Punjab Research Group

This year, 2009, marks the 25th Anniversary of 1984, when horrendous crimes were committed against the Sikhs in the very land of their origin. To commemorate this sad milestone, we at sikhchic.com have asked our regular columnists, as well as our contributors and readers, to share with us the impact 1984 has had on their lives.

A large oil painting of a tall and handsome Sikh dominates Lakhbir Kaur’s modest sitting room in Kumbra village in Mohali, near Chandigarh, Punjab.

“I found a small black-and-white one of my father in a relative’s album and my husband got a friend of his to make this painting.”

Recalls Lakhbir: “It’s the day after Indira Gandhi’s assassination. We were sitting in our home in Delhi‘s Sultanpuri watching television when the mobs started the rampage. Our Muslim neighbours immediately gave us shelter and advised my father to cut his hair and beard. My father, Deedar Singh, after retiring from the army, was working as a security guard in a private company. Since he was also the Congress President of Sultanpuri, he believed he was safe. Both my brothers were out and he went to look for them. He asked us to stay with the neighbours and said he would return shortly. We never saw him again, not even his remains.”

Read further: http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?cat=21&id=789