The Sikh community has faced a lot of terrorism at the hands of the Indian government. One example of this is the events that occurred in the year 1984. The Sikh community was targeted by the Indian government, as well as by the Indian media (who have close ties to the government). When the media was covering the events in 1984 they failed to represent both sides of the story. The media outlet that demonized the Sikh community the most was the Times of India. They created a false narrative that the military actions were justified and vilified the Sikh community by portraying them as violent people (Mann 120). The Times of India also published stories in which they made it seem as if “Sikhs in the Punjab were engaged in a religious war where the victims of Sikh religious violence were Hindus” (Mann 122). Not only were Sikhs being targeted by the government, but they were also being portrayed as the ones who were causing the violence. The Times of India presented the Sikh community “as religious fanatics bent on the division of the nation-state” (Mann 139). This negative portrayal of the Sikh community is harmful because it downplays the pain and suffering the community endured at the hands of the Indian government. The media failing to tell both sides of the story is a large reason why many non-Sikh Indians question the validity of Sikh trauma. It also acts as justification for the mistreatment of the Sikh community by the Indian government as well as other groups of people who hold power over minorities. 

The portrayal of the Sikh community in Indian media, as well as western media, has led to a narrative that suggests that Sikhs are religious extremists. This narrative exists not only in India but also in countries where there is a large population of Sikh immigrants, which include Canada and the United Kingdom. In these countries, many Sikh organizations (even those with no involvement in the Sikh separation movement) have been designated as terrorist groups (Singh 3137). Members of the Sikh community are judged based on false narratives created by the Indian media during events such as those that occurred in 1984. The media’s portrayal of Sikhs as radical, extremists and perpetrators of religious violence has directly affected how the community is viewed at home in Punjab, as well as in the western world (Singh 3146). This consistent negative representation of Sikhs creates a dangerous environment for the Sikh community in which they have to act very carefully in fear that they are going to be assumed to be violent and a threat to a nation’s safety.