Letters: Two 'different' tragedies

This refers to Devangshu Datta's column "Repeating the mistake of 1984" (Viewpoint, April 19). The atrocities that took place in 1984 and 2002 should have never happened and justice should have been served. However, while comparing the two, we always miss the difference between the tragedies. The Hindus and the Muslims have been communally antagonistic to each other, so what a Hindu-Muslim riot often needs is an event to provide the spark. Some people can be mobilised in the name of religion. But the Sikhs never had such religious hostility, atleast not in 1984. So, what happened in 1984 was not a communal riot but a planned attack with the clear complicity of the authorities. Delhi's people never had communal feelings against Sikhs. Here lies the big contrast between 1984 and 2002.

Manas Sahu New Delhi

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