Permanent victims of violence: a sociological study of women victims of communal violence

How is gender implicated in communal violence? The article addresses this question, primarily in relation to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that followed the killing of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Estimates vary, but it is likely that more than 3,000 people were killed. Most of these were men, leaving their wives as permanent victims. These women continued to suffer from the memories of bloodshed, rope and the destruction of their houses and possessions, from the loss of loved ones, from the hardship of being a single parent, and from social approbation, including suspicions about sexual activities. In offering a gendered perspective, one should also recognize that women too sometimes engage in communal violence, and that such violence can re-enforce communal identity.