88R9554 BHH-D
By: Meza H.R. No. 61
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, November 2023 marks the 39th anniversary of the
start of the Sikh genocide in India; and
WHEREAS, The assassination of Indian prime minister Indira
Gandhi on October 31, 1984, sparked systematic attacks against
Sikhs in India, which resulted in the murder of more than 30,000
people over the course of a three-day period; Sikh communities were
terrorized and businesses and properties were destroyed at the
hands of vigilante groups, who had the encouragement of the police,
government ministers, and members of parliament; under the code
name "Operation Woodrose," the government of India went on to
target Amritdhari Sikhs across the country's Punjab region, and for
10 years, the violence continued as the Indian army rounded up Sikh
men and youth, who were later put to death; and
WHEREAS, Mass graves holding the remains of those killed in
the violence have been found in a number of communities, including
the villages of Hondh Chillar and Pataudi in Haryana, where burial
sites were discovered in 2011; moreover, the Tilak Vihar
neighborhood in New Delhi, known as the "Widow Colony," still
houses thousands of Sikh women who were forced to endure rape and to
witness the torture and murder of their husbands, fathers, and
sons; and
WHEREAS, The Sikh community in the United States continues to
mourn these atrocities, and it is incumbent upon the global
community to learn from the past and to reaffirm our commitment to
preventing similar tragedies in the years ahead; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature hereby remember those who lost their lives during the
November 1984 anti-Sikh genocide.