New York, N.Y. | October 31, 2025
November 1984 marks a significant wound in the Sikh psyche that remains unhealed, a chapter of orchestrated violence, impunity, and profound injustice that continues to haunt the Sikh community and the conscience of humanity.
In the wake of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, thousands of innocent Sikh men, women, and children were brutally attacked across Delhi and other parts of India. For three harrowing days, mobs roamed freely, burning homes, businesses, and Gurdwaras. Sikh families were hunted, Government issued ration cards used to identify their residences. The men were lynched and burned alive, women were assaulted, and entire communities were reduced to ashes. The violence was not spontaneous. It was systematic, targeted, and enabled by the silence and complicity of local authorities.
According to government figures, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone and tens of thousands more were displaced. The actual numbers were much higher. Survivors were left to rebuild their lives amid trauma, grief, and the absence of justice. Decades later, the scars remain not only in memory, but in the continued failure to hold perpetrators accountable. Most have never faced trial. The victims have yet to receive adequate compensation. And the truth has yet to be fully acknowledged.
At UNITED SIKHS, we stand with survivors, families, and communities who have carried this pain for over four decades. We echo the call of human rights advocates and Sikh voices worldwide that this was not a “riot.” It was a genocide, a deliberate attempt to erase a people, their faith, their dignity and their identity,
Today, and each November, we recommit ourselves to remembrance, justice, and the unyielding pursuit of truth. The memory of November 1984 is not confined to the past – it lives on in the pain of survivors, in the silence of unacknowledged truth, and in the unfinished pursuit of accountability.
We call on governments, institutions, and civil society to:
• Recognize November 1984 as a genocide and not a riot, not a clash, but a deliberate and targeted campaign of violence.
• Ensure full legal accountability for those who orchestrated, incited, and enabled the atrocities regardless of political power or time passed.
• Provide comprehensive reparations and sustained support to survivors, families, and displaced communities still living with the trauma.
• Educate future generations about the truth through public memory, curriculum, and commemoration, so that such horrors are never repeated.
We remember. We demand justice. We will not forget.
About UNITED SIKHS
UNITED SIKHS is an international, non-profit humanitarian organization affiliated with the U.N., committed to empowering disadvantaged and minority communities across the globe. Its mission is to provide support and resources to those in need, advocating for equality, justice, and human rights. Through various humanitarian projects and advocacy efforts, UNITED SIKHS works to uplift vulnerable communities, aiming to make a lasting positive impact on the world.
For media inquiries or to support UNITED SIKHS’ legal advocacy efforts, please contact:
Gurleen Kaur
Director of Media and Public Relations
📧 gurleen.kaur@unitedsikhs.org | media@unitedsikhs.org
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