After the independence from British Empire, the Sikhs being too
insignificant to be party to the decision of partition of the country decided
to side with the secular of the two available options which was India. The
best that the Sikh leaders could muster were vague promises from the INC
top brass including Nehru and Gandhi regarding the safe guarding of their
rights in the new India and their right to self-determination. But when the
new administration in Delhi came to power it did not acknowledge any
such demands by the Sikhs citing that it had too many a people to please
to be found appeasing a minority.
The Sikhs felt too insignificant in such large a nation for their religious or
cultural demands to be met. The split which started with Sikhs, along with
Buddhists and Jains, being clubbed into the Hindu group in the constitution
soon became a fight for a separate identity. The rendering in the constitution
meant that Sikhs were Hindus for all legal purposes. Such signs from
the government and a resurgent Hindu nationalism didn’t help to allay the
fears of common Sikhs who felt that their religion will be absorbed into the
Hindu majority.
The problem which was specific to Sikhs was that any movement initiated
by them automatically took the tenor of religion and seemed as such
secessionist to the largely secular central government under Nehru and
Shastri. So even when new states in India were being carved out based on
linguistic lines, such a movement by Sikhs for a Punjabi state was seen as
separatist. Even to the extent that when a consensus took place in 1961
most of the Punjabi Hindus claimed their mother tongue to be Hindi which
didn’t at all help to bridge the growing gap between the two communities.
What resulted were a series of agitations led by the Akali Leaders to the
parliament, which although were intended peaceful many a times ended
violently with security forces opening fire and Sikhs brandishing their
unsheathed swords. Many a deaths took place, even more arrests. What
was to be a political cause, became a religious one.
insignificant to be party to the decision of partition of the country decided
to side with the secular of the two available options which was India. The
best that the Sikh leaders could muster were vague promises from the INC
top brass including Nehru and Gandhi regarding the safe guarding of their
rights in the new India and their right to self-determination. But when the
new administration in Delhi came to power it did not acknowledge any
such demands by the Sikhs citing that it had too many a people to please
to be found appeasing a minority.
The Sikhs felt too insignificant in such large a nation for their religious or
cultural demands to be met. The split which started with Sikhs, along with
Buddhists and Jains, being clubbed into the Hindu group in the constitution
soon became a fight for a separate identity. The rendering in the constitution
meant that Sikhs were Hindus for all legal purposes. Such signs from
the government and a resurgent Hindu nationalism didn’t help to allay the
fears of common Sikhs who felt that their religion will be absorbed into the
Hindu majority.
The problem which was specific to Sikhs was that any movement initiated
by them automatically took the tenor of religion and seemed as such
secessionist to the largely secular central government under Nehru and
Shastri. So even when new states in India were being carved out based on
linguistic lines, such a movement by Sikhs for a Punjabi state was seen as
separatist. Even to the extent that when a consensus took place in 1961
most of the Punjabi Hindus claimed their mother tongue to be Hindi which
didn’t at all help to bridge the growing gap between the two communities.
What resulted were a series of agitations led by the Akali Leaders to the
parliament, which although were intended peaceful many a times ended
violently with security forces opening fire and Sikhs brandishing their
unsheathed swords. Many a deaths took place, even more arrests. What
was to be a political cause, became a religious one.
Finally after the 1965 Indo-Pak war, when some
of the fears of the central government about the Sikhs
were obviated by the patriotism shown by the Sikh
soldiers, it was Indira Gandhi whose government in 1966
signed the modern Punjab state into existence. Although
the state being not as big as expected, after carving out
Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, it still gave Akal Dal its
first success since the passing of Gurudwara Act under
the British. But while the moment was opportune and
ripe all matters like the distribution of water and the
status of Chandigarh weren’t settled but just postponed.
After the Green revolution, the issue of water became a
dominant one along with demands for a greater
autonomy escalated during time of Emergency. The time
also saw the rise of a certain preacher named Jarnail
Singh Bhindrawale of Damdami Taksal, who used to
count tales of atrocities on Sikhs in his gatherings in
which he would often defy even the Central Government.
The Government both, central and state, did little to
control him and soon his followers were carrying out
executions in the name of justice. Indifference might
have continued to characterize popular attitudes, but
with the government’s indiscriminate punishments for
Sikh militancy, including stopping all Sikhs traveling to
New Delhi for the Asian Games in 1982, sympathies
began to shift.
Meanwhile the central government declined to indulge in
any kind of meaningful discussion with the Akali Dal as
they did not want to be appearing to give in to the
demands of a small group when the cost might be a
serious loss of electoral support in the Hindi-speaking
heartland of northern India. The Akalis tended to respond
in turn by becoming increasingly strident to avoid being
completely side-lined by Bhindranwale, who went on to
fortify the Golden Temple in Amritsar and shifted his base
there.
of the fears of the central government about the Sikhs
were obviated by the patriotism shown by the Sikh
soldiers, it was Indira Gandhi whose government in 1966
signed the modern Punjab state into existence. Although
the state being not as big as expected, after carving out
Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, it still gave Akal Dal its
first success since the passing of Gurudwara Act under
the British. But while the moment was opportune and
ripe all matters like the distribution of water and the
status of Chandigarh weren’t settled but just postponed.
After the Green revolution, the issue of water became a
dominant one along with demands for a greater
autonomy escalated during time of Emergency. The time
also saw the rise of a certain preacher named Jarnail
Singh Bhindrawale of Damdami Taksal, who used to
count tales of atrocities on Sikhs in his gatherings in
which he would often defy even the Central Government.
The Government both, central and state, did little to
control him and soon his followers were carrying out
executions in the name of justice. Indifference might
have continued to characterize popular attitudes, but
with the government’s indiscriminate punishments for
Sikh militancy, including stopping all Sikhs traveling to
New Delhi for the Asian Games in 1982, sympathies
began to shift.
Meanwhile the central government declined to indulge in
any kind of meaningful discussion with the Akali Dal as
they did not want to be appearing to give in to the
demands of a small group when the cost might be a
serious loss of electoral support in the Hindi-speaking
heartland of northern India. The Akalis tended to respond
in turn by becoming increasingly strident to avoid being
completely side-lined by Bhindranwale, who went on to
fortify the Golden Temple in Amritsar and shifted his base
there.
Indira Gandhi would go on to use armed forces to
kill him and his aides inside the Golden Temple. A controversial
Army Operation from its commencement, the
Army attacked the Golden Temple in the presence of
thousands of devotees who were there on the occasion of
the martyrdom of the very Guru who built the place, Guru
Arjan Dev. The operation, which began in the wee hours
of June 6, 1984, was like a dagger through the heart for
Sikhs everywhere. Thousands railed against the Indian
State, the army, and all those who were connected in any
way with the operation. A large number of Sikh soldiers,
enraged by rumours that the Golden Temple had been
damaged deserted the armed forces. Author Khushwant
Singh famously returned his Padma Bhushan award in
protest. Captain Amarinder Singh, the ex-chief minister
of Punjab, resigned from the Congress party. Four
months and three weeks later, Indira Gandhi paid the
ultimate price for ordering Operation Bluestar
kill him and his aides inside the Golden Temple. A controversial
Army Operation from its commencement, the
Army attacked the Golden Temple in the presence of
thousands of devotees who were there on the occasion of
the martyrdom of the very Guru who built the place, Guru
Arjan Dev. The operation, which began in the wee hours
of June 6, 1984, was like a dagger through the heart for
Sikhs everywhere. Thousands railed against the Indian
State, the army, and all those who were connected in any
way with the operation. A large number of Sikh soldiers,
enraged by rumours that the Golden Temple had been
damaged deserted the armed forces. Author Khushwant
Singh famously returned his Padma Bhushan award in
protest. Captain Amarinder Singh, the ex-chief minister
of Punjab, resigned from the Congress party. Four
months and three weeks later, Indira Gandhi paid the
ultimate price for ordering Operation Bluestar
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