5 years and 24 years

The heading is a symbol for the search of justice. Injustice to a nation and injustice to a group of people are represented by the magnitude of these numbers. It is now 5 years since the US embarked upon the disaster in Iraq. It is 24 years since a state turned against its own people and set about the worst killings ever since its independence in 1947. The anti-sikh riots of 1984 are in danger of being wiped out from public memory, and justice is still not coming for the victims.

The main difference between the two is time and technology. The anti-sikh riots occured at a time when media was not developed enough. The media in India was monopolized by the state, with few alternative voices. The world was still in the infancy of digital technology. The disaster in Iraq has been covered on a daily basis, mainly due to the super advancements in technology. The scenario of global events influencing any part of the globe is very real.

The other difference is that the riots in 1984 was the state against the people. Iraq is a case of a sovereign nation like the US, taking the wrong moral ground and destroying the fabric of another country. While one suffers from overkill both physically and media wise, the other is facing obliteration from public memory. This is quiet reflective of the times we live in. The extremities of life are being witnessed in real life as well as in politics, war and morality. All this will be governed by the dynamics of time, one which people have no control over it.