Book review: ‘Akalis created a perceived sense of grievance’

An extract from the chapter titled Nineteen Eighty-Four:

By the late 1970s religion and politics in Punjab were hopelessly entangled with each other. The resultant turmoil would last close to a decade and a half. Armed groups sought to settle questions of faith as well as contests of power by force. A section of Sikhs demanded a separate state that they called Khalistan. Targeted by militants, Hindus started leaving Punjab in large numbers.

Sikhs who did not support the militant cause were threatened or killed. Police action was inadequate and ineffectual. Outside Punjab, planes were hijacked and bombs were detonated. Talks between the Akali Dal and the Central government started and stopped, only to start and stop again. By the end of 1983 the Golden Temple at Amritsar had become the command centre of militant activities.

In April 1984 violence reached its peak. In June the Indian Army entered the Golden Temple. Hundreds of people lost their lives. The temple complex was devastated by artillery fire. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh security guards in her own home in October. And that November, thousands of Sikhs living in Delhi and other cities were massacred.

My father was a student at Amritsar and at Hoshiarpur during the 1950s. He began his academic career in Hoshiarpur and taught in Chandigarh till 1966. Once he joined the Central government, he saw the official view of the Punjab situation. For the unofficial view he relied on friends and relatives from Punjab. I wonder whether he realised the havoc that it was heading for.

“There was unrest in the ’80s when terrorist groups came into existence, but until that time life in Punjab was, I think, peaceful. In the ’50s and ’60s there were several agitations by the Akali Dal for setting up a Punjabi-speaking state. That demand was conceded in 1966. Then there were elections in Punjab and an Akali Dal government came into office. This satisfied them because it was essentially a struggle for power. But that government didn’t last very long. And then in 1972 a Congress government led by Giani Zail Singh came into being. The atmosphere was quite peaceful but in the late ’70s the phenomenon of Sant Bhindranwale came on the scene. His followers terrorised a lot of people and they also killed some prominent Hindus.”

“Some analysts say that the Punjab agitation was essentially a struggle for greater autonomy for states vis-a-vis the Centre…”

“That was what the Akalis claimed, but they were never able to explain exactly what they wanted.”

“No, it was not a struggle for religious freedom. Under the Constitution of India everyone is free to practice the religion of his choice. All citizens have freedom of worship.”

“But wasn’t there a sense of discrimination — ”

“There was no — ”

“A perceived sense of discrimination —”

“Yes, a perceived sense of discrimination. But in fact the Sikhs had done quite well in India. They were a small minority but their percentage in the armed forces and in the Central forces were quite impressive. And Punjab’s progress in terms of economic development was also quite impressive. Punjab was, until very recently, the number one state in India in terms of standard of living indicators.”

“Then what do you think fed this perception?’

“Objectively speaking, the Sikhs had no reason to feel aggrieved. But people got carried away. There was a considerable amount of unemployment among young people. They were attracted to terrorism as an ideology, fed by religious fanaticism.”

“When the situation took a communal turn, was that unexpected?”

“Communal issues had always been there. The Akalis created a sense of perceived grievance among the Sikhs all the time. But when it came to sharing power, the Akalis combined with the Jana Sangh in forming a government. Every time there was a chance, the Akalis and the Jana Sangh got together.”

“How do you explain that?”

“Well, I think sharing power unites people.”

Five years of Congress rule ended in April 1977. For the next decade no government would be able to complete its term in office. Punctuated by periods of President’s Rule, the Congress and the Akali Dal-Jana Sangh combine took turns to rule Punjab. The longest-ever stretch of President’s Rule lasted from 1987 to 1992. This would be followed by a Congress government and then an Akali Dal one, each of which was finally able to govern for five years.

“When the supporters of Bhindranwale moved into various gurdwaras, did the Sikh community react?”

“They had the support of the Akali Dal, they had the support of the Shirornani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. I think that is what resulted in the Sikh religious places becoming centres of terrorist activity. The Akal Takht became the seat of Sant Bhindranwale. It was a violation of everything that Sikhism stood for.”

“So, voices against this — ”

“The voices against them were pretty weak at one time.”

“Do you remember what you thought then?”

“I was very worried about the consequences of all this. I could sense a feeling in the air which was not very healthy.”

Elements of the Sikh diaspora provided both moral and material support to separatist activity in Punjab. I ask whether he was aware of this when he lived in England and in America.

“I kept away from them.”

...Operation Blue Star was launched on June 5. My parents were in Bombay when this happened. They had heard the Prime Minister address the nation on television the night of June 2.

“Yes. I did listen to that. I felt very sad that the holiest places of the Sikh religion had to be rescued from terrorists by armed intervention by the Indian armed forces. I felt very sad.”