Turkman gate demolition and rioting

Last updated

Turkman Gate incident
Part of The Emergency of 1975–1977
Turkman gate view.JPG
An image of Turkman Gate.
Date31 May 1976;48 years ago (31 May 1976)
Location
Turkman Gate, Old Delhi
Caused by Political repression and police brutality
GoalsDemolition of Turkman Gate
Methods Rioting, protests and demonstrations
Parties
Authority
Civilians
Residing people
Lead figures
Casualties
Death(s)
  • 6 (Official)
  • 8-20+ (Police source)
  • 12(Independent researchers)

The Turkman gate demolition and subsequent massacre was an infamous case of political oppression and police brutality during the Emergency when, on 31 May 1976, residents of Old Delhi were killed by police while protesting a slum clearance. [1] An official account of the number of people killed at Turkman gate is not available and a media blackout ensued in the wake of the massacre. [2] One local guide claimed that nine of his friends were killed by the police. [3] More than ten bulldozers razed down illegal structures and homes, and protestors were fired upon by police. [4]

Contents

Background

During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi's government, prompted by her son Sanjay, launched the demolition drive to clear the Delhi municipality of slums, and force poor residents to leave Delhi and move to distant settlements. The residents of Turkman Gate, refused to move as they stayed there from Mughal period (this was an internal part of the walled city) and would have to commute every day paying heavy bus fares to reach the city to earn their living. They resisted the bulldozing of their houses. On 18 April 1976, the police opened fire on protesters killing several of them. The government, who had earlier imposed censorship, ordered the press not to report the massacre. The Indian public learned of the killings through foreign media outlets, such as the BBC. It was later reported that protesters were run over by bulldozers, resulting in several deaths. [4]

Total deaths

After the incident the police admitted to 6 deaths - Om Prakash, a CPI(ML) activist who led the rioting, [5] and 5 Muslim residents of the locality. ASI Govind Ram Bhatia admitted to Shah Commission that 8 individuals had actually been killed. Officer Rajesh Sharma, who issued the blank firing order to CRPF, claimed that atleast 20 people died in firing. [6] Independent researchers, John Dayal and Ajoy Bose, in their book on the Emergency in Delhi, put the death toll at 12. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjay Gandhi</span> Indian politician (1946–1980)

Sanjay Gandhi was an Indian politician and the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. He was a member of parliament, Lok Sabha and the Nehru–Gandhi family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Emergency (India)</span> 1975–1977 state of emergency in India under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country by citing internal and external threats to the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in India</span>

Terrorism in India, according to the Home Ministry, poses a significant threat to the people of India. Compared to other countries, India faces a wide range of terror groups. Terrorism found in India includes Islamist terrorism, ultranationalist terrorism, and left-wing terrorism. India is one of the countries most impacted by terrorism.

In March 2006, the Indian city of Varanasi witnessed a series of bombings in which at least 28 people were reportedly killed and 101 injured. Varanasi is considered holy by Hindus and is one of the oldest living cities in the world. In June 2022, after 16 years of hearing, Ghaziabad district and sessions court convicted the mastermind and terrorist Waliullah Khan and sentenced him to death.

Jockin Arputham was an Indian community leader and activist, known for his campaigning work of more than 40 years on issues related to slums and shanty towns. He was born in Karnataka, India and moved to Mumbai, where he quickly became politicized and established himself as a community leader. In 2014, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, alongside the organisation he helped to found, Slum Dwellers International. In 2011, he received the Padma Shri in New Delhi for his contributions to social work, presented by the President of India.

Shah Commission was a commission of inquiry appointed by Government of India in 1977 to inquire into all the excesses committed in the Indian Emergency. It was headed by Justice J.C. Shah, a former chief Justice of India.

Politics in West Bengal is dominated by the following major political parties: the All India Trinamool Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Indian National Congress. For many decades, the state underwent gruesome and terrible political violence. Since the 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, it has been governed by the Trinamool Congress party. Previously, it was ruled by Left Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for over three decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagmohan</span> Indian politician and civil servant (1927–2021)

Jagmohan Malhotra, known by the mononym Jagmohan, was an Indian civil servant and politician. After working with the Indian National Congress, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1995. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and Goa, as the 5th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, and for three terms as Member of Parliament for New Delhi. In the cabinet, he served as Union Minister for Urban Development and Tourism.

<i>Amu</i> (film) 2005 film by Shonali Bose

Amu is a 2005 drama film directed by Shonali Bose, about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The film is based on Bose's own novel by the same name. It stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Brinda Karat, and Ankur Khanna. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005.

The 2002 Qasim Nagar massacre was the killing of 29 Hindu labourers in Qasim Nagar on the outskirts of Jammu city in the erstwhile Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir by militants

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Indira Gandhi</span> 1984 encounter in New Delhi, India

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 a.m. on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star by Indian Army between 1 and 8 June 1984 on the orders of Gandhi. The military operation was to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest site of Sikhism. The military action resulted in the death of many pilgrims as well as damage to the Akal Takht and the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of West Bengal (1947–present)</span>

The history of West Bengal began in 1947, when the Hindu-dominated western part of British Bengal Province became the Indian state of West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah</span> 12th Chief Justice of India

Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah was the twelfth Chief Justice of India from 17 December 1970 until his retirement on 21 January 1971. He was born in Ahmedabad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gates of Delhi</span> Historical monuments in Delhi

The Gates of Delhi were city gates at various medieval townships around Delhi, built under dynastic rulers in the period that could be dated from the 8th century to the 20th century. They are the gates in:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 anti-Sikh riots</span> Series of organised pogroms in India after PM Indira Gandhis assassination

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and 3,350 nationwide, whilst other sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000–17,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramlila Maidan</span> Ground in New Delhi

Ramlila Maidan also Ramlila Ground is a large ground located in New Delhi, India, traditionally used for staging the annual Ramlila. It is used for religious festivals, major political rallies and meetings, and entertainment events. It is located near New Delhi Railway Station and Delhi Gate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Delhi riots</span> 2020 series of riots in Delhi, India

The 2020 Delhi riots, or North East Delhi riots, were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi, beginning on 23 February 2020 and brought about chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslims who were shot, slashed with repeated blows, or set on fire. The dead also included over a dozen Hindus, who were shot or assaulted. More than a week after the violence had ended, hundreds of wounded were languishing in inadequately staffed medical facilities and corpses were being found in open drains. By mid-March many Muslims had remained missing.

Slum clearance in India is used as an urban renewal approach to redevelop and transform poor and low income settlements into new developments or housing. Millions of people live in slum dwellings across India and many migrate to live in the slums from rural villages, often in search of work opportunities. Houses are typically built by the slum dwellers themselves and violence has been known to occur when developers attempt to clear the land of slum dwellings.

Ajoy Bose is a Bengali-Indian author, political journalist and television commentator. His books include For Reasons of State: Delhi under Emergency on the Emergency; The Shah Commission Begins ; Behenji (2009), a biography of Indian politician and social reformer Mayawati; and Across the Universe: The Beatles in India (2018).

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "May 31, 1978, Forty Years Ago: Turkman Gate Report". The Indian Express. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  2. ↑ Talukdar, Sreemoy (27 June 2018). "Comparing Modi regime with Indira's Emergency is nonsense; it dilutes the horrors of Indian democracy's darkest chapter". website. Linked in. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Raza, Danish (29 June 2015). "Tragedy at Turkman Gate: Witnesses recount horror of Emergency". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  4. 1 2 John Dayal, Ajay Bose (26 June 2015). "The Khooni Kissa of Turkman Gate". The wire newspaper. The wire. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Chakravarti, Ashok (14 September 2021). "Remembering the massacre at Turkman Gate: From a memoir of the Emergency". Scroll.in. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  6. ↑ Shah, Justice. "Shah Commission Report". archive.org. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Bose, Ajoy., Dayal, John. (1977). For Reasons of State: Delhi under Emergency. Ess Ess Publications. pp. 35–65.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Sources

28°38′32″N77°13′57″E / 28.642231°N 77.232591°E / 28.642231; 77.232591

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.