Harvinder Singh Phoolka, is a senior advocate of Delhi High Court, politician, human rights activist, and author. He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.[2]
The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind (right) presenting the Padma Shri Award to Harvinder Singh Phoolka (left), in New Delhi on March 16, 2019.
He is known for spearheading what is described as "one of the longest and most torturous legal battle" and[3] "crusades"[4] to gain justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots and fighting individual cases on the involvement of Congress-I leaders H. K. L. Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler despite the government cover-up.[5][6] He received threatening letters[7] for unearthing involvements of ruling political party leaders in what the Asian Age called "the Mother of all Cover-ups" in a front-page story.[5][6] The special anniversary edition of the Outlook included Phoolka in its list of 50 people that make a difference in India, alongside Amartya Sen and Abhinav Ghosh.[8] He unsuccessfully contested 2014 Lok Sabha Polls as an AAP Candidate from Ludhiana .[9] In 2017 he successfully contested from Dakha Assembly constituency, but resigned on 12 October 2018 over alleged failure of Congress government in acting on Ranjit Singh commission's inquiry report on desecration of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. However his resignation was accepted by speaker after nearly 10 months on 9 August 2019.[10]
Early life and education
Phoolka's formative years were spent at his native village Bhadaur, into Sidhu Jat royal family in the Barnala district of Punjab, India.[11]
His education began in a small school in his village. He graduated from Ludhiana, and went to Law School in Chandigarh.
Family
Phoolka married Maninder Kaur in 1983. She is a food technologist and was a 1990 "outstanding graduate" of American Institute of Baking, Kansas.[11] She is said to have declined job offers in the United States and returned to India to support her husband's struggle for justice.[11]
Career
After completing his law degree in Chandigarh, Phoolka landed in Delhi to practice law. He served as member-secretary of the Justice Narula Committee formed in 1993 to probe the carnage.[12] He was later appointed the counsel for Central Government in January 2001.[13] He is known as a lawyer who won't take up a case if he finds that the client is in the wrong.[14]
In 2014 he joined Aam Aadmi Party.[15] In 2017 he won from Dakha Assembly constituency[16] following which he was appointed the Leader of Opposition to Punjab Legislative Assembly.[17] This appointment brought problems in his legal career, the Delhi Bar Council disallowed him from continuing his legal practice citing his acquiring an office of profit as the Leader of Opposition, hence, in July 2017, he resigned as the Leader of Opposition to fight the 1984-Sikh-riot case in the Delhi High Court.[18] In January 2019, he left AAP stating that he wanted to dedicate his life to starting a movement against the atrocities committed during the 1984-Sikh-Riots.[19]
1984 Anti-Sikh riots
Phoolka is well known for spearheading the crusade to seek justice in the 1984 anti-Sikh genocide in New Delhi that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi and resulted in the killing of approximately 2,733 Sikhs and displacement of over 50,000 Sikhs within 2 days.[20]
He was then just 28 years old and new to practising law and the city of Delhi.[21]
He has put the cause of justice for 1984 Sikh massacre victims before his career[13][22] and family life.[22]
First encounter and escaping the massacre
Phoolka was caught in the massacre while driving pregnant wife Maninder Kaur home on his motorbike.
When informed by a friend of the attacks on Sikhs, he avoided the main roads to reach his home in South Delhi via the slums of Kotla Mubarakpur.[23]
Phoolka's Hindu landlord drove the mob away by telling them that the Phoolka family had left Delhi and hid them in his store room. There the Phoolkas spent 2 days, and came out under escort. They then flew to Chandigarh in the cockpit of an overcrowded plane.[24]
Resolution to fight
Phoolka planned to move his residence to Chandigarh after the riots, but he learned that lawyers were needed to draft affidavits on behalf of the victims, and went to the Farsh Vihar relief camp[21] to help.
The sight of orphans, bereaved mothers and wives in the relief camp prompted the Phoolkas to change their plans. Instead of relocating to Chandigarh, they chose to stay and help the victims of the massacre.[8]
Since then, Phoolka has fought cases relentlessly[8] for the victims despite alleged government cover-up.[8]
Formation of Citizens Justice Committee
Phoolka conceived and pursued the formation of the Citizen's Justice Committee (CJC). The CJC served as an umbrella organisation for several human rights activists and legal luminaries.
Floated in May 1985,[25] the CJC has been pivotal in representing the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre victims before the various judicial commissions that have been formed for inquiry into the massacres.
Membership included Justice Ranjit Singh Narula, Soli Sorabjee, General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Justice V. M. Tarkunde and Khushwant Singh.[25]
As a counselor for the CJC, Phoolka represented the victims before the first formal sitting of the Mishra Commission on 29 July 1985.
The proceedings of the sitting were not made public and were closed to the press.[26]
In March 1986, the CJC withdrew its co-operation from the Mishra Commission because it disagreed with the commission's decision to hold secret proceedings, and started filing individual court cases.[27]
Mooting of Carnage84 website
To make the many documents and findings of Citizens Justice Committee on 1984 Sikh massacre available to the general public, Phoolka mooted the idea of the "Carnage84.com" website, which was launched 10 July 2001 and claimed 150,000 visits from people of 30 different countries within only 10 days of it going online.[28]
Blog on 1984 trials and related issues.
Mr. Phoolka has recently started to write a blog on matters relating to the 1984 riots. His blog can be accessed at www.phoolka.org and at phoolka.wordpress.com
Mr. Phoolka has also decided to tweet on issues relating to 1984 riots. His Twitter address is www.twitter.com/hsphoolka
Political career
Phoolka joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014.[29] In the Lok Sabha election of 2014, he contested well from Ludhiana in Punjab on the Aam Admi Party (AAP) ticket but he lost to the Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu by 19,709 votes.[30] Phoolka contested 2017 Punjab assembly elections and won the Dhaka constituency defeating Akali leader Manpreet Singh Ayali.
Notable quotes
The fight for justice by the riot victims sent a message that the powerful and the mighty could be challenged and demolished. They were like a rock and riot victims were like ants trying to push the rock. Over the years, with our efforts, we have been able to force the rock to roll and now it rolls like a football the moment we come near it. If we stop in our efforts, it would again become stationary and grow into a mountain.[21]
Before the 1984 riots, there were no criminals in politics. Criminals just followed the politicians. But 1984 made them realise people leading mobs and killing others could get elected and become leaders......So a way was opened for criminals to make politics a profession.[6]
Book
Phoolka, along with human rights activist and journalist Manoj Mitta, has written the first account of the 1984 Anti-Sikh massacre in the form of a book titled When a Tree Shook Delhi.[31]
^"Judges have been a party to a cover-up". India Times (English Daily). Archived from the original on 2 January 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2008. He has been the force behind setting up of the Citizen's Justice Committee and has spearheaded one of the longest and most torturous legal battles for the riot victims.
^Warrier, K. Hari (20 October 1996). "Advocate of a just cause". The Pioneer. Twelve years ago, Phoolka was just another lawyer trying to find his feet in the legal jungle of Delhi. Then came assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the genocide of Sikhs in the capital. Phoolka himself did not suffer. But the event turned his life upside down, into a long crusade for the victims of the massacre against the entire system which allowed itself to be a silent witness of those gory days…
^ abMustafa, Seema (9 August 2005). "1984 Sikhs Massacres: Mother of All Cover-ups". Front page story. The Asian Age. p. 1.
^ abcAgal, Renu (11 August 2005). "Justice delayed, justice denied". BBC News.
^"Judges have been a party to a cover-up". India Times (English Daily). Archived from the original on 2 January 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2008. HKL Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar were very powerful those days. My wife gave me her full support though other member of my family had some apprehensions and said this is too dangerous a work. But my response was that if on October 31, 1984, I could pass through a burning gurdwara, this was certainly less dangerous. Slowly young boys and girls joined our team. They visited areas dominated by Sajjan Kumar and HKL Bhagat and worked day and night. We were getting threatening letters, but nobody got scared. Soli Sorabjee, Tarkunde and Sikri were there with us through all this.
^ abcdDeb, Sandipan (October 1996). "Fifty Faces, A Million Reasons". Outlook (magazine, first anniversary special edition).
^ abc"Authors". SikhSpectrum Quarterly. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
^"No justice for 84 carnage victims". The Statesman. 30 October 1998. Fourteen years after the November 1984 genocide that claimed, officially 2,733 Sikh lives in the capital, victims families continue to await compensation. Mr H S Phoolka, member-secretary of the Justice Narula Committee set up by Chief Minister, Mr. Madan Lal Khurana to probe the carnage in 1993, laments that 'not a single person' has been punished so far. Mr. Phoolka, who is the Central Government standing counsel in the High Court and convenor of Citizens Justice Committee set up after Indira Gandhi's murder in October 1984, suggested a one-man commission be constituted to decide cases where the government has rejected/disputed victims claims.
^ ab"Senior govt counsel quits". Indian Express (Newspaper). 13 February 2001.
^Warrier, K. Hari (20 October 1996). "Advocate of a just cause". The Pioneer. Apart from a conscience, Phoolka is also an unusual lawyer in that he doesn't take on a case if he feels that client is in the wrong
^John, Shobha (13 July 2003). "The X-Files: Where the mob goes scot free". The Economic Times.
^ abcSuryamurthy, R. (3 December 2001). "A lawyer obsessed with the rights of riot victims". The Tribune.
^ abWarrier, K. Hari (20 October 1996). "Advocate of a just cause". The Pioneer. …if it were not for my wife, I would not have been able to do all this. She was the one who kept the house going when I didn't have a steady income. I refused a couple of good jobs in the US because I was not willing to abandon my work half-way
^"Judges have been a party to a cover-up". India Times (English Daily). Archived from the original on 2 January 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2008. (Where were you on October 31, 1984?) – Phoolka: I was at the High Court when I heard of Indira Gandhi's assassination. I picked up my pregnant wife from my office and was driving to out home in south Delhi on my motorbike. At a traffic crossing, a friend called to warn me about attacks on Sikhs a few meters ahead. Skirting the main roads, I drove through slum clusters of Kotla Mubarakpur to reach home safely. But looking back we could see smoke bellowing from the South Extension market. The Kotla gurdwara was burning and bodies of the head had begun to pile up.
^Warrier, K. Hari (20 October 1996). "Advocate of a just cause". The Pioneer. They were living in the first floor house in South Extension, one of the areas badly hit in the riots. His landlord told the invaders that the Phoolkas has left Delhi. He later took them into his house and hid them in the store room. A couple of days later, there was fire in the neighbouring house, and when the fire-fighters and Army personnel came in, the Phoolkas managed to escape with escort. "I didn't go to a relief camp. If I had I would have known at once what was going on.
^ ab"Justice Narula passes away". The Tribune (Chandigarh). 7 November 1985.
^"Judicial inquiry into November 1984 riots". BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. The Press Trust of India. 31 July 1985.
^Tenorio, Vyvyan (6 June 1986). "Victimized Sikhs await redress". Christian Science Monitor (Boston). p. 19.
^"1,50,000 visit website on '84 riots since launch on July 10". The Press Trust of India. 21 July 2001. p. 19.
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