PRINTER'S NO. 4238
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
1160
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY CHARLTON AND SANTORA, OCTOBER 15, 2018
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
OCTOBER 15, 2018
A RESOLUTION
Condemning the November 1984 anti-Sikh violence in India as
genocide.
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is enriched by the diversity of its
residents, who have cultivated a climate of social tolerance and
intellectual pluralism that has sustained this Commonwealth
throughout its history; and
WHEREAS, The Sikh community, which originated in Punjab,
India, and began immigrating into the United States over 100
years ago, has played an important role in developing the United
States and this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Sikhism is the world's fifth-largest religion with
nearly 30 million adherents, including roughly 700,000 in the
United States; and
WHEREAS, The Sikh genocide began on November 1, 1984, after
the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the
capital territory of Delhi and the states of Jharkhand, Madhya
Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West
Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir,
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Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,
Kerala and Maharashtra; and
WHEREAS, The Sikh genocide lasted three days and over 30,000
Sikhs were brutally murdered or died as they were hunted in
their homes, where they were hacked and burned alive; and
WHEREAS, On April 16, 2015, the California State Assembly
unanimously passed Assembly Concurrent Resolution 34, which
recognizes the systematic and organized killings of Sikhs by the
Indian government in Delhi and remembers those who lost their
lives during the 1984 Sikh genocide; and
WHEREAS, Eyewitnesses, journalists and human rights activists
have compiled evidence showing that government and law
enforcement officials organized, participated in and failed to
intervene to prevent the killings through direct and indirect
means; and
WHEREAS, As recently as 2011, mass graves have been
discovered in the villages of Hondh Chillar and Pataudi in
Haryana, and many more will continue to be discovered in the
future with Indian government officials and police flouting
impunity; and
WHEREAS, The "Widow Colony," the Tilak Vihar neighborhood in
New Delhi, still houses thousands of Sikh women, who were forced
to bear mass rape and witness the hacking, burning and murder of
their husbands, fathers and sons and who are still are calling
for justice against the perpetrators; and
WHEREAS, Many of the survivors of the Sikh genocide
eventually immigrated to the United States and established large
Sikh communities in places such as Fresno, Yuba City, Stockton,
Fremont, Glenrock, New York City and Philadelphia, among other
places; and
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WHEREAS, The Sikh community in the United States and this
Commonwealth has recovered from the material damages of the
genocide as they continue to keep the memory of those who were
killed alive and will never forget the Sikh genocide; and
WHEREAS, For years, the phrase '1984 anti-Sikh riots' was
used to describe the events of November 1984, which was a
distortion of the events that took place; and
WHEREAS, Recognizing the state-sponsored violence that
targeted Sikhs across India in 1984 is an important and historic
step towards justice, accountability and reconciliation, which
should be an example to other governments; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives condemn the
November 1984 anti-Sikh violence in India as genocide.
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