At Sajjan Kumar prayer meet, son seeks support of father’s ‘family’

At the prayer meeting Saturday in Talkatora Stadium auditorium for three-time Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, convicted for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, his son Jag Parvesh Kumar pledged to work for those who had gathered to pay homage.

After his speech, Jag Parvesh sits down for the “pagdi” tradition, which declares him as the head of the family.

Kumar, who died on August 20, was convicted by the Delhi High Court in 2018. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a case pertaining to the killing of five members of a Sikh family during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity, and acts against communal harmony.

More than 2,700 Sikhs were confirmed killed in the four-day violence in Delhi, which followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

Since the death of Sajjan, the Congress has been treading a careful line, and party MP Deepender Hooda had to clarify that he never called Sajjan a role model after facing flak from AAP, BJP and SAD in Punjab, where elections are due next year.

“I had no intention of hurting anyone's feelings; those who know me are aware that I never harboured any intent to cause hurt to anyone,” Hooda had said after the row erupted over his remarks.

While the Congress high command has been cautious and maintained a measured silence on the death of Sajjan, several leaders from the Delhi unit of the party, including president Devender Yadav, were in attendance at the prayer meeting on Saturday in Central Delhi organised by the Kumar family.

Yadav refused to take questions during and after the prayer meeting.

Samajwadi Party’s Jaat MP from Muzaffarnagar Harendra Malik was also present. He said that his and Kumar's family knew each other and that's why he was at the prayer meeting.

The Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry that looked into the 1984 riots and the failure of the authorities to investigate them recorded “credible material” against Sajjan Kumar and concluded that he was “probably involved” in the attacks described by several witnesses.

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More