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THE WIDOW COLONY: ‘WE CAN’T CLOSE THIS CHAPTER IN HISTORY UNTIL JUSTICE HAS BEEN DELIVERED FOR 1984’ |
By Indira Prahst, Instructor of Race and Ethnic Relations, Department of Sociology, Langara College, Vancouver
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The memories of the 1984 Sikh massacre in Delhi following the assassination of then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after the Indian Army attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, continue to lurk deeply in the minds of many Sikhs around the world, but especially for the widows of 1984 who witnessed these atrocities firsthand. Their testimonies about these injustices were captured in an award-winning film “The Widow Colony.” The director of this documentary, Harpreet Kaur, and producer Manmeet Singh are in town this week for the Surrey premier of their film. "The Widow Colony” is India's “Unsettled Settlement" and borrows its name from a settlement in Tilak Vihar on the west side of New Delhi.
The film takes an in-depth look into the lives of the women whose husbands were killed in the 1984 Sikh massacre. Harpreet told me: “The film is about the Sikh holocaust. It's about women heroes who have stood their ground and continued to fight for justice for over 20 years.” For Harpreet, these women are her heroes and are like warriors who have been in the battlefield since the day of the massacre. She noted: “They continue to go to court, they protest and everyday they live in the trauma of 1984.”
Remembering past atrocities is important. Dr. Karin Doerr, professor at Concordia University in Montreal and the Institute of Genocide Research, who is known for her interviews with holocaust victims, put it this way: “Remembering historical tragedies brings private mourning of loved ones into the collective focus of a community. Also, we have a responsibility to illuminate history and to retrace the steps that led to bloodshed and recrimination, as well as its aftermath so we can learn from the past.”
For this reason, the film is relevant today in promoting a more just world. According to Manmeet: “We ought to prevent massacres like 1984 from repeating itself through education. We did not listen to what happened in 1984. That’s why Gujarat (where Muslims were massacred) happened. If we don’t pay heed to Gujarat, it might happen to Kashmiris, Oriya people (of the Indian state of Orissa) and the Christians.”
The film therefore plays an important role in educating people on several issues of human atrocities and the importance of achieving social justice for the widows of 1984. For this reason, Harpreet and Manmeet were invited as guest speakers for a sociology course to talk about how films can spark dialogue about the conditions of the widows of 1984 and the challenges encountered as a filmmaker to capture the voices of the widows of the colony. Several students were baffled that they had never heard about the 1984 massacre and asked: “Why am I just learning about 1984 now?”
Indeed, the 1984 massacre has been a dark chapter of India’s history which the Indian government would want to be a forgotten one and, for others, the silence continues out of fear to talk it or because it is just too traumatic.
However, according to Harpreet, education about Sikh history is important because it erases ignorance and the film can serve as an important educational tool to create a dialogue about human suffering, which is universal.
She said: “Such a dialogue in the mainstream will help people to better understand what really happened in 1984 and unveil how a state-sponsored massacre by the world's largest democracy was portrayed as a religious riot. It's the misleading notions and propaganda that have led to a lot of hatred and brutal violence in the world. It's the lack of education which has made it easier for one community to provoke another to kill.”
ROLE OF THE DOCUMENTARY
Indeed, the Widows Colony documentary, can educate people in multifaceted ways about the 1984 massacre. Firstly, the film addresses the question of social justice, which for the widows is an emotionally crippling battle and involves their demand “that the murderers of their children and husbands be punished.”
When I asked Manpreet where we were today in achieving justice for the widows, she referred to the Nanavati Report (the latest inquiry commission that completed its work in 2005) which is where the film ends and said: “The report fell short of what it was supposed to do, which is to name the people and be the tool to put those responsible behind bars. But it failed to do that. It exonerated all the police and the government officials that were in involved in this massacre and the report was delayed by nine months (because the Congress regime took power). What we do know is that when it came out, it was not worth the paper it was printed on.”
Secondly, the film attempts to deconstruct existing misperceptions that 1984 was a “Hindus against Sikhs” religious riot by including cases of Hindus helping the Sikhs during the massacre. Some of the widows in the film said: “Not all Hindus are alike” and “Some Hindus also gave clothes.”
The film sheds light on these facts, including a case where a Hindu had died saving Sikhs. To honour him, the president of the Shiromani Akali and the Sikhs wanted to do a three-day prayer and a special ceremony. Despite having thousands of their own Sikhs killed they took the initiative to honor this brave Hindu.
Manpreet said: “What did the Congress do? The tents were destroyed the night before, and the night before the closing ceremony they flooded the streets and parks so there would be no congregation and a show of unity among the Sikhs. Through this film we can also show the role of the government despite a good gesture being made from the majority of Sikhs.”
Thirdly, the film has sparked dialogue and according to Harpreet, several people, including academics, students and lawyers, are asking what they can do to help the widows of 1984.
In closing, Sikhs and non-Sikhs of all age cohort groups want to know more about the Sikh massacre of 1984.
"The gaps left in our history leave a void and many questions about who we are and what our forefathers have gone through," said student Supreeti Ghosh. This speaks volumes to the silence and mystery surrounding the topic and echoes the words of author Patwant Singh in the film: "It’s disquieting that there is this kind of conspiracy of silence and cover-up of crimes at the highest levels."
However, the film is like a torch in the darkness and the light from the torch will shine brighter as more people learn about the truth of 1984 and the failure to respond to this injustice. This will hopefully continue to spark dialogue and expose the one-sided approach to the issue by those in power in India and by some here in Canada, a silencing that continues to fuel tension.
With conviction and speaking not only on a cerebral level, Harpreet said to me: “As a Sikh woman I wanted to remind Sikhs around the world that these families are still alive. That is what we have forgotten. This film is a wake-up call for all of us that 1984 is today, 1984 is everyday. We cannot close this chapter in history until justice has been delivered. ”
The film screening is on Saturday at Surrey Arts Centre.
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