Print Print edition: 2011-03-25

India's Congress Party summoned by US court

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The Congress Party of India has been summoned by a US court to appear on April 1, 2011 to respond to the charges of conspiring, aiding, abetting and organising large scale anti-Sikh violence in India in 1984.
Even as the deadline of April 1, 2011, given by the US Court summons to the Congress Party, to respond to the charges of "conspiring, aiding, abetting and organising" the large scale anti-Sikh violence in India in 1984 gets close, the party seems to be undecided of its response and is still considering different options.
The summons were issued on March 1, 2011 by the US District Court for Southern District of New York based on a law suit filed by a human rights group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) which has taken up the cause of securing justice for victims of the anti Sikh violence that took hold of India in the autumn of 84, particularly in Delhi, in which over three thousand Sikhs lost their lives.
The anti Sikh violence erupted in the first week of November 84 when Indira Gandhi, leader of the Congress Party and Prime Minister of India, was killed by her Sikh bodyguards for ordering the assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 84.
Sikhs complain that despite clear evidence pointing to the role-played by well known Congress Party Leaders in directing the violence no one has been punished nor adequate compensation offered for the colossal loss of life and property.