India also paid tribute in this way in memory of the genocide of 8 lakh people in Rwanda.

There have been many such massacres in the history of the world which will probably never be forgotten. One such massacre took place in April 1994. In this terrible massacre that lasted for just 100 days, not just one or two but about eight lakh people lost their lives. It would not be wrong to call this the most terrible massacre in history. India has shown solidarity with the people of the East African country. Delhi’s Qutub Minar was illuminated in the colors of the Rwandan flag to commemorate the massacre.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote in a post on social media that in solidarity with the people of Rwanda, India today illuminated the Qutub Minar in the colors of the Rwandan flag. He also said that the Economic Relations Secretary has written that India represented Rwanda at the 30th anniversary.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1777209420277329954

External Affairs Ministry Secretary Dammu Ravi is on a visit to Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya from April 7 to 12. He is also accompanied by Additional Secretary (Eastern and Southern Africa) Punit R Kundal. On Sunday, Dammu Ravi met Minister of State for Foreign Affairs James Kabarebe, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Uziel Ndagizimana and Rwanda’s Minister of State for Agriculture Eric Rwigamba in Kigali. Not only this, bilateral issues were also discussed with all of them. The Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs is likely to meet ministers of the Rwandan government.

On April 7, 1994, Rwandan President Habyarimana and Burundian President Sipré were assassinated on an airplane. At that time the Hutu community was in power and they believed that the Tutsi community had committed the murder. The very next day of his murder, massacres started across the country. Hutu government soldiers also joined in. They were ordered to kill people of the Tutsi community. In this massacre, more than eight lakh people of Tutsi community were killed within a few days. However, millions of Rwandans fled to other countries to escape the genocide.

Even before this, there had been a violent clash between these two communities for supremacy, which resulted in this horrific massacre. Genocide devastated Rwanda. Lakhs of families were destroyed. It was so horrifying that even today people here get scared remembering that accident. Children and women became the biggest victims. Thousands of women were gang raped. After the brutal murder of the Tutsi community, their homes were looted.

Before 1918, the situation in Rwanda was normal. The country was poor, but there was no violence. Belgium occupied Rwanda in 1918. After this, census was conducted here. The Belgian government issued ID proofs for the identification of Rwandans. In this document, Rwandans were divided into three tribes (Hutu, Tutsi and Towa). During partition, he declared the Hutu community as the upper caste of Rwanda and started providing them government facilities. This angered the Tutsi community and violent clashes started between the two communities.

Following Western intervention, Rwanda became independent in 1962 and became a separate country. In 1973, Habyarimana of the Hutu community became President of Rwanda. Habyarimana’s plane was attacked, resulting in his death. This incident became the biggest cause of the Rwandan genocide. About 20 percent of Rwanda’s population died in the genocide.