Sam Pitroda: Stop discussing 1984 riots, focus on India’s future

Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda has said there is no point in continuing to discuss the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and that India should focus on the future. In an exclusive interview with IANS on Thursday, 12 November, Pitroda told the news agency that the courts should be allowed to decide on the matter and that the country’s real challenges are the education, employment and skill development of younger generations.

“What is the sense in talking about something that happened in 1986 now? … Let’s look at the future. Let’s move on. Let’s design a better, prosperous, peaceful nation for everybody,” Pitroda said. He also questioned why discussions still revolve around historical and religious controversies instead of artificial intelligence, education issues and children’s future. The 1984 riots followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and the military’s Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple earlier that year. Pitroda’s remarks come amid renewed political debate over the Congress party’s accountability for the violence.