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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, November 2023 marks the 39th anniversary of the |
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start of the Sikh genocide in India; and |
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WHEREAS, The assassination of Indian prime minister Indira |
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Gandhi on October 31, 1984, sparked systematic attacks against |
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Sikhs in India, which resulted in the murder of more than 30,000 |
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people over the course of a three-day period; Sikh communities were |
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terrorized and businesses and properties were destroyed at the |
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hands of vigilante groups, who had the encouragement of the police, |
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government ministers, and members of parliament; under the code |
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name "Operation Woodrose," the government of India went on to |
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target Amritdhari Sikhs across the country's Punjab region, and for |
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10 years, the violence continued as the Indian army rounded up Sikh |
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men and youth, who were later put to death; and |
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WHEREAS, Mass graves holding the remains of those killed in |
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the violence have been found in a number of communities, including |
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the villages of Hondh Chillar and Pataudi in Haryana, where burial |
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sites were discovered in 2011; moreover, the Tilak Vihar |
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neighborhood in New Delhi, known as the "Widow Colony," still |
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houses thousands of Sikh women who were forced to endure rape and to |
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witness the torture and murder of their husbands, fathers, and |
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sons; and |
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WHEREAS, The Sikh community in the United States continues to |
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mourn these atrocities, and it is incumbent upon the global |
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community to learn from the past and to reaffirm our commitment to |
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preventing similar tragedies in the years ahead; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby remember those who lost their lives during the |
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November 1984 anti-Sikh genocide. |