Duration: 00:05:54

Harpal Singh: Where were you when Mrs. Indira Gandhi was assassinated? Tarlochan Singh: At Rashtrapati Bhawan (Presidential Palace in New Delhi). Gianijee (GianiZail Singh) as President of India, was on an official tour on the day of the murder. We first went to Mauritius. From there, we went to Yemen. We were in Yemen’s capital Sanaa when information came that Mrs. Gandhi had been shot. So Gianijee’s entire deputation headed back. On board the return flight were several members of the press. There was Prabhu Chawla, Satinder Singh, Inderjit. Mr (Romesh) Bhandari who became Foreign Secretary later was there too. So we landed in Delhi at around 4 pm. GianiZail Singh said let’s go to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to see Mrs. Gandhi. Her death had not been declared yet. Soon, we were on our way. Everyone had a separate car. I was also alone in my car. As I passed R.K. Puram, there was a group of people there which was shouting slogans. They stopped my car. First, they kept banging on the window glasses with sticks. Then someone threw a burning torch inside it. I am grateful to my driver. He had the presence of mind. He picked it up and flung it outside. Else, the car would have caught fire and I would have died inside only. God was kind.

Harpal Singh: Sir, did this incident occur near Kamal Cinema or in R.K. Puram? Tarlochan Singh: R.K. Puram, on this road which is coming here. Next day, The Statesman newspaper had a big story, ‘Tarlochan Singh Attacked’. I subsequently testified before Nanawati Commission and it was recorded. I was the first man who was attacked like this after the assassination. This happened when I was a part of the President’s convoy. Also, when Gianijee (GianiZail Singh) came down to the ground floor of AIIMS after seeing Mrs. Gandhi’s body, he was shouted down when he was getting into his car. He was escorted out by the police amidst slogan shouting. The oath took place later that evening.

So GianiZail Singh swore in Rajiv Gandhi as prime minister that evening. It was happening for the first time in India’s history that a person was made prime minister without having been elected leader by his party. Because, you see, the President has a power under the constitution to swear anyone to this office. He can swear you and me in also. Then the chosen person has to seek the Parliament’s confidence. So, GianiZail Singh swore in Rajiv Gandhi as prime minister. Then Gianijee told him to induct Buta Singh as a minister in the Union Cabinet. He told Rajiv to include him to allay criticism that he was anti-Sikh. So Buta Singh’s name was included later on. I started getting calls that night that the Sikhs were being attacked and killed. There were no cell phones back then. So I called up the President from my home land phone. I said, Sir, trouble has broken out in the city. First, he did not believe me because the people around him weren’t too interested. So I told the President that there was a constant stream of phone calls and people were asking us for help. What kind of help, he inquired. I told him that people are asking to be rescued. They want you to send the Army and the Military Police. I said, Gianijee, the situation is so bad that my relatives, your relatives, are all calling up as they are stuck, and they want to be taken to safer places. They were calling me because they couldn’t call the President directly. So I conveyed to him what I had learnt. He then, after our conversation that night, rang up the home minister. (P.V.) Narasimha Rao was the home minister at that time. The President couldn’t talk to him. He was told to speak to the prime minister. So Gianijee called up prime minister Rajiv Gandhi three-four times but he did not come to the phone. The President could not speak to either the prime minister or the home minister the entire night. And the assaults on the Sikhs continued. Early next morning, a group of eminent citizens, including Inder Kumar Gujral (later prime minister), Air Marshal Arjan Singh, Gen. (Jagjit Singh) Aurora, ambassador Gurbhachan Singh, showed up to meet the President. They said the Sikhs were under attack and asked for his intervention. He told them to go and meet the home minister. So they went off to Teen Murti Bhawan to meet him. Mrs. Gandhi’s dead body lay in state there. They were told that the home minister was busy. The excuse given was that Mrs. Gandhi was to be cremated and everybody was busy in making the arrangements. The second excuse that was used was that a lot of heads of state were expected to come from across the world to attend her funeral and they had to make preparations to receive them. They used these as mere excuses not to stop the violence. Nothing was done the next day as well. In fact, till Mrs. Gandhi was cremated, the Government of India, the army, the police, did nothing at all. The President was rendered totally helpless. You know that Gurudwara (Sikh temple) Rakab Ganj is adjacent to the Presidential Palace. It was attacked and set on fire in front of our eyes. Two Sikh preachers were burnt alive there. Their screams could be heard in the Presidential Palace. But we couldn’t do a thing except sitting around.