Rs 11 lakh to design 1984 riots memorial

The design of a memorial being built at Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib to pay tributes to thousands of people who died in anti-Sikh riots across the country in 1984 will be finalised through an open competition.

The design of a memorial being built at Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib to pay tributes to thousands of people who died in anti-Sikh riots across the country in 1984 will be finalised through an open competition.

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Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has asked architects, sculptors, artists, historians, scholars and the general public to suggest a design for the ‘November 1984 Carnage Memorial’. The artist whose design will be finalised will be given an “honorarium” of R11 lakh, DSGMC chairman Manjit Singh GK said.

“Anyone can suggest us a design. But we will not give the memorial the shape of a gurudwara. We are looking forward to some creative design that coveys universal brotherhood, tolerance, compassion, humanity and humility,” he said.

The design will be selected by a group of prominent Sikh scholars, historians and architects.

“The memorial will not be just for Sikhs; it will also remember non-Sikhs who laid down their lives while saving Sikhs. It will be dedicated to army personnel who lost their lives during that period,” Singh said.

Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) had earlier planned to rename a park in Punjabi Bagh in West Delhi for those who lost their lives in the 1984 riots. The re-naming committee of the unified MCD had approved the proposal and the date to lay the foundation stone was also finalised.

The function, however, was cancelled at the eleventh hour.