Thirty years ago saw the culmination of increasing social conflict in Punjab, a Sikh-majority state in India. In 1984, the government of India launched a military operation on the Sikhs’ central religious site, aimed at militants, but also ensnaring innocent pilgrims. Later that year, Sikh bodyguards assassinated India’s Prime Minister in retribution, immediately followed by pogroms against Sikhs all over India, and subsequently a decade of violence and repression in Punjab. The perpetrators of state violence have not been brought to justice, and the events of 1984 and after continue to cast a shadow on Sikhs across the globe.

Prof. Gurinder Singh Mann, Kundan Kaur Kapany Chair in Sikh Studies at UC Santa Barbara and Prof. Pashaura Singh, Dr. Jasbir Singh Saini Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies at UC Riverside, will be panelists sharing their thoughts on, and experiences of these events, as well as the continuing implications for the global Sikh community. The panel and discussion will be moderated by Prof. Nirvikar Singh, Sarbjit Singh Aurora Chair of Sikh and Punjabi Studies at UC Santa Cruz.

All students, faculty and community members are invited. Lunch will be provided, and RSVPs are requested by November 25th at 1 pm. Please RSVP by email to Evin Guy, Institute for Humanities Research, ecguy@ucsc.edu.

Panel discussion presented by the Sarbjit Singh Aurora Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies at UC Santa Cruz.

Image credit: “1984: The Storming of the Golden Temple”, 1998, Amrit and Rabindra K.D.Kaur Singh.

London born twin sisters Amrit and Rabindra are contemporary British artists of International standing whose award winning paintings have been acknowledged as constituting a unique genre in British Art and for initiating a new movement in the revival of the Indian miniature tradition within modern art practice.

EVENT VIDEO:

EVENT PHOTOS:

If you have trouble viewing above images, you may view this album directly on Flickr.