In Old Delhi,it was a close shave

He,however,does not need aids to recollect the evening of November 1,1984,when a riotous crowd attacked the gurudwara.

“They threw acid bottles and stones. I don’t know how we survived,” he says.

Lakhbir Singh,who was at the frontline as Sisganj was in a state of siege,lifts his shirt to reveal a stab wound mark. He was 30 then.

“We stopped them from entering the gurudwara. I sustained this wound as I was trying to push them back towards that fountain,” he says,pointing at the white marble structure facing Sisganj.

For Lakhbir Singh,like for many others,the wound has healed but the scar remains.

Even today,every time Jagdish Tytler is produced in court,Lakhbir Singh attends the hearing.

“Why don’t they arrest and punish him?” he asks,trying to contain the anger in his voice.

Slowly,though painfully,people affected by the ill-fated day have come to terms with their lives. “Ek mahaul tha,khatam ho gaya (It was an atmosphere which is over now),” says Singh.

Karnal Singh recalls the feast prepared in anticipation of one lakh devotees (as Guru Tegh Bahadur Shahid Divas was approaching) when the riots broke out. The food was later dumped into the Yamuna.

There are still some questions that intrigue many. Like how did communally sensitive Chandni Chowk steer clear of the violence?

There are many theories.

Karnal Singh says he firmly remembers Kiran Bedi arriving and securing the area. Others claim there were few policemen and the resistance from the gurudwara repelled the aggressors.

The most plausible presumption is that after the first tidal wave of aggressors met with the firm resistance,the rioters most likely chose to attack easier targets. Instead of trying to locate the odd Sikh family huddled somewhere within the labyrinthine maze of Old Delhi,mostly in Dariba Kalan and Sitaram Bazar,the aggressors left for East Delhi — to participate in the open-to-all massacre.