'Killing of Sikhs in 1984 not riots but genocide': Diljit Dosanjh

Actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh has said that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots should be called a genocide.

"We should not call it riots, the right word is genocide. When there is a two-sided fight between people, then it is a riot. According to me, it should be called a genocide," Dosanjh, who was born in January the same year, told PTI in an interview.

“It is not that it happened to one or a few people. I know it happened collectively, with all of us. If I talk about some incidents, it will be personal. I have been hearing about it since I was born and we are still living with it,” he said.

The deep-rooted trauma continues to be part of the community, the 38-year-old actor added.

Diljit Dosanjh's next film 'Jogi' is set during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that erupted in Delhi and other parts of the country after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. Over 3,000 Sikhs were reportedly killed across India. Most were killed in Delhi.

Dosanjh, who plays the titular role in the movie, said the film is a "collective" view of the real-life incidents that took place in 1984.

(with PTI inputs)

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