From Silence to Testimony
Narrating the Gendered Violence of 1984
Keywords:
1984, gendered memory, state violence, Sikh women, survivor testimonyAbstract
This essay reviews the book The Kaurs of 1984: The Untold, Unheard Stories of Sikh Women written by Sanam Sutirath Wazir. The work highlights the silenced experience of the Sikh women who survived the 1984 state-led violence. It presents their voices, resilience, and memories through oral testimonies, offering a gendered perspective on collective violence against Sikhs.
References
Amin, Shahid. "The Small Voice in History." In Thumb Printed: Champaran Indigo Peasants Speak to Gandhi. vol. 1, edited by Shahid Amin, Tridip Suhrud, and Megha Todi, 13–37. Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 2022.
Mandair, Arvind-Pal S. “After 1984? Violence, Politics, and Survivor Memories.” Sikh Formations 11, no. 3 (2015): 267–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2015.1133104.
Puri, Harish K., and Paramjit S. Judge, eds. Social and Political Movements: Readings on Punjab. Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2000.
Saluja, Anshu. “Gendered Erasures in Memory: Silencing of Cases of Sexual Violence in 1984.” Sikh Formations 20, no. 3 (2024): 149–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2024.2384843.
Wazir, Sanam Sutirath. The Kaurs of 1984: The Untold, Unheard Stories of Sikh Women. New Delhi: Harper Collins, 2024.
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