India has a record of frequent communal violence. Isn t the 1984 violence part of an unpleasant reality we have come to terms with?
A. Though there have been any number of communal riots over the years, the 1984 violence has gone down in history as the worst ever. Indeed, it has become the most oft-quoted symbol of state-sponsored communal violence. The 1984 violence is different from other instances for some vital reasons. First, it did not conform to the pattern of communal riots at all. The killings were entirely one-sided. That is why it is called a massacre. Armed mobs had a free run of the streets for three full days, as they looted, raped and killed Sikhs with impunity. Second, most of the killings took place right in the Capital. The state s complicity is therefore that much more evident. Third, the degree of organization seen in the 1984 massacre was unprecedented: the police either looked the other way or assisted the mobs, the miscreants were armed with voters lists and uniform-sized rods, there was an abundant supply of fuel and inflammable powder, and government-run buses were at their disposal. Fourth
