BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 3. The Amritsar events
of 1984 reflected the real attitude and approach towards ethnic
minorities in India and became a turning point in the history of
the policy of repression and discrimination against ethnic
minorities in India, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative
Group Abbas Abbasov told reporters, Trend reports.


He made the remark on the sidelines of an international
conference titled "June 1984, events in Amritsar: India's
transnational repression of ethnic minorities in the context of
genocide", held at Baku State University.


According to the executive director, after these events,
unfortunately, about 5 million members of the Sikh community were
forced to leave the country. They began their legitimate struggle
by creating large diaspora organizations in the U.S., UK, and
Canada.


"Later, the policy of repression and discrimination began to be
applied by the Indian government beyond the borders of the country.
Unfortunately, instead of dialogue and negotiations at the table,
they preferred a policy of transnational repression against the
Sikh community. At a later stage, this approach began to be
extended to other ethnic minorities and people belonging to lower
castes."


Abbasov added that the newly signed memorandum will regulate the
relations to be established at the academic level between the Sikh
International Federation and the Baku Initiative Group.


"Cooperation in the protection of the rights of ethnic
minorities should not be limited to political and economic spheres.
This cooperation should also be developed in the fields of science,
education, and academic activities. That is why we will further
strengthen the activities we will carry out at the academic level
through this memorandum."


Abbasov recalled that since 2026, initial contacts have been
established with the Dalit community, and the first discussions
have been held.


"In the coming months, we will present to the public the joint
projects we will implement with the Dalit community. Dalits are
also a group that is subject to ethnic and social discrimination.
Unfortunately, they have been facing repression and discrimination
for many years. Their number is approximately 320 million. Despite
this, the Indian government continues to discriminate and
repressive measures against them today," he added.