Qutub Minar Shines In Rwandan Colours In Remembrance of 1994 Genocide

The Qutub Minar in the national capital was illuminated with the vibrant colours of the Rwandan national flag on April 7 in solidarity with Rwanda on the solemn occasion of the 30th commemoration of the 1994 genocide. The memorial gesture paid tribute to lives lost during the devastating 100-day massacre.

“In solidarity with the people of Rwanda, India lit up the Qutub Minar today, marking the UN International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Secy (ER) Dammu Ravi represented India at the 30th commemoration of the genocide today in Kigali,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a post on social media platform X.

Rwanda’s president on Sunday led commemorations to mark 30 years since the 1994 genocide that killed more than 1 million people and said the conditions that led to the slaughter would never be allowed to exist again in his country’s politics. Over 100 days, starting on April 7, 1994, Tutsis and moderate Hutus and were systematically massacred by Hutu extremists, led by the Rwandan army and a militia known as the Interahamwe.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his wife led 37 visiting leaders at a wreath laying ceremony at a genocide memorial in the capital Kigali that contains the remains of some 250,000 people. “Genocide is populism in its pure form, because the causes are political the remedies must be as well. For that reason our politics are not organised on the basis of ethnicity or religion and never will be again,” Kagame said at a separate ceremony at a Kigali sports arena.

Representing India at the commemoration in Kigali, Secretary Dammu Ravi, joined international dignitaries to honour the memory of the victims. Rwandan President Paul Kagame led the somber ceremonies, laying wreaths at mass graves in the capital. The Rwanda commemoration serves as a stark reminder of one of the darkest chapters in human history.