From the ‘crevices in dominant memories’: virtual commemoration and the 1984 anti-Sikh violence

TitleFrom the ‘crevices in dominant memories’: virtual commemoration and the 1984 anti-Sikh violence
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsShruti Devgan
JournalIdentities
Volume20
Issue2
Pagination207-233
ISSN1070289X
Abstract

Dominant collective memories around the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 are mostly dichotomous. The official state memories of 1984 are replete with omissions about the attack on Sikhs and several human rights violations. On the other hand, the counter-mobilisations that developed in the aftermath of 1984 are largely focused on the demand for a separate state of Khalistan. I problematise these dichotomous framings by examining what I call present-day ‘virtual commemorative crevices’. I suggest that these crevices are transnational, sacred or set-apart and liminal fissures in hegemonic memories and institutionalised forms of commemoration. I examine eight websites focusing on 1984 and the role of the Sikh diaspora in disrupting older temporal fixities and spatially rooted narratives. Virtual fissures mark a subtle, but significant shift from polarised hegemonic narratives to a more differentiated, future-oriented activism.

DOI10.1080/1070289X.2013.771579
Short TitleFrom the ‘crevices in dominant memories’