31 December 2005.</ref><ref name="rediffprog">{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/09sikh.htm |title=Anti-Sikh riots a pogrom: Khushwant |work=Rediff.com |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref><ref name="2009BBCremember">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8306420.stm|title=Indira Gandhi's death remembered|last=Bedi|first=Rahul|date=1 November 2009|publisher=BBC|quote=The 25th anniversary of Indira Gandhi's assassination revives stark memories of some 3,000 Sikhs killed brutally in the orderly pogrom that followed her killing|access-date=2 November 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091102113639/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8306420.stm| archive-date= 2 November 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcactive.com/BroadCastLearning/asp/catalogue/productdetail.asp?productcode=22026|title=The Assassinations of Indira & Rajiv Gandhi|last=Nugus|first=Phillip|date=Spring 2007|publisher=BBC Active|access-date=23 July 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> directed against [[Sikh]]s in [[India]], by anti-Sikh mobs, in response to the [[assassination of Indira Gandhi]], on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh [[bodyguard]]s in response to her actions authorising the military operation [[Operation Blue Star]]. There were more than 8,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/delhi-court-to-give-verdict-on-re-opening-1984-riots-case-against-congress-leader-jagdish-tytler-352179|title=Delhi court to give verdict on re-opening 1984 riots case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler|website=ndtv.com|access-date=22 October 2017}}</ref> deaths, including 3,000 in Delhi.<ref name="2009BBCremember"/> In June 1984, during [[Operation Blue Star]], [[Indira Gandhi]] ordered the [[Indian Army]] to attack the [[Harmandir Sahib|Golden Temple]] and eliminate any insurgents, as it had been occupied by Sikh separatists who were stockpiling weapons. [[Operation Woodrose|Later operations]] by Indian paramilitary forces were initiated to clear the separatists from the countryside of [[Punjab (Indian state)|Punjab]] state.<ref name="Charny1999">{{cite book|last=Charny|first=Israel W.|title=Encyclopaedia of genocide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Q30HcvCVuIC&pg=PA516|access-date=21 February 2011|year=1999|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-87436-928-1|pages=516–517}}</ref>
 	
The Indian government reported 2,700 deaths in the ensuing chaos. In the aftermath of the riots, the Indian government reported 20,000 had fled the city, however the [[People's Union for Civil Liberties]] reported "at least" 1,000 [[displaced person]]s.<ref name="Mukhoty 1984">{{Citation |title=Who are the Guilty ? | last1 =Mukhoty | first1 =Gobinda | last2 =Kothari | first2 =Rajni |url=http://www.sacw.net/aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html |year=1984 |publisher=[[People's Union for Civil Liberties]]| access-date=4 November 2010 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref> The most affected regions were the Sikh neighbourhoods in [[Delhi]]. The [[Central Bureau of Investigation]], the main Indian investigating agency, is of the opinion that the acts of violence were organized with the support from the then Delhi police officials and the central government headed by [[Indira Gandhi]]'s son, [[Rajiv Gandhi]].<ref name="IBN23April">{{cite news|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/1984-antisikh-riots-backed-by-govt-police-cbi/251375-37-64.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425011626/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/1984-antisikh-riots-backed-by-govt-police-cbi/251375-37-64.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 April 2012 |title=1984 anti-Sikh riots backed by Govt, police: CBI |publisher=[[IBN Live]]|date=23 April 2012 |access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref> Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister after his mother's death and, when asked about the riots, said  "when a big tree falls, the earth shakes" thus trying to justify the communal strife.<ref name="HT18NOV">{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/India/India/Article1-352523.aspx |title=1984 anti-Sikh riots 'wrong', says Rahul Gandhi |publisher=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=18 November 2008 |access-date=5 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012025532/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/India/India/Article1-352523.aspx |archive-date=12 October 2013 }}</ref>
 
There are allegations that the government destroyed evidence and shielded the guilty. The ''[[Asian Age]]'' front-page story called the government actions "the Mother of all Cover-ups"<ref name=coverup-1>{{cite news | last = Mustafa |first = Seema | title = 1984 Sikhs Massacres: Mother of All Cover-ups | page = 1| work = The Asian Age | date = 2005-08-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Agal |first = Renu | title = Justice delayed, justice denied | publisher = BBC News | date = 2005-08-11}}</ref> There are allegations that the violence was led and often perpetrated by Indian National Congress activists and sympathisers during the riots.<ref name="Leaders">{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4130962.stm | title=Leaders 'incited' anti-Sikh riots | publisher=BBC News | date=August 8, 2005 | access-date=November 23, 2012}}</ref> The chief weapon used by the mobs, [[kerosene]], was supplied by a group of Indian National Congress Party leaders who owned filling stations.<ref name="http">{{cite book|last1=Kaur|first1=Jaskaran|last2=Crossette|first2=Barbara|title=Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India |page=29 |url=http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|edition=2nd|year=2006|publisher=Ensaaf|location=Portland, OR|isbn=978-0-9787073-0-9| access-date=4 November 2010 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref>