User:NubKnacker/Punjab Insurgency

The insurgency in the state of Punjab originated in the late 1970s. Despite popular belief, the assasination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and the subsequent massacare of Sikhs in Delhi and surrounding areas in the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots, was not the only reason for the insurgency. The roots of the insurgency are far more complex than that.

The Green Revolution
When the Green Revolution came to Punjab, it transformed the landscape of the state. The state progressed economically and started to shed some of its religious faiths. This re-kindled the fear in the punjabis of being absorbed into the Hindu fold.

Bhindranwale and undermining the Akalis
The second reason was attempts made by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi to use Bhindranwale to undermine the Akali Dal (Eternal Party), a religious party. The strategy met with success and Bhindranwale and his followers became a source of disruption and mayhem. Their disruptions became so bad that in 1984, Indira Gandhi had to order the Indian Army to flush out Bhindranwale and his followers who were holed up in the Golden Temple complex, Sikhism's most holy shrine, in Amritsar. The operation undertaken by the army was codenamed Operation Bluestar.

Operation Bluestar
Operation Bluestar was a mixed success. Negotiations were held with Bhindranwale and his supporters who were holed up in the Golden Temple Complex. After all negotiations failed, Indira Gandhi ordered the army to storm the temple complex. A variety of army units along with paramillitary forces surrounded the temple complex on June 3, 1984. But their calls for peaceful surrender were met with gunfire from within the complex and the army was then given the order to take the complex forcefully. The army had grossly underestimated the firepower possessed by the millitants and they had to bring in tanks and heavy artillery to surpress the anti-tank and machine-gun fire. After a 24 hour firefight, the army finally wrested control of the temple complex. According to Indian Government sources 83 army personnel were killed and 249 injured while insurgent casualties were 493 killed and 86 injured. The insurgent casualities also included women and children. Indian observers assert that the number of Sikh casualties was probably higher.

Effect of Operation Bluestar
The attack on the Golden Temple inflamed the sikh community. They saw it as an attack on their religion and beliefs. It is widely believed that the two Sikh bodyguards who assassinated Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, were driven by their anger over the Golden Temple episode. In the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination, mobs rampaged through the streets of New Delhi and other parts of India over the next few days, killing several thousand Sikhs. The New Delhi Police did precious little to stop the rioters and order was only restored 3 days after rioting had begun, only after the army had been called in.

Reprecusions of the riots
The New Delhi riots had reprecusions in Punjab. Indira Gandhi's son and political successor, Rajiv Gandhi, tried, unsuccessfully, to bring peace to Punjab. Successive governments, like the Janata Dal government, also tried to bring peace to Punjab but failed. Between 1987 and 1991, Punjab was placed under President's rule and was governed from Delhi. Elections were eventually held in 1992 but the voter turnout at 24% was poor. A new Congress(I) government was formed and it gave the police chief of the state K.P.S. Gill a free hand. Gill was ruthless against the insurgents and his methods severly weakened the insurgency movement. However, Gill's reign is also regarded as one of the bloodiest in the history of the country, thousands of innocents were killed in fake encounters and countless disappeared from their homes in the dark. His police force was also accused of crimes such as rape and torture of women and children.