Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a “tragic and shameful” chapter in India’s history, saying the violence took place at a time when the country’s governance machinery had broken down following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on Tuesday, Sonia Gandhi reflects on the violence that erupted after Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984.

Recalling the immediate aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Sonia Gandhi writes that news of the killing spread rapidly. Many in Punjab and elsewhere in the country had initially welcomed the elimination of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his associates, whom she describes as having sought to break up the country through violence and terror.

However, she says, anger over the Prime Minister’s assassination soon escalated, and the situation deteriorated rapidly.…