The Khalistan Question: The Punjab Insurgency, Indira’s Assassination and Riots

1980 Elections
 INC (I) won 353/531 Seats
 Indira Gandhi Becomes the PM Again
 Sanjay Gandhi’s Influence Increased:
o 9 state constituencies dissolved
o Sanjay did the allotment of tickets and handpicked the CMs when
o cong won in the states
o 23rd June 1980, Sanjay died in a plane crash which he was driving

Rajiv Comes to Indira’s Aid…

o Pilot of Indian Airlines...

o Family Man… Sonia Gandhi... 2 kids
o Didn't have any political ambitions
o Won MP byelections from Sanjay's Amethi seat 9 months after

Andhra Upset…

o Rajiv visited Andhra in 1982 when the CM of Andhra, trying to woo him,brought garlands, a huge crowd and media to welcome
him.
o Rajiv didn't like the gesture and criticized the move
o Enter NTR (NT Rama Rao)...
o Found Telegu Desam party in 1982
o Elections took place in Andhra Pradesh at the end of 1982.
o NTR won by 2/3rd majority and became the CM
o Rice @ Rs. 2/kg

Problems in Punjab…

o Got a separate Sikh state in 1966

o Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 by Shiromani Akali Dal:
o Creating a new all-India gurudwara law to ensure more efficient and meaningful management of places of worship and
community centres.
o Bringing all of the world's gurudwaras under one banner in order to make Sikh religious procedures and proceedings uniform
around the world.
o The areas that have been purposefully kept out of Punjabi-speaking and Sikh areas should be immediately incorporated into
Punjab and made into a single administrative unit where Sikhism and Sikh interests "can be especially protected."
o Punjab would contribute its share of the necessary funds for Central subjects in the ratio of its Lok Sabha members.
o The resolution demanded that the Centre's jurisdiction be limited to defence, foreign affairs, communications, and currency, and
that all residuary powers be devolved to the states.
o It stated that the Constitution should be made truly federal, with equal authority and representation for all states at the Centre.
o Sikh minorities living outside of Punjab should be protected.
o Free entry to Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birthplace and other Gurdwaras in Pakistan.
o Sikhs are barred from serving in the armed forces due to racial discrimination.
o The federally administered city of Chandigarh should be transferred to Punjab
o Punjabi to have second language status in the neighboring states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.

1977 Punjab Elections

o Akali Dal Won with Janta Party

o Demands added to Anandpur Sahip Resolution:
o Greater share of waters from rivers flowing also through haryana and raj
o Designation of Amritsar as the holy city

Rise of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

o Born in Jat Sikhs,
o Left his wife and children to become the head of a seminary called Damdami Taksal
o Some say that Sanjay Gandhi and the previous CM of Punjab, Zail Singh built Bhindranwale to counter Akali Dal
o Fight between Damdami Taksal and Nirankaris in Amritsar.
o 15 Dead

1980: Congress returns to power

Proclamation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh nation by some students with London politician Jagat Singh

Chauhan as its president.

Akali Dal chose confrontation with Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal as its leader
Lodged in Golden Temple, conducted street protests for Anandpur sahib resolution

Bhindranwale lodged in another part of golden temple

April 1980: Nirankari leader Baba Gurcharan singh shot dead in Delhi. Bhindranwale believed to be behind the killings

Sept 1981: Killing of Lala Jagat narain, MP who spoke against extremism of sikhs

Warrant for Bhindranwale

But the Union home minister Zail Singh stopped police from entering golden temple for the arrest fearing clashes

Bhindranwale put terms for arrest:

Time of his choosing

Only sikh police wearing turbans and beards

Punjab govt. agreed

2 weeks later, Bhindranwale surrendered amongst loud cheers from the crowd

Violence erupted in Punjab, where the supporters of Bhindranwale attacked govt property around a dozen people died

3 weeks later: he was released because of lack of evidence

Akalis also became extremists as the aura of Bhindranwale was rising

22nd April 1983: A high ranking Sikh policeman A.S. Atwal, was killed as he left the golden temple after prayers

Hindu minority started fleeing the state

Attacks Continued…

5th October 1983:

A bus stopped on the highway (Kapurthala to Jalandhar), Hindu passengers were segregated and killed

Next day president’s rule was imposed in Punjab

Bhindranwale changed his location to Akal Takht, a place from where the holy gurus had voiced sermons

12th May 1984: Ramesh Chander, son of Jagat Narain killed

Preparations for Battle @ Golden Temple

 Fortification of Golden Temple for Bhindranwale

o Major General Shubeg Singh 
o Fought in the 1971 war and trained Mukti Bahini. 
o Stocked food for a month
 The govt. summoned Major General R.S. Brar from Meerut to rid the temple of the terrorists. 
 Brar was trained by Shubeg in Dehradun academy and fought with him in 1971 war.

Operation on blue star ,1948…

 On 1st June, the army started moving towards Amritsar and took control from paramilitary
 3rd June: Punjab's road, rail and telephone lines were cut
 4th June: Announcements were made from outside the temple requesting the pilgrims to move out of the temple
 5th June: Attack is launched
 Army couldn't gain ground as they underestimated the number of militants and firepower
 Army then requested for tanks and broke the gates of the temple on 6th June
 Akal Takht was attacked by the tanks. 
 Shubeg Singh and Bhindranwale died in the basement.
 Govt. estimates of deaths: 4 officers, 79 soldiers and 492 terrorists
ASSASINATION OF INDIRA GANDHI
 Indira refused to change her bodyguards some of whom were Sikhs
 Was shot dead at point-blank range by 2 of her bodyguards on 31st October 1984
 Rajiv Gandhi is then made the PM
 Body of Indira Gandhi was placed in Teen Murti Bhawan, where people flocked to give their last respects
  Some of them shouted slogans like “Khoon ka badla khoon se lenge"

Riots against sikhs

 In Delhi, people started targeting sikhs. 

 Homes were looted and houses were burnt. 
 In Delhi alone, more than 1000 sikhs died. 
 The police just looked on.
 Rajiv Gandhi’s Comment: 
o When a big tree falls, the Earth Shakes
 Army was not brought in
 More than 200 Sikhs died in UP
 20 Sikhs in Indore, 60 in Bokaro
 No violence in Calcutta, where 50,000 Sikhs lived. 
o Jyoti Basu ordered police to maintain peace and requested the powerful trade unions

Rajiv Longwal Accord 1985

 
Status
Provision
Compensation was given to a number of victims
and their families. 

Compensation to the families of the innocent persons killed in agitation or any action As of 2005, the highest compensation paid to a
after 1 August 1982. victim's family was Rs. 3.5 lakhs, in 1996 in
Delhi. 
 Plus, compensation for property damaged.
There were a few cases in which the victims
complained that they were denied compensation or
were not paid the full amounts

Army recruitment: Merit will remain the sole criteria for selection in the Indian Army.  The Defence Ministry clarified that Sikh
Regiment and the Sikh Light Infantry regiments
All citizens have the right to enrol in the Army. are entirely reserved for the Sikhs. 

Earlier, on 14 March 1974, the defence minister Jagjivan Ram had announced The Sikhs have approximately 50% reservation in
represented in the Army that the recruitment from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal the Punjab Regiment, besides a sizable
Pradesh would be reduced as they were heavily and disproportionately present in Army representation in other units.

 
Enquiry into the 1984 killings: Jurisdiction of Rangnath Mishra In February 1987, the Mishra Commission absolved Congress (I) of
Commission enquiring into the 1984 Delhi riots will be extended to responsibility for the riots, placing the guilt on Delhi police.
Bokaro and Kanpur.

Arjun Singh, the Governor of Punjab stated that 280 discharged

armymen will be rehabilitated. 

Rehabilitation: Those discharged from the Army for desertion will be The Sikh leader Parkash Singh Badal claimed that 12,000 armymen had
rehabilitated and provided employment. been discharged, and must be rehabilitated.  

By August 1985, 2,606 deserters had been identified, out of which 900
had been rehabilitated.

All-India Gurdwara Act for structured governance of the Sikh shrines
in India
Not enacted. In December 1999, the Draft Bill on All India Sikh
Gurdwara Act (AISGA) was introduced in parliament. 
But it was severely criticized by the Sikh leaders, especially on the
clause which stated that a Central board will appoint the head priests of
Akal Takht and four other superior Takhts.

 
Disposal of pending cases: Notifications applying AFSPA in Punjab
will be withdrawn, and the special courts will try only the cases
relating to the following offences:  Limited releases were made
1. Waging War 
2. Hijacking. 
3. All other cases will be transferred to the ordinary courts.

A Commission headed by E.S. Venkataramiah was appointed on 3 April

1986 to determine which Hindi-speaking areas of Punjab will be given
to Haryana. 

The Commission submitted its report on 7 June, and recommended the

Territorial claims: Chandigarh will be given to Punjab, overruling the
transfer of 70,000 acres of land from Punjab to Haryana. 
Shah Commission's suggestion that it should be given to Haryana. 
However, the actual transfer never took place due to disagreements.  
In lieu of Chandigarh, the Hindi-speaking villages of Punjab will be
given to Haryana. 
Three commissions (Matthew, Venkatarmiah and Desai) failed to
provide an agreement. 

In July 1986, the Union government suspended the transfer for an

indefinite period.

Centre-State relations: The part of the Anandpur Sahib

Sarkaria Commission Report (October 1987) rejects the Anandpur Sahib
Resolution dealing with the Centre-State relations will be referred to
Resolution approach to Center-State relations
the Sarkaria commission.

1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised pogroms[11][12]
[7]
 against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.[13][14][15] Government estimates project that
about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in Delhi[7][8] and 3,350 nationwide,[9][10] whilst independent sources estimate the number of deaths at about
8,000–17,000.[6][3][16][17]
The assassination of Indira Gandhi itself had taken place shortly after she had ordered Operation Blue Star, a military action to secure
the Harmandir Sahib Sikh temple complex in Amritsar, Punjab, in June 1984. The operation had resulted in a deadly battle with armed Sikh
groups who were demanding greater rights and autonomy for Punjab. Sikhs worldwide had criticized the army action and many saw it as an
assault on their religion and identity.[18]
In the aftermath of the pogroms, the government reported that 20,000 had fled the city; the People's Union for Civil Liberties reported "at
least" 1,000 displaced persons.[19] The most-affected regions were the Sikh neighbourhoods of Delhi. Human rights organisations and
newspapers across India believed that the massacre was organised.[7][20][21] The collusion of political officials connected to the Indian
National Congress in the violence and judicial failure to penalise the perpetrators alienated Sikhs and increased support for the Khalistan
movement.[22] The Akal Takht, Sikhism's governing body, considers the killings a genocide.[4]
In 2011, Human Rights Watch reported that the Government of India had "yet to prosecute those responsible for the mass killings".
[23]
 According to the 2011 WikiLeaks cable leaks, the United States was convinced of Indian National Congress' complicity in the riots and
called it "opportunism" and "hatred" by the Congress government, of Sikhs.[24][25] Although the U.S. has not identified the riots as genocide,
it acknowledged that "grave human rights violations" occurred.[26] In 2011, the burned sites of multiple Sikh killings from 1984, were
discovered in Hondh-Chillar and Pataudi areas of Haryana.[27] The Central Bureau of Investigation, the main Indian investigative agency,
believes that the violence was organised with support from the Delhi police and some central-government officials. [20]
After 34 years of delay, in December 2018, the first high-profile conviction for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots took place with the arrest of
Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court.[28] Very few convictions have taken place
in the pending 1984 cases, with only one death penalty conviction for an accused, Yashpal in the case of murdering Sikhs in
the Mahipalpur area of Delhi

The Great Turbulence: Rajiv Gandhi Years

The Siachen Glacier

 Operation Meghdoot Vs. Operation Ababeel…

o Highest Battlefield…
o Unclear Boundaries…
o 1970s and early 80s: Pakistan Allowed Mountaineering expeditions from their side with Pak
Army Accompanying Them
o 1978: Indian Army also allowed same expeditions from Indian side
o Pakistan’s Plan: Occupy the Heights on 17th April 1984
o Raw intercepted the communication
o India Captured the heights on 13th April 1984
o One of the worst battlefields where more soldiers die because of frostbite than the battle
o Why is Siachen Important: Could Join Gilgit Baltistan with China’s Karakoram range
1984 Elections
 December End
 Cong Won 401 Seats
 More than Nehru, Indira Period

Punjab…
 Problems Continued…
 20th Aug 1985: Longowal killed for Breaking Bread with Rajiv
 Akali Dal won the Elections
 1986: More Minority killings
 Another Attack on Golden Temple under KPS Gill to flush out armed terrorists
 The Khalistan movement continued in Bits and Pieces

Bhopal Gas Tragedy…

 3rd December 1984: Biggest Industrial Tragedy
 Union Carbide (A US Company): Methyl Isocyanate (MIC)
 Around 20,000 died
 Around 6,00,000 People Suffered Because of it. 
 No one got arrested
 Not enough Compensation Provided

ASSAM AND MIZORAM

 Resolved issues in Assam and Mizoram and Fair Elections Took Place.
 Mizoram became state in 1986: Govt. – MNF Accord (Mizo Peace Accord)
 Similar Accord in Assam: Aug 1985 – All Assam Student Union and Govt. of India (Migrant Issue of
Bangladeshis)
Shah Bano Case…

 23rd April 1985: SC Ordered that Shah Bano Should be Paid Alimony by Her Divorced ex-Husband
Mohd. Ahmed Khan
 Khan Had Challenged the Ruling of MP High Court in SC
 Under Islamic Law, he was not supposed to pay maintenance to ex-wife beyond 3 months
 SC: Sec 125 and Muslim Personal Law was Same
 Muslim Fundamentalists were Furious
 Rajiv Initially Supported Shah Bano
 Indian Union of Muslim League Moved an Act in Parliament to keep Muslims out of Indian Civil Law
 Arif Mohd. Khan was Asked to Fight Against the Act and Act Was Defeated
 
Congress Started Losing the Muslim Vote in State Elections in North India (UP 1985, Bihar 1985,
Rajasthan 1985)
  Rajiv asked ZA Ansari to Speak in Parliament to Speak Against SC Judgement
 Govt. Enacted The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights On Divorce) Act, 1986
 Placed Muslim Personal Law Outside the Proceedings of Criminal Procedure Court
 Govt. Overturned the SC Judgement
 Arif Mohd. Resigned
 Backlash by VHP: Accused Govt. of Appeasing Muslim Conservatives

Babri Masjid…

 1st Feb 1986: District Judge in Faizabad Ordered the Locks of Babri Masjid to be Opened for Hindu
Worship of a Small Shrine inside
 British Rulers Compromise: Muslims could worship inside, and Hindus Made Offerings Outside on a
Raised Platform
 1949: An Idol of Ram Lalla was Placed Inside by an Official
 An order allowing the worship inside on 1 day of December
 It would stay locked rest of the time
 The judge’s order in 1986 was believed to have come from Delhi
 Govt. in a way was trying to appease both Hindus and Muslims
 Extremism started growing on both sides
 Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991

The Serial Ramayan…

 Funded by the Govt.
 Jan 1987-July 1988 with 4 Month Gap in Between
 78 Episodes
 9:30 AM on Sunday
 Churches Changed their Sunday Mass Timings
 Popular amongst Muslims as well
 For Hindus, it was much more: Delight with Devotion
 The serial made “Ram” the supreme God of Hindus
 Polarization of Hindus started taking place
J&K Elections 1987

 Sheikh Abdullah in Coalition with Congress

 Muslim United Front – Coalition of Small Kashmir Political Parties
 NC + INC would have won easily
 But Still Rigging of Votes was Done by Congress
 Intelligence Bureau Said that 13 Seats were Lost by MUF because of Rigging
Start of Terrorism and

 Kashmiri Youth Lost the Trust in Democracy

 Many Moved to PoK in 1987 after the elections
 Returned back in 1989 with a series of Terrorist Attacks in the Valley
 Rubaiya Saeed Kidnapping in 1989 (Daughter of then Minister for Home Affairs… Mufti
Mohammad Saeed)… 
o 5 JKLF Terrorists Freed in Return

Kashmiri Pandit Exodus

  Maqbool Bhat, Leader of JKLF Hanged in 1984
 Violence against Hindus in 1986: Homes and Temples Vandalised
 1988: Militants killed BJP Leader Tika Lal Taploo in Front of Many People
 1989: Neelakanth Ganjoo, The Judge to Sentenced Bhat to Death was Killed in Market
 Hizbul Mujahideen became prominent
 Hit List of Kashmiri Pandits was Released
 19th January 1990: Central Rule was Announced in J&K: Jagmohan as Governer
 Murders Started on the Same Night
 21st Jan 1990: CRPF Kills 50 Muslim Protesters at Gawkadal Bridge in Srinagar
 Exodus Started the Next Day
 75,343 left in January, Around 70,000 more by March
 Around 650 were killed
 No Police Commission or Judicial Panel Formed to probe the Killings

The LTTE Challenge

 Sri Lanka Made Sinhalese as a Lone Official Language by Sinhala Only Bill (1956)
 Minority Tamils Protested
 LTTE was Formed in 1976 with a Motto of a Separate Tamil Country
 India Initially Supported the Tamils and Tamil Nadu became a safe haven for LTTE
 In July 1987, Rajiv met Sri Lanka PM J. R. Jayewerdene
 Accord was signed to not provide safe haven to LTTE
 Indian Peace Keeping Force Also Sent to Sri Lanka the same year
 48,000 Soldiers Went to Sri Lanka
 LTTE Engaged Indian Soldiers in Guerrilla Warfare
 More than 1000 Indian Soldiers Died
 In 1989, the Indian Soldiers were pulled out of Sri Lanka
Bofors Scam

 Had a clean image

 Made V.P. Singh his Finance Minister in 1984 and Removed him at the start of 1987… Raids
in foreign exchange violations… Raid on Ajitabh Bachchan as Well
 Made Defence Minister
 Accusation of Rs. 30 Crore kickbacks in a deal of HDW Submarines from West Germany to
middlemen… Indian Ambassy in West Germany Told Singh
 Singh ordered an enquiry and resigned from the cabinet on 12 th April 1987
 16th April 1987: A Swedish radio Channel Accuses that Arms manufacturer Bofors AB of
Sweden had Paid Rs. 64 Crores in Kickbacks in Rs. 1437 Crore Deal to Purchase 420 Guns in
1986
20th April 1987: Rajiv said in Parliament that there were neither kickbacks nor middlemen
 Newspapers ran reports of middlemen being gaining from the deals (The Hindu)
 Joint Parliamentary Committee Formed to Investigate the charges
 Opposition got only 6/30 seats on JPC and hence boycotted it
 JPC gave Rajiv the clean chit
 Publication of Diary Entries of Bofors Chief A.B. Martin Arbdo in 1987
 Code Names for people involved in deal… GPH (GP Hinduja), N (Arun Nehru), Q (Ottavio
Quattrocchi) and R (Rajiv Gandhi)
  Swedish Audit Report confirmation of depositing Rs. 64 Crores in Various Bank Accounts
linked to Hinduja Brothers, Win Chaddha (the bofors agent in India) and AE Services (A
Shell Company of Quattrocchi)
1989 elections

 Cong: 197/531
 Janata Dal: 143/531 (V.P. Singh) (Formed in 1988)
 BJP: 85/531
 CPI (M) + CPI: 45/531
 BJP Supported JD and CPI (M) from Outside
 VP Singh Became PM
 Arrested LK Adwani in Samastipur, Bihar on 23rd October 1990 as he was Carrying a Ram
Rath Yatra to Babri Masjid
 BJP Withdrew Support. Govt. Lost Confidence on 7th November 1990
 Chadra Shekhar Parted from JD to form Samajwadi Janta Party with 64 MPs.
 Got Congress Support to Form Govt
 Resigned on 21st June 1991
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

 Rajiv was Campaigning for elections in South India

 21st May 1991: Campaigning in Visakhapatnam
 Reached a campaign rally in white ambassador to Sriperumbudur
 Garlanded by many on the way and during rallies as well  
 The assassin, Kalaivani Rajaratnam approached and greeted him.
 She then bent down to touch his feet and detonated an RDX Explosive Ladden Belt tucked
below her dress at exactly 10:10 PM
 Gandhi, his assassin and 14 others were killed in the explosion that followed, along with 43
others who were grievously injured
 The assassination was caught on film by a local photographer, Haribabu who also died in the
attack
 Revenge of LTTE against him for sending IPKF to Sri Lanka
 The court convicted 7 persons for facilitating the assassination and awarded life imprisonment
to them
 All Seven Convicts were released this year

CONTRIBUTIONS OF RAJIV GANDHI

In Short

 PCO booths revolutionised communication network down to villages

 Rajiv Gandhi introduced computerised railway reservation tickets
 Voting age was reduced from 21 years to 18 years
By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi, at 40, was the youngest prime minister of
India. In his five years of rule from 1984 to 1989, the young leader made some sincere efforts to take
the country to the 21st century.

Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundation of a modern India. He left an imprint of modernity.
Telecom Revolution

Rajiv Gandhi is hailed as the 'Father of Information Technology and Telecom Revolution of India'. He
is rightfully known as the architect of digital India.

It was under his rule that Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) was established in August
1984 to develop state-of-the-art telecommunication technology and meet the needs of the Indian
telecommunication network.

C-DOT revolutionised the communication network in the towns and even villages of India. Because
of Rajiv Gandhi's efforts, the PCO (public call office) revolution took place. PCO booth connected
even the rural areas to the world outside.

In 1986, MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) was established which helped in the spread
of telephone network. With Sam Pitroda as an advisor to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, six
technology missions related to telecommunications, water, literacy, immunisation, dairy and oil seeds
were established.

Computerisation

Rajiv Gandhi promoted science and technology and associated industries. One of the ways was to
reduce import quotas, taxes and tariffs on such industries, especially computers, airlines, defence and
telecommunications. The Indian Railways was modernised after introduction of computerised railway
tickets.

Voting Age

As he was a youth himself, Rajiv Gandhi sought to give empower the youths. Towards that end, the
61st Amendment Act of the Constitution was passed in 1989, lowering the voting age from 21 years
to 18 years. This move allowed the youths to have a say in choosing Lok Sabha MPs and MLAs in the
states.

Panchayati Raj

Rajiv Gandhi is credited with laying the foundation of Panchayati Raj institutions in order to take
democracy to the grassroots level. Though Panchayati Raj was created by the 73rd and the 74th
Amendments to the Constitution in 1992, a year after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, the background
was prepared during the Congress government led by him.

Education

Rajiv Gandhi as prime minister announced National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 to modernise
and expand higher education programmes across the country. With NPE in place, residential schools
called Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, under the central government, were set up to bring out the best
of rural talent. These schools provide free residential education from grades six to twelve to the rural
population.

Rajiv Gandhi died on May 21, 1991 at the young age of 46 years. However, in a short span of life, he
left an indelible mark on Indian society and politics. These initiatives remind the countrymen of him
on his 74th birth anniversary today.

Bhopal Gas tragedy

people in the affected areas are reporting serious breathlessness various lung ailments liver damage
kidney damage muscle pain continuous fever headache
and I think there's not a single organ the body which is not affected by the
person in person. there's still the question of providing rehabilitation and health monitoring to children
who are being born disabled due to the gas disaster and parents who live in water contaminated area
and most importantly 25 thousand people dead so many injured not a single individual or corporation
behind bars