New Delhi [India], November 21 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Thursday distributed offers of appointment to 47 victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots at Tilak Vihar in West Delhi.
Six additional such letters will be issued to nominated successors of those beneficiaries who had exceeded the age of service, during the interim period, the LG's office said in a release.
This move comes after four decades of delay after, Saxena recently relaxed qualifications for recruitment of victims of the 1984 riots. This decision, pending for decades due to procedural delays and insensitive red tape, has enabled a larger pool of candidates to secure employment, by becoming eligible for the same.
Addressing people on the occasion in this colony, which primarily houses victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the LG declared that the remaining 437 cases of applications for appointments were being verified and directed the Revenue Department to organize special camps to dispose of these applications at the earliest.
Saxena said that this event, more than anything else was a moment of satisfaction since it has ultimately led to justice being delivered.
He also announced that the specific colony housing the Sikh riot victims, which was tragically called Vidhwa Colony (Widows' Colony), would be renamed as per the recommendations of the residents.
It may be noted that various groups, public representatives, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and a delegation of the victims themselves met the LG last month and requested him to consider all eligible applicants, including those who may have aged out or passed away for recruitment.
Following this, Saxena directed the departments concerned to look into the issue with empathy and suggest a way forward.
Thereafter, he approved the proposal for relaxing recruitment qualifications, observing that the 1984 riots were a blot on Indian democracy.
He noted that given the significant trauma and hardship endured by the victims of the 1984 riots and the absence of relief for a few families over the last 4 decades, a humanitarian view is needed.
Though no relief can compensate for the loss of loved ones and mitigate the trauma faced by the families of the victims, it is imperative to take a compassionate view of the well-being of these families and their economic stability.