HONDH-CHILLAR,
PATAUDI, HARYANA POGROMS
Charnjit Singh Bal (Editor)
The
massacres of Sikhs all over India were, evidently, carried out with the
connivance, and/or contrivance of Leaders of State and Union Governments of
Congress (I) party, during first week of November 1984 after the murder of
Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, and President of Congress (I)
party on 31 October 1984 by two of her own Sikh body guards. (Indira Gandhi had
ordered armed attack on Sikh holy shrine, Darbar Sahib Amritsar, also known as
the
The
massacre of
32 Sikh residents of a small Sikh village Hondh or Hondh-Chillar, located in
Rewari District of Haryana, where about six Sikh families had settled after 1947
partition of
The
attackers killed young and old men, women and children indiscriminately and
torched the Sikh Gurudwara and houses and looted property as the police and
other authorities stood by and watched the carnage.
Around
6 pm the diesel tank of a tractor, parked within the court yard of one of the
Sikh houses caught fire and exploded. The explosion frightened the attackers who
fled, but by that time more than half population of village Hondh was massacred.
In all 32 Sikhs were killed. One Sikh soldier who had escaped a similar attack
at another place was also killed. Those who survived abandoned the village and
now live in
After
the massacre complaint was filed by the then village-head of village Chillar
with the Haryana
Police, but it was never investigated.
According to the FIR, no 91, a copy of which was presented in the Punjab
and Haryana High Court on Wednesday, Maech 2011, which was registered at police
station Jatusana in Mahendergarh district, now in Rewari, based on DDR no 5, the
killers had first arrived in a truck from the side of Hali Mandi in Pataudi,
Gurgaon district on the morning of November 2, at around 11am, but were
"pacified" and persuaded to go back by a group of villagers of
Chillar. However, they returned in the evening, accompanied by more people in
two or three trucks and started the bloodbath. ‘They said they were determined
to eliminate the Sikhs because those Sikhs had killed our beloved leader Indira
Gandhi', reads the statement recorded by the complainant in the FIR.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Dhanpat Singh, the then
sarpanch of Chillar who has stated that the killers came back in the evening and
started burning the dwellings of the Sikhs. Though, the locals tried to stop
them but the killers carried on their arson and attack, while threatening the
locals to keep out. The complaint states, "Deep Chand Nambardar, Nanak
Chand, Kanhaiya Lal Panch, a resident of Nurpur came to the spot and tried to
convince them (killers). But, none of them paid any heed to it and said that
Sikhs are traitors and we will finish them, and if you said a word then you will
also face bad consequences. They were 400-500 in number and they put houses and
shed on fire and started pelting stones, due to which some people were burnt in
the houses".
The sarpanch also stated that the locals could not identify the burnt
bodies, which were 20 in number. "We wanted to come to report the incident
immediately but those people restrained us and did not allow us to come."
He also mentions the name of Subedar Deep Chand, who accompanied the sarpanch to
the police station to report the incident.
The FIR was attested and signed by head constable Ram Kumar and it was
registered under sections 148/149/302/436 and 34 of IPC. The document also says
that a "special report is being sent by hand through Lal Prashad to Illaqa
magistrate sahib and officers. Since the SHO sahib has gone to Rewari along with
officials vide report no 21, dated 1.11.84 for special duty, he is being
informed through wireless, and I, 2 HC along with constable Dharampal are
leaving for the spot along with Dhanpat and Deep Chand."
The
massacre remained unreported by media for almost 27 years, until February 2011,
when a Sikh engineer Mohindar
Singh Giaspura's chance meeting with a truck driver at Gurgaon
factory led to discovery of the massacre.
After
uncovering the mass Grave of Sikhs killed in village Hondh-Chillar, District
Rewari, Haryana in which 32 Sikhs were killed on November 2, 1984, All India
Sikh Students Federation and Sikhs For Justice have now uncovered another
systematic, organized and well planned attack on Sikhs at Pataudi, Haryana in
which 17 Sikhs were killed by a mob lead by local congress leaders.
Two
teenage daughters of Gian Singh, Harmeet Kaur, 16, and Karamjeet Kaur, 19 were
stripped naked, abused....., urinated on faces and then burnt alive on November
2, 1984 at Pataudi, Haryana. According to an eyewitness, the mob dragged them
out into the street, stripped them naked, beat them, abused.them, urinated on
their faces and burnt them alive. The attackers raised slogans that "Sardaron
ke bache hai, to maro" (They are children of sardars, so kill them)",
"Naginon
ko khatam kar do- yeh sapolon ko hi janam dengi"(Kill
these snakes, they are going to give birth to snakes only).
Pataudi,
District Gurgaon, Haryana, wherein 17 Sikhs were brutally killed on November 2,
1984, is another poignant example of Sikh Genocide by a strong mob lead by local
congress leaders. In November 1984 there were 30 Sikh families living in
Pataudi. On November 1, 1984, the local Gurudwara was set on fire and the Sikh
families ran away to save their lives. While one group ran to the safety of the
village, another chose to stay in the local Hari Mandar Ashram. On November 2,
1984, while a group of Sikhs returned to their respective houses, they were
attacked by armed mobs led by congress leaders and 17 Sikhs were brutally killed
that day. The attackers surrounded the Sikh houses and started throwing petrol
bombs into their houses. Men and children were beaten and thrown into the
burning houses and women were first raped and then thrown into the fire.
The
witness who survived the attack remembers that mob was raising slogans "Jab
Tak Suraj Chand Rahe ga Indira Tere Naam Rehega" , "Indira Gandhi Amar
Rehe" and "Sikh Gadaar Hain, Inhe Mar Daloo" (Sikhs are traitors,
kill them). The mob was carrying swords, petrol, white powder and lathis, and
they ransacked the Sikh houses, burnt Sikhs alive and looted their property. The
witnesses' house was also attacked and burnt down but he along with his family
were rescued by their neighbors.
The
witness still has ruins of his house intact so that he can show the world how
Sikhs were hunted, houses burnt and looted during November 1984.
Witnesses
stated that Granthi of the Gurudwara was able to retrieve Sri Guru Granth Sahib
and ran towards the Village Bhore Kalan where he was overpowered by the
attackers led by Jhandu Saini, Zamindar, and was chopped into pieces, and the
same mob also killed Gurbaksh Singh s/o Gian Singh, whose daughters were raped
before being burnt alive.
An
FIR number 282-83 was registered at Pataudi Police Station on November 12, 1984
and it has more than fifteen names of the accused who were involved in the
killing of Sikhs on November 2, 1984. There is a list of 24 witnesses but on
April 26, 1986, the then Session Judge VM Jain acquitted all the accused because
of lack of evidence.
As
per attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Legal Advisor to Sikhs For Justice, who
interviewed the victims and survivors over the phone stated that discovery of
Pataudi massacre of Sikhs is another living paradigm of Sikh Genocide and a
constant reminder that justice has been denied and eluded the victims of
November 1984 Sikh Genocide. The Pataudi massacre of Sikhs is an identical
pattern throughout
AISSF
President Karnail Singh Peermohammad stated that it is shocking and unbearable
to hear about the Sikh Genocide of Pataudi and raises a question as to what was
the extent of loss of life of Sikhs during the organized and planned attacks in
November 1984. If there are two grave incidents of violence in Haryana within
few miles, it is quite possible that there will be hundreds of such sites
throughout
AISSF
and Sikhs For Justice have released the following list of those killed at
Pataudi, District Gurgaon, Haryana on November 2, 1984:
1.
Kishan Singh husband of Geevni Bai
Kapur
Singh son of Geevni Bai
Kuldip
Singh son of Geevni Bai
Harbahajan
Singh son of Geevni Bai
Harnam
Singh husband of Isri Bai
Avtar Singh son of Isri Bai
Harmeet Kaur daughter of Gian Singh
Karamjeet Kaur daughter of Gian Singh
Gurbaksh Singh son of Gian Singh
Amrik Singh husband of Amrit Kaur
Fateh Singh son of Kirpal Singh
Arjun Singh son of Mohinder Singh
Bhagat Singh son of Mohinder Singh
Gopal Singh son of Inder Singh
Surjit Singh
Kamaljeet Kaur
Granthi of Gurudwara