"Genocide A Footnote For Congress": Harsimrat Badal Slams Sonia Gandhi Memoir

The furore over Sonia Gandhi's book "Belonging: A Journey of Love" continued today, with Punjab leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal pointing out that there was no word of apology to the Sikhs over the 1984 killings following the assassination of her mother-in-law and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. "Punjab will never forget, never forgive" she said in a post on social media platform X. 

"4 decades after thousands of innocent Sikhs were massacred, NOT A WORD OF APOLOGY! Just a passing mention in her memoir... Looks like for the Congress party a genocide is just a footnote!" her post read.

4 decades after thousands of innocent Sikhs were massacred, 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬! Just a passing mention in her memoir... Looks like for the Congress party a genocide is just a footnote! 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗣𝗨𝗡𝗝𝗔𝗕 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗧, 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗩𝗘! @INCIndia @INCPunjab #1984SikhGenocide

— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) November 11, 2026

In the book, released yesterday, Gandhi had called the 1984 anti-Sikh riots a "tragic and shameful" chapter in the country's history. She acknowledged that more than four decades later, justice has eluded the victims. 

She has also admitted that Congress workers were among those accused of instigating or directing the violence.

As the  news of Indira Gandhi's assassination spread, many were enraged, she wrote.

"Many were enraged at their prime minister's assassination, and the mood was turning ugly. By the afternoon, rioting had broken out in different parts of the city and beyond. Brutal acts of violence were committed against innocent Sikhs. More than 2,000 lost their lives in the capital alone, in the most cruel and cold-blooded manner," she said in the book.

Rajiv Gandhi appeared on national television to appeal for peace and visited areas of the city racked with tension, she wrote.

"But while his heart held no bigotry or rancour, there is no denying that he was thrust into a moment of the country's history when effective governance had foundered and barbaric acts followed," she added in the book.