From Lost Childhood to Uncertain Future- 1984 anti-Sikh Delhi riots.
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Rajinder Singh was 10 years old when his father was killed in the 1984 anti-sikh riots in New Delhi. Rajinder was hiding in his neighbour's house with his six siblings. His father was advised to cut of his hair but he refused. He hid in his house in Nandnagri but the mob found and killed him on 1Nov. He was also a ricksha-puller.
(click on photos to go to gallery)
Like many journalists I visited the 1984 `widows colony’ in New Delhi many time. The media descends on the colony in hordes every time the cases against any of the big congress leaders come up for hearing. But nothing every comes out of it. Nothing has in the last almost 30 years. And soon enough clamor for justice peters out and the ‘widows colony’ is forgotten until the next hearing.
In all these visits I had also been interested in the widow’s stories. They have been recounting for the cameras the horrors of the day their husbands, sons and brothers were butchered by a blood-thirsty mob. But over these decades the widows have grown weary of this episodic media circus.
During these visits, I noticed there were a lot of listless youth in the colony. They were in their twenties but seemed hopelessly unemployed or willfully lethargic. Many just sat at the shop fronts watching the traffic go by. Few just started at me with glazed eyes. A lot of them were clearly on drugs. This was the 1984 generation.
Some were in their mother’s wombs. Some a few days old. Many others were school going toddlers in 1984 when their fathers, uncles or siblings were butchered in the Delhi anti-Sikh pogrom which left almost 3000 sikhs dead. These children were suddenly wrenched out from their snug family life and hurled into the world of neglect and abuse. They grew up in the shadow of the riots, struggling between going to school and making a living. Their fathers were killed and their mothers either remarried or were so busy working to eek out a living that the kids were neglected.
Twenty nine years on they have grown up into young men and women. Over the years I have been documenting their lives and I discovered that more than 60 percent of them are either into drugs or unemployed or battling serious psychological scars. They had become wayward due to neglect, others unemployed due to lack of education, yet there were a precious few who transformed their lives by sheer grit and determination. These are their stories.
Tripal Singh was 11 years old when his father was killed in Nandnagri. He used to run a small dhaba and Tripal would help him after school. Tripal was in a bus with his cousin and going to his father on 1st Nov. He had a turban then and he remembers being slapped by strangers on the way. But someone also warned him not to travel any further. He was given shelter by a Hindu family. He hid for three days and after the riots found his father's dhaba burnt. They never found his fathers body.
Manjeet Singh was three years old when his father was killed by a mob in Bhanjanpura on 1Nov. They descended on their house and dragged his father out. His mother went with him pleading with the mob. They even threw her 10 year old son in a burning pyre. But someone from the mob rescued him. His father was taken away and his body was never found.
Kashmir Singh (Right) is dumb. So is his brother Avtar. He was two years old and his brother five years old when his father was killed in the riots. The brothers live together and not many people know about their family.
Davinder singh was 3 years old when his father was killed by the anti-sikh mob on October 31 1984 in Trilokpuri. His mother remarried and he and his two brothers grew up with their maternal grandmother. He has a running feud with his mother over property. He accused his mother of neglecting them and leaving them to fend for themselves. He earns 60 rupees a day as a cable guy and his grandmother still supports him and his brother. Davinder has done time in Tihar Jail and has a scar of a gash running down his left jawbone- a knife wound he earned in a scuffle with a jailbird.
Inderpal salutes the portrait of his father on the wall. His father was an ex-serviceman. Inderpal suffers from psychological issues. He is unemployed and worships all day.
Raj Singh was 10 years old when his father, brother and sister were killed in the anti-sikh riots in Shadhara. His family hid separately for three days without food or water but they were betrayed their neighbors on 3 November. His father and brother were brought to their destroyed house and killed. His sister died of shock. The mob was deciding how to kill Raj and his mother when a powerful landlord in the area gave them shelter.
Hi
I stumbled here while looking for photographer but I must say I’m so impressed by your Photo Essays. You have captured some of the most touching stories in your camera. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Deepali. Appreciate you comment.
Sir’ applause
Great essay
I am for u
Contact me for any kind of help
Regarding facts and stats 🙂
I live near widow colony tilak nagar