Delhi Lieutenant Governor(LG)Vinai Kumar Saxena on Thursday distributed appointment letters to 47 victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots at Tilak Vihar in West Delhi, Raj Niwas said. It also said six additional such letters will be issued to nominated successors of those beneficiaries who had exceeded the age of service, during the interim period.

This move comes after four decades of delay after, Saxena recently relaxed qualifications for recruitment of victims of the 1984 riots. This decision, pending for decades due to procedural delays and insensitive red tape, has enabled a larger pool of candidates to secure employment, by becoming eligible for the same.

Addressing people on the occasion in this colony, which primarily houses victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the LG declared that for the remaining 437 cases of applications for appointments were being verified and directed the Revenue Department to organize special camps to dispose these applications at the earliest.

Saxena said this event, more than anything else was a moment of satisfaction since it has ultimately led to justice being delivered.  He also announced that the specific colony housing the Sikh riot victims, which was tragically called Vidhwa Colony(Widows’ colony), will be renamed as per the recommendations of the local residents.

It may be noted that various groups, public representatives, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and a delegation of the victims themselves had met the LG last month and requested him to consider all eligible applicants, including those who may have aged out or passed away for recruitment.

Following this, Saxena had directed the departments concerned to look into the issue with empathy and suggest a way forward.  Thereafter, he had approved the proposal for relaxing recruitment qualifications, observing that 1984 riots were a blot on Indian democracy.

He had noted that given the significant trauma and hardship endured by the victims of the 1984 riots and the absence of relief for a few families for over the last 4 decades, a humanitarian view is needed.

Though no relief can compensate for the loss of loved ones and mitigate the trauma faced by the families of the victims, it is imperative to take a compassionate view for well-being of these families and their economic stability.