What Congress has achieved with Rahul Gandhi’s US visit is hard to guess but one thing is for sure: The visit has exposed the ecosystem’s carefully created ‘aura’ around the Gandhi scion. It has only reaffirmed that the Rae Bareli MP is, after all, a Pappu, a popular moniker attached to him after his embarrassing public gaffes and faux pas.
Rahul Gandhi stirred a political controversy with his comments on religious freedom in India, specifically addressing the Sikh community, during an event in Herndon, Virginia.
“First, it’s important to understand what the real issue is. The fight isn’t about politics; that’s just on the surface. What’s your name? The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to wear his turban in India, or whether he’ll be permitted to wear a kada, or even attend the Gurdwara. That’s what this struggle is about, and it extends beyond him to all religions,” Mr Gandhi said in his usual rambling way.
Mr Gandhi aimed to defame India and project a negative image of the Modi government in the United States—by referring to the religious freedom in India, where random mosques and dargahs come up on encroached lands, where Islamic marauders, who pulled down temples of Hindus and Jains to raise mosques over them, are hailed as ‘economic reformists’—to claim the country is opposed to diversity is an insult to the age-old pluralism and interfaith tolerance that forms the core of the Vedic faiths.
But to use Sikhs as a tool to further his propaganda against the BJP is tragic, given that the only time Sikhs had to live under a constant threat of fear and persecution was when the Congress party was at the Centre in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Several Congress leaders at the time, including Jagdish Tytler, have been charged with leading mobs that attacked Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom.
The 1984 Anti-Sikh riots took place in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31st October 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards as revenge for Operation Blue Star. From 1st November to 4th November, Sikhs across the country were killed. The government figures suggest the angry mobs, many of which were led by Congress leaders, brutally murdered 3,350 Sikhs.
Sikhs across the country, particularly in north India, went into hiding, with many men shaving off their heads, which is proscribed as per Sikhism. Yet, to save themselves from bloodthirsty mobs of rioters, several Sikh men had to give up their faith, remove their turbans, and shave their heads to avoid being identified as Sikhs.
Sajjan Kumar was one of the many Congress leaders accused of involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre. Even after grave allegations against him, Congress rewarded him with a ticket to contest elections in 1991, which he subsequently won. He also won the 2004 general elections on the Congress ticket from the Outer Delhi seat with the highest-ever votes at 8,55,543 votes. A Sanjay Gandhi loyalist, he served as a Member of the Committee on Urban Development and Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme in 2005.
The ex-Congress MP was charged with the murder of a man and his son in west Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar. On November 1, 1984, a thousand-strong mob allegedly burned alive a father and son duo (Jaswant Singh and Tarun Deep Singh) in Raj Nagar, West Delhi. The prosecution had stated that the crowd burned alive the two men, as well as damaged, destroyed, looted, arson and inflicted severe injuries on their family members and relations, on Kumar’s incitement and abetment. While framing the charges, the court said sufficient evidence was on record to form a prima facie opinion that Sajjan Kumar was not only “a participant of the riotous mob but had also led it”.
Sajjan Kumar was not the only loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family and Congress who was accused of leading the mob and running a riot. Another such leader was Jagdish Tytler, who continues to hold sway in the Congress party. The Nanavati Commission recorded the testimony of a witness namely, Jasbir Singh, who stated that on 3rd November 1984, he was passing by the TB hospital gate after taking dinner at the house of one Sucha Singh situated at Outram lane when he had seen Jagdish Tytler coming there in a car.
Singh furthered that he heard Tytler “rebuked” the standing persons because his instructions were not faithfully carried out. Therefore his position was greatly compromised and lowered in the eyes of the central leaders. He has alleged to have further stated that there was only nominal killing in his constituency compared to East Delhi, Outer Delhi, and Cant. etc. and it would be difficult for him to stake a claim in future as he has promised large-scale killing of Sikhs. He had complained to those persons that they had betrayed and let him down.
Despite the damning testimony against Tytler, the Congress party did not take punitive action against him. He remained a mainstay of the party’s Delhi unit, often attending meetings and weighing in on his opinions on matters of import.
Jagdish Tytler was subsequently given tickets to contest the election by the Indian National Congress and also made Union Minister of Civil Aviation first and then the Labour Department. He had contested the 2004 elections and won as well. He was dropped in the 2009 polls.
In December 2022, Tytler was seen attending the Congress Delhi Unit’s meeting over the preparations for the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He was also seen campaigning for the Congress party during the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.
The Congress leaders were accused of orchestrating the anti-Sikh pogrom that resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 Sikhs. The party has not shown remorse for its involvement, as it even rewarded the leaders accused of serious charges. This was a time when Sikhs had to hide their identity and go against the principles of Sikhism to stay safe from violent mobs led by Congress leaders.
Before Mr Gandhi involved Sikhs in his propaganda campaign, he should have been aware of the Congress party’s history of violence against Sikhs. Under the Modi government, India remains a haven for Sikhs and other law-abiding minorities, as evidenced by the steady rise in their respective populations.
