MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) — India must introduce police reforms and adopt new legislation as successive Indian governments have failed to end communal violence and prosecute those responsible for the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday in a statement.
"Successive Indian governments' failure to prosecute those most responsible for killings and other abuses during the 1984 anti-Sikh violence highlights India's weak efforts to combat communal violence. The new Indian government should seek police reforms and to enact a law against communal violence that would hold public officials accountable for complicity and dereliction of duty," the statement published on the organization's website says.
According to Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, "India's failure to prosecute those most responsible for the anti-Sikh violence in 1984 has not only denied justice to Sikhs, but has made all Indians more vulnerable to communal violence."
India must launch "an independent, time-bound investigation into the 1984 violence cases," introduce police reforms to "insulate the police from political pressure to protect perpetrators," create a police complaint authority and establish a witness protection program, HRW said in the statement.
The organization also urged Indian authorities to enact pending communal violence laws, according to which state officials could be held responsible for failing to prevent and stop communal violence.
"Thirty years since the horrific massacre, communal violence still breaks out in India, raising the same concerns about accountability," Ganguly added.
Anti-Sikh riots broke out in India following the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. At least 2,733 Sikhs were murdered in a series of violent attacks across the country. According to HRW, the violence was led and often carried out by persons affiliated with the then-ruling Indian National Congress party, some of whom went on to occupy high-ranking political posts.
