Chapter 43 : The Rajiv Years (October 1984-December 1989)

The Rajiv Years (October 1984-December 1989)

Problems at the Very Outset

Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as prime minister by President Zail Singh on October 31, 1984, the evening of Indira Gandhi's assassination, following a unanimous decision by Congress leaders.

Anti-Sikh Riots

• Trigger: Sporadic violence following the news of Indira Gandhi's assassination (perhaps a spontaneous reaction in the circumstances) escalated as her body lay in state at Teen Murti House (Nehru's residence as PM).
• The Violence (November 1984): By November 1, organised and brutal mob violence targeted Sikhs.
• Primary Targets: Poorer sections in resettlement colonies in North Delhi.
• Secondary Targets: Middle- and upper-middle-class localities also saw looting and killing.
• Complicity & State Failure:
• Witnesses indicated several Congress leaders instigated and encouraged mobs.
• Police and administration turned a blind eye, refused action, or actively helped the mob.
• The army was delayed; Rajiv Gandhi and Home Minister Narasimha Rao did not call them immediately. The army was finally asked to intervene on November 3.
• Rajiv Gandhi's Response:
• November 2: Declared on radio/TV that riots should stop.
• November 19 (Indira Gandhi's birth anniversary): Even if one agrees with the view that the public anger was great after the assassination, he made an insensitive remark implying justification: "when a great tree falls, the earth around it shakes".
• Significance: Officially termed "anti-Sikh riots," but called a 'genocide' by many. A tragic blot on independent India's history. A silver lining was many Hindus hiding and helping Sikh families.
• Judicial Observation:
• "Though we boast of being the world's largest democracy and Delhi being its national capital, the sheer mention of the incidents of 1984 anti-Sikh riots in general and the role played by Delhi Police and state machinery in particular makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity." — High Court of Delhi in 2009

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

• Date: December 3, 1984.
• Event : Leak of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas from the pesticide plant of the US multinational Union Carbide Cooperation (UCC) at…