The sham of the Nanavati Commission report and the bigger hoax of the Action Taken Report (ATR) must be condemned in the strongest of terms by all citizens. The condemnation should come not only from Sikhs but from other communities too. It’s time the earlier panels that probed the 1984 violence are all publicly interrogated. I was a brigadier at the time commanding my brigade in far flung Arunachal Pradesh, but I know enough through army channels and officers who were tasked to stem the rot in Delhi. The army was kept in cold storage for the first two days. But the LG at the time, P.G. Gavai, could have summoned the Delhi Area Commander who always has enough troops at his disposal, to move in the army patrols forthwith even before more troops from Meerut could fetch up. Why is he now blaming Narasimha Rao for his own failure? When we have floods, riots in Mumbai, killings in Punjab in the 1990s, the army is prompt to man the battle stations. What, pray, happened in 1984, and why did the army chief in consultation with the home minister not take a decision without waiting for the approval of the prime minister? For a right cause, does one need the nod of a PM? The home minister and his cronies fared no better. Why have the tax payers’ money being wasted on raising para military and police forces all over the country, and yet none of these forces were used by the home minister to carry out a task that falls well within their area of responsibility. If Messrs Tytler and Bhagat had any conscience they would have stepped down from positions of power and responsibility longago. But why did the PM appoint Tytler as a minister? Why should he not put in his papers now?Nanavati himself seems to be heading any number of commissions. If the learned Justice had felt that his work in the Commission was not going to get him anywhere with the government, why did he not just sit at home and read a good book?One has to be heartless to not throw up on seeing the Indian Express Op Ed page of August 9, where murdered Sikhs lie on railway baggage trollies and Sikh truck drivers are being pummeled to death. Shame on my countrymen if they see these images and still cannot find their voice. A heartfelt thanks to the intrepid Indian Express for forcing us to remember. The bigger tragedy is not that 1984 Delhi happened, but that even today no government is prepared to do anything. The Sikhs are a forgiving people, they have a big heart. But we see the fudging of facts, and successive governments pretending that they have a glowing halo. It is pathetic to see well known Sikh intellectuals prefer to keep mum over this issue.The Congress party under Sonia Gandhi needs some serious introspection on this matter. Sonia Gandhi, who has shown more wisdom in handling affairs of the head and heart of the Indian people than most of our political leaders from any party, should share in the grief of the Sikhs by moving a vote of condolence in both houses of Parliament. All those who keep silent today, will be forever blamed by the Sikhs. Even now, it is time to take the blame, punish the guilty, say sorry and move on.The writer is presently a member of the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi
