Justice delivered

Congress leader Sajjan Kumar engaged in a criminal conspiracy, promoted enmity, and acted against communal harmony in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and has been sentenced to life by the Delhi High Court. The conviction of a senior politician marks a watershed in the quest for justice for the victims of the 1984 violence, even as it vindicates the stand of those who pursued justice relentlessly for 34 years to bring the guilty to book. The high court took the evidence of two eyewitnesses, and based on their testimony, reversed the earlier trial court verdict acquitting Sajjan Kumar, even as it upheld the conviction of the others accused in the case and enhanced their sentence.

The tide seems to have turned in favour of those seeking justice for the carnage that followed the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. There was a conviction last month too. The sentencing of Sajjan Kumar — who was a Member of Parliament in 1984 and remained politically active for long thereafter — will surely send a chilling message to politicians who feel a sense of impunity even as they tear apart the country’s social fabric by instigating various groups of people against one another. Riot after riot has roiled India, often with the ‘blessing’ of the party in power at the time, with little consequence for the individuals who perpetuated the violence.

The latest conviction has been widely welcomed among Punjabis, including Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar. However, it has obviously provided fodder to the BJP’s propaganda machine, more so since the verdict coincides with the swearing-in of Congress leader Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minster. Nath, too, has been under a cloud for his role in the ’84 riots, but nothing has stuck so far. There will, no doubt, be fresh calls for justice by victims energised 34 years after the killings. The nation owes it to itself to let justice take its course, and demonstrate that those who had conviction in the system were not wrong.