Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj urges Centre to recognize 1984 Sikh killings as Genocide
Says Prime Minister’s own words confirm it was genocide, not riots
Babushahi Bureau
Amritsar (Punjab), November 3, 2025: Acting Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Jathedar of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj, has urged the Government of India to formally recognize the 1984 Sikh Genocide as genocide in Parliament, stating that it is no longer appropriate to refer to the tragedy as “riots.”
Addressing the media after the annual session of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Jathedar Gargajj said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself described the 1984 events as a “narsanhaar” (genocide) in his recent speech in Bihar, it becomes the duty of the government and the media to use the correct term.
“Riots suggest violence between two sides, but in 1984, unarmed Sikhs were the victims of a state-backed massacre,” he said. “It was a planned and organized extermination — a genocide against Sikhs — as even the Prime Minister has now acknowledged.”
He praised the SGPC’s resolution demanding that the Centre officially recognize the 1984 Sikh Genocide in Parliament, adding that such recognition would serve as a moral and historical correction. “The Parliament must record the truth so that such a tragedy never happens again and those guilty of genocide face exemplary punishment,” he said.
Jathedar Gargaj further called for changing the name of Punjab’s Rajiv Gandhi National Law University, arguing that it offends Sikh sentiments since Rajiv Gandhi had publicly justified the killings in 1984.
“The time has come for the Government of India to take a principled stand in line with truth and justice,” he said. “Acknowledging the 1984 Sikh Genocide in Parliament will be a step toward healing and national integrity.”