Bid to Revive Insurgency in Punjab

History of Insurgency

  • The insurgency in Punjab originated in the late 1970s, was a threat to the unity and integrity of India due to the militant Sikh ethno-nationalism known as Khalistan movement.
  • In the 1980s the movement had developed into a secessionist movement under the leadership of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
  • Pakistani strategists then began supporting the militant dimension of the Khalistan movement
  • In 1972 Punjab state elections, Congress won and Akali Dal was defeated. In 1973 Akali Dal put forward the Anandpur Sahib Resolution to demand more autonomy to Punjab.
  • Bhindranwale then joined the Akali Dal to launch the Dharam Yudh Morcha in 1982, to implement Anandpur Sahib resolution.
  • Bindranwale also increased the level of rhetoric on the perceived “assault” on Sikh values from the Hindu community.
  • In 1983, to escape arrest, he along with his militant cadre occupied and fortified the Sikh shrine Akal Takht.
  • He made the Sikh religious building his headquarters and led the terrorist campaign in Punjab.
  • On 1 June Operation Blue Star was launched to remove him and the armed militants from the Golden Temple complex. On 6 June, Bhindranwale died in the operation.
  • Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated in vengeance by her two Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh.
  • The extremist violence had started with targeting of the Nirankaris, followed by attack on the government machinery and the Hindus.

Aftermath of it Insurgency

  • The situation in the state did not really improve.
  • Punjab accord, also known as the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, is an accord signed by Rajiv Gandhi and Harcharan Singh Longowal on 24 July 1985. The government accepted the demands of Akali Dal who in turn agreed to withdraw their agitation.
  • Provisions includes compensation to victims, reservations in army recruitments, rehabilitation, enquiry into 1984 killings, All India Gurudwara act, promotion of Punjabi etc.
  • That period coincided with political instability at the very top in New Delhi where the Rajiv Gandhi government got embroiled in the Bofors case and lost the 1989 General Elections.
  • The succeeding VP Singh government was unstable, as was that of Chandrashekhar’s.
  • The country was wracked by the Mandal and Mandir agitations and came to the brink of economic collapse.
  • The country’s army was involved in the Sri Lanka operations, besides trying to cope with the challenge from Pakistan and the ULFA in the North-east.

Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF)

  • The Khalistan Liberation Force, which Harminder Singh Mintoo currently head, was one such Sikh militant group.
  • It was founded in 1986 by Aroor Singh and Sukhwinder Singh Babbar. In 1995, the KLF was listed as one among four major militant groups in the Khalistan movement.
  • Over the years they have been involved in a number of terrorist activities and assassinations, particularly in Punjab

Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

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