New book highlights neglected outlook of women in historical context

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In her upcoming book, Sanam Sutirath Wazir discusses detailed accounts of grief, betrayal, and the loss of agency felt by Sikh women. This book talks about the often neglected outlook of women in historical context. It’s a collection of unheard and untold stories about Sikh women from the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre.

There have been multiple books that have delved into topics such as Operation Blue Star and the Delhi massacres, but only a few of them have specifically addressed the experiences of women in these events. Conflicts worldwide are often initiated and resolved by men; however, it is women who predominantly bear the brunt of violence.

The book reveals how, three decades after Operation Blue Star of June 1984 and the anti-Sikh riots later that year, a young man is given the task of researching the violence. What he finds devastates him. Among the many oral testimonies, one crucial constituency has remained silent. Hundreds of Sikh women witnessed hell coming to life that year. These included women who were stranded inside the Golden Temple, who stood by their militant men, and those who were, at one time in their lives, militants themselves. They are rape survivors. They are among the murdered. They are forgotten.

The author’s research has taken him across north India to meet the women who lived to tell the tale, many of whom are still fighting invisible battles for justice. The book is a compilation of various interviews and extensive historical research.

Published by HarperCollins India, ‘The Kaurs of 1984’ will be released on 17 July on SoftCover, ThePrint’s online venue to launch non-fiction books.

The author, Sanam Sutirath Wazir, a committed advocate for Human Rights from Jammu and Kashmir, is deeply engaged in documenting historical injustices and large-scale violence through oral history. He has successfully mobilized support from over half a million people across the world in advocating for justice for the victims of anti-Sikh massacres.

His works, including ‘An Era of Injustice for the 1984 Sikh Massacre‘, ‘The 1984 Sikh Massacre as Witnessed by a 15-year-old,’ and ‘The Continuing Injustice of the 1984 Sikh Massacre,’ are published by Amnesty International, among others.

‘Graphic, disturbing and searing, this account of the untold stories of women caught in the violence of 1984 brings to light much that lay in plain sight, and was yet wilfully unseen,’ said Urvashi Butalia, feminist publisher and author of The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India, while praising the book.

Further, Nivedita Menon, professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University said that, “This book gathers the women’s experiences with sensitivity, commitment, historical responsibility and a deep sense of justice.”