November 1 is not just another date on Delhi’s political calendar. It is inseparable from the horrific anti-Sikh violence that engulfed the capital in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984. That is precisely why the Congress’s decision to organise a mass rally in Delhi on November 1, 2026, deserves scrutiny beyond the stated political agenda.
The Congress says the rally is about electoral democracy, opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and its criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. But there is an unmistakable historical irony in a party seeking to position itself as the defender of democracy on the anniversary of a tragedy in which thousands of Sikhs were murdered while the Congress was in power, and several Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler were accused. Sajjan Kumar was even convicted for his role in the pogrom against Sikhs.
In the days following October 31, 1984, mobs targeted Sikh homes, shops and gurdwaras across Delhi. Thousands were killed, with official figures recording 2,733 deaths in the capital alone. Allegations that Congress politicians and sections of the administration helped organise or facilitate the violence have been examined by multiple commissions and investigations. The subsequent struggle for justice stretched across decades. Many families are still awaiting justice for what happened at the hands of Congressis in 1984.
That is the comparison the Congress cannot simply wish away. In 1984, Sikhs were victims of ‘jab bada ped girta hai to dharti thodi hilta hai’ rule of law. In 2026, the Congress wants to lead a mobilisation framed around protecting democratic institutions, and on the very date when they insulted all democratic institutions back in 1984. People may have a short memory, but history remembers.
A rally can legitimately address electoral concerns. Yet choosing November 1 inevitably places the Congress’s democratic messaging alongside the memory of 1984.
For Sikh families, the anniversary is not an abstract political metaphor. It commemorates murdered relatives, destroyed homes and years spent seeking justice. Any party invoking democracy on this date must reckon with that history.
Democracy is not merely a slogan used against political opponents. It is also a commitment to protecting minorities, upholding the rule of law and ensuring that the victims of past failures are never forgotten.
