As I sat writing this article, I had a memory tingling at the back of my head, that of a story that my father had once told me. Something about how one of our neighbors had to go into hiding once upon a time, years before I was born. It was only years later that I found out the background of that story.

Too young to understand then, and now – too old to ever forget. 

The mass killing of Sikhs right after former PM Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her bodyguards leaves chills down my spine to this day. Of the many incidents that splattered the pages of the Indian history with blood, years later, the wounds still bleed memories of the unaccounted violence and loss of loved ones. 

33 years later, here are some of the horrific and heart-wrenching accounts of what happened. 

Designs by Saurabh Rathode.