During November 1984 the Congress Party of India organized and perpetrated violence with intent to destroy the Sikh community, resulting in more than 30,000 killed; women raped; Gurudwaras burnt and more than 300,000 displaced. The systematic violence against Sikhs was concealed and portrayed by the Indian governments as Anti-Sikh Riots.
The intentional and deliberate nature of the attacks on Sikh lives, properties and places of worship during November 1984 makes them crime of GENOCIDE as defined in 18 USC 1091 and as per Article 2 of the U.N. Convention on Genocide.
In 2011-12 mass graves of Sikhs killed during November 1984 were discovered throughout India, which is the most specific and convincing evidence that violence against Sikhs in 1984 was GENOCIDE.
Response to Petition
Speaking Out Against and Preventing Violence Based on Religious Affiliation
Thank you for expressing your views. During and after the 1984 violence, the United States monitored and publicly reported on the grave human rights violations that occurred and the atrocities committed against members of the Sikh community. The State Department's Official Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, for example, covered the violence and its aftermath in detail, with sections on political killings, disappearances, denial of fair public trials, negative effects on freedom of religion, and the government's response to civil society organizations investigating allegations of human rights violations.
We continue to condemn -- and more importantly, to work against -- violence directed at people based on their religious affiliation. U.S. Government efforts to protect the rights and freedoms of all people have long been a feature of our foreign policy. Our diplomats regularly report on and speak out against violence against minorities around the world.
Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act (.pdf) in 1998, which affirms U.S. commitment to religious freedom, enshrined both in the United States Constitution and in numerous international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
In accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act, the President appoints an Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to head the Office of International Religious Freedom at the State Department and to advise the Secretary of State and the President on issues related to international religious freedom. The Ambassador is also responsible for providing information related to religious freedom to be included in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Human Rights Reports) and preparing a separate Annual Report on International Religious Freedom [International Religious Freedom Report (IRFR).] The IRFR describes the status of religious freedom in every country, highlights trends and violations, and details the actions that the United States government is taking to improve freedom of religion.