An international conference titled “June 1984, the Amritsar Events: India’s Transnational Repression Against Ethnic Minorities in the Context of Genocide” will be held in Azerbaijan on June 3, 2026, organized by the Baku Initiative Group.

Axar.az reports that representatives of the Dalit community, who have suffered from the Indian government's repressive and systematic discriminatory policies, will participate in events held in Azerbaijan for the first time.

The event will also bring together prominent representatives of the Sikh community from Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, and the United States, as well as heads of think tanks, experts working in the fields of human rights and ethnic minorities, and individuals who have been direct victims of the Indian government's repressive, racist, and persecution policies.

The conference will discuss ways to keep the issue of the Indian government's transnational repression and systematic persecution of ethnic and religious minorities—particularly members of the Sikh and Dalit diasporas and their family members—on the agenda of international organizations. Participants will also exchange views on strengthening coordinated cooperation among diaspora organizations affected by repression, enhancing joint legal protection mechanisms against transnational persecution, and expanding cooperation on international platforms.

In addition, discussions will focus on securing an international legal assessment of the armed attacks, acts of violence, and deaths of thousands of innocent people during the June 1984 events in Amritsar, which targeted the Sikh community and its religious and cultural values, as well as on ensuring that the Indian government fulfills its obligations to international organizations regarding the rights of ethnic minorities.

Beginning in early June 1984, the armed assault carried out by the Indian government against the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, one of the holiest sites of the Sikh faith, was a state-organized act of violence directed against the Sikh community's spiritual values, freedom of worship, and historical and cultural heritage.

According to information compiled from reports by international non-governmental organizations, independent sources, and witness testimonies, up to 8,000 civilians in Amritsar and surrounding cities reportedly lost their lives as a result of the assault.

It should be noted that in March this year, the Baku Initiative Group and Sikh Federation International jointly prepared a report titled “Across Borders: India’s Transnational Repression Against the Sikh Diaspora,” which documented the Indian government's repressive policies toward members of the diaspora living abroad and included facts relating to the 1984 Amritsar events.