The proudly displayed ISO 9000 plaque on the façade is the first thing that catches your eye as you enter Guru Harkrishan Public School in Vasant Vihar. Most traces of the attack that took place on campus on November 1, 1984, the day after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, have disappeared.

A dull black mark on a shutter in the basement and a damaged portion of the main gate (deliberately not replaced) bear mute witness to the savagery.

One of the few places to be attacked in South Delhi during the ’84 riots, this primarily Sikh school was closed after Indira Gandhi’s assassination and students rushed home.

It were the staff members staying on campus who came face-to-face with a 50-strong mob. School caretaker Sharanjeet Singh, the only member of the present staff to have witnessed the 1984 attack, remembers how they managed to ward off the crowd and lock the gates. The trouble, however, was far from over.

Around 11 am, two buses followed by a crowd broke open the gate and burnt three school buses. The crowd had swelled to thousands by then.

The mob then reportedly set the basement on fire and began to strip the building of whatever they could lay their hands on — fans, tubelights, even taps.

“Two policemen sent to the school told physics teacher, Mr Hashmi, “Khada khada kya kar raha hai? Loot le” (Take whatever you can). It was Nandita Haksar (daughter of P N Haksar, Personal Secretary to Indira Gandhi) who came with a group of JNU students and shifted all 44 staff members. They were made to stay in Munirka overnight and then shifted to JNU. The school was opened 25 days later, after the DDA rebuilt it.

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