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245-428: [REDACTED] Indira Gandhi [REDACTED] Zail Singh [REDACTED] Darbara Singh The Dharam Yuddh Morcha ( Punjabi pronunciation: [t̪ə̀ɾᵊmə̆ jʊ́d̪ːə̆ moːɾᵊt͡ʃaː] ) ("righteous campaign") was a political movement launched on 4 August 1982, by the Akali Dal in partnership with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale , with its stated aim being the fulfillment of a set of devolutionary objectives based on

490-522: A Zoroastrian Parsi family of Gujarat . The couple had two sons, Rajiv Gandhi (born 1944) and Sanjay Gandhi (born 1946). In September 1942, Indira Gandhi was arrested over her role in the Quit India Movement . She was released from jail in April 1943. "Mud entered our souls in the drabness of prison," she later recalled her time in the jail. She added, "When I came out, it was such

735-591: A friendship treaty in 1971, with India receiving military, financial, and diplomatic support from the Soviet Union during its conflict with Pakistan in the same year. Though India was at the forefront of the non-aligned movement , Gandhi made it one of the Soviet Union's closest allies in Asia, each often supporting the other in proxy wars and at the United Nations . Responding to separatist tendencies and

980-591: A state of emergency because of the disorder and lawlessness following the Allahabad High Court decision. Accordingly, Ahmed declared a State of Emergency caused by internal disorder, based on the provisions of Article 352(1) of the Constitution, on 25 June 1975. At the time of emergency, there was a widespread rumour that Gandhi had ordered her search guards to eliminate firebrand trade unionist and socialist party leader George Fernandes , while he

1225-480: A "calculated attempt to insult" and "jeer at [their] religious symbols." Sikhs allowed to pass through, regardless of social position, whether retired or serving police or military officer, politician (even Congress MPs), or ordinary citizen, were subjected to various procedures including invasive friskings and removal of turbans, in addition to resulting in deaths. Sikh travellers were waylaid by armed gangs. Over 1,500 Sikhs were arrested, along with countless friskings on

1470-509: A "congenial environment and political set-up" for the Sikhs. The resolution was not secessionist in nature but called for greater autonomy for Punjab, and protection of the Sikhs' cultural and religious rights, along with addressing economic concerns of the Punjab. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution had been a comprehensive party program, not used in its full format in talks with the central government;

1715-567: A "dumb doll") of the Congress party bosses who had orchestrated her election and then tried to constrain her. Indira was a reluctant successor to her famed father, although she had accompanied him on several official foreign visits and played an anchor role in bringing down the first democratically elected communist government in Kerala. According to certain sources it was the socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia that first derided her personality as

1960-711: A "national insult" by some Hindus, this would impact the composition of the SRC; while Punjabi statehood was the most controversial issue, no Sikhs were appointed for it. The commission began its work in February 1954, and the Akali Dal submitted an 18-page memorandum on 14 May 1954, proposing the Punjabi Suba to include all of Punjab, PEPSU, and the Punjabi-speaking northern parts of Rajasthan , and to exclude

2205-583: A Punjabi speaking province as a autonomous unit of India." The Congress in Punjab, on the other hand, proposed the state integration of East Punjab, PEPSU, and Himachal Pradesh, which was similar to the submitted memoranda of the Arya Samaj and the Jan Sangh , which had proposed the amalgamation of not only these territories but even Delhi as well, and had both insisted paradoxically that citizens of India could "choose" their mother-tongue. This prompted

2450-609: A bone of contention between the federal government and the two states. Not willing to forego the Hindu votes from Haryana, Gandhi disregarded the 1970 promise and declared that the granting of Chandigarh to Punjab would require a territory swap that would have involved corridors deep into Punjab state, and an acceptable solution was never reached. This exacerbated resentment among the Sikhs in Punjab, who viewed it as discrimination. The Akali movement gained momentum in August and September, and

2695-793: A by-election in the Chikmagalur Constituency and took a seat in the Lok Sabha in November 1978 after the Janata Party's attempts to have Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar run against her failed when he refused to contest the election saying he wanted to remain apolitical. However, the Janata government's home minister, Charan Singh, ordered her arrest along with Sanjay Gandhi on several charges, none of which would be easy to prove in an Indian court. The arrest meant that Gandhi

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2940-407: A call for revolution, she instituted a state of emergency from 1975 to 1977 , during which she ruled by decree and basic civil liberties were suspended. More than 100,000 political opponents, journalists and dissenters were imprisoned. She faced the growing Sikh separatism movement throughout her fourth premiership; in response, she ordered Operation Blue Star , which involved military action in

3185-468: A choice to. Upon returning to power, the Akalis approached Morarji Desai regarding the issue; he agreed on the non-riparian nature of Rajasthan in relation to Punjab's waters, but did not offer to revise the treaty without the condition that his verdict would be final. Indira Gandhi also declined to revisit her decision in talks with the Akalis on 26 November 1981. She also disagreed on Rajasthan, and split

3430-523: A closed room where Beant was shot dead. Kehar Singh was later arrested for being part of the conspiracy in the attack. Satwant and Kehar were sentenced to death and hanged in Delhi's Tihar Jail . Gandhi was taken to the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences at 9:30 AM where doctors operated on her. She was declared dead at 2:20 PM. The post-mortem examination was conducted by

3675-460: A competitive disadvantage in an increasingly militant political arena. She would be later characterized by prime minister Charan Singh as following "a megalomaniacal policy based on elitist philosophies", and her successor Rajiv Gandhi would later describe the Resolution as "not secessionist but negotiable", recognizing the failures of her autocratic style of governance. Thousands of people joined

3920-454: A concern voiced by Bhindranwale, resulting in further joblessness among the population. Other government centralizations and deprivations included to the nationalization of the Punjab & Sind Bank , the granting of minimal central aid to Punjab in relation to its tax contribution, and the failure to establish a dry port at Amritsar, among other industrial developments. Another factor had been

4165-625: A glass of juice. Either the full implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution or their heads. Invoking the link between spiritual and political matters in Sikhism, in July 1983 he stated, Whatever is written in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution...we shall definitely get that accepted [by the government]. If any of us becomes soft on this, I shall not spare him nor do I ask any leader to spare me [if I should retract]....Telling you

4410-585: A growing economy in the early 1980s, and her anti-poverty campaign that led her to be known as "Mother Indira" (a pun on Mother India ) among the country's poor and rural classes. Critics note her cult of personality and authoritarian rule of India during the Emergency. In 1999, she was named "Woman of the Millennium" in an online poll organized by the BBC . In 2020, she was named by Time magazine among

4655-612: A haven for anti-Emergency protesters, with dissidents and political opponents from all over India taking refuge in the Darbar Sahib complex. Upon elections being called by her in January 1977 following negative world press, renewed hardline support, and the overturned conviction, Congress was defeated by an opposition alliance, and the Emergency was officially ended on March 23, 1977, with the Akali coalition assuming power in Punjab. In

4900-537: A low point, with the Indian Army finally encircling Dhaka and besieging the city. On the 16th, Indian forces issued a 30-minute ultimatum for the city to surrender. Seeing that the city's defences paled in comparison to the Mukti Bahini and Indian forces outside the city, Lt-Gen. A.A.K. Niazi (Cdr. of Eastern Command) and his deputy, V-Adm. M.S. Khan surrendered the city without resistance. BBC News captured

5145-463: A majority in the remaining six districts, including the southeastern districts between PEPSU and Delhi (Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, and Gurgaon), and the eastern Kangra and Shimla divisions. In addition, while the Sikhs made up 35% of the province's population, the demographic pattern of urban and rural settlement was such that the Hindu population, whose majority status was new, was largely clustered in urban areas. The seven Sikh-majority districts would be

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5390-484: A meeting on 30 June to oppose "the fascist tendency of the Congress," also expressing discontent with the construction delay of the Thein Dam , discrimination in heavy industrial development, and unprofitable farm produce prices. Akali leader Harcharan Singh Longowal would state, The question before us is not whether Indira Gandhi should continue to be prime minister or not. The point is whether democracy in this country

5635-571: A ministry under Rarewala with 4 Sikh ministers and 3 Hindu ministers, sworn in on the 20th. However, it would be dissolved on 18 November that year when the Central Government took over administration, a move that was condemned by an Akali resolution on 28 November. The new platform of the Akali Dal mobilized strong support among Sikhs, and the Akali Dal passed a resolution in October 1948 in favor of continuing distinct representation of

5880-401: A moratorium on linguistic data collection. This repudiation of Punjabi would be repeated in the 1961 census ten years later, and half of the demographic would continue to select Hindi even after the movement in the 1971 census. While many Akalis leaders were initially receptive to the formula, and Tara Singh was released at its introduction in the hopes that the formula would be accepted by

6125-482: A part in the dissolution of the communist -led Kerala state government as then- president of the Indian National Congress , otherwise a ceremonial position to which she was elected earlier that year. Lal Bahadur Shastri , who had succeeded Nehru as prime minister upon his death in 1964, appointed her minister of information and broadcasting in his government ; the same year she was elected to

6370-471: A party election because of the high regard for her father... a woman would be an ideal tool for the Syndicate. Gandhi's first eleven years serving as prime minister saw her evolve from the perception of Congress party leaders as their puppet, to a strong leader with the iron resolve to split the party over her policy positions, or to go to war with Pakistan to assist Bangladesh in the 1971 liberation war. At

6615-573: A political community, one of Guru Gobind Singh 's signature contributions to Sikhism , the party received strong support from its base by offering this political organization rooted in religious tradition. The Cabinet Mission Plan had recognized Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs as the three main communities. Both Congress and the Muslim League had offered allurements to woo the Sikhs to their respective nations. On 5 August 1944, Muhammad Ali Jinnah , in an attempt to retain all of Punjab, had assured

6860-432: A political space for those who argued that increased militancy was the only means for protecting Sikh interests. The process of mechanization of agriculture was also releasing more labor onto the market, mostly college-educated youth. In addition, industrial development was hindered by restrictive licensing policy, and from 1974, Punjab's quota of armed forces recruitment was decreased, planned to be decreased from 20% to 2%,

7105-457: A political space for those who argued that increased militancy was the only means for protecting Sikh interests. Bhindranwale stepped into that space. The decision to launch the movement was taken at a World Sikh Conference in Amritsar on 15 July 1981, attended by more than 100,000 Sikhs. As a result of his rising popularity, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale faced opposition from all sides, including

7350-466: A quarter century prior, a commission that had been set up in 1948 by the Government of India, tasked with drawing up clean-cut states corresponding to demographic and linguistic boundaries, was not effective in the northern part of the country, as it reconsidered its position on the north. While states across the country were extensively redrawn on linguistic lines at the behest of linguistic groups,

7595-587: A referendum in which a majority of Sikkimese voted to join India. The move was condemned as being a "despicable act of the Indian Government" by China. Chinese government mouthpiece China Daily wrote that "the Nehrus, father and daughter, had always acted in this way, and Indira Gandhi had gone further". Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty) was the resonant theme for Gandhi's 1971 political bid. The slogan

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7840-472: A sense of injustice among them as the center increased its control with each new agreement. The situation was aggravated by the prospect of Gandhi losing support among the broader Hindu electorate across the north of the country if any attempt at resolution risked causing discontent in Haryana, making the sacrifice of the interests of Punjabi farmers less politically damaging in comparison. Bhindranwale's focus

8085-507: A shock to see colors again I thought I would go out of my mind." In the 1950s, Indira, now Indira Gandhi after her marriage, unofficially served her father as a personal assistant during his tenure as the first prime minister of India . Near the end of the 1950s, Gandhi served as the president of the Congress . In that capacity, she was instrumental in getting the communist -led Kerala state government dismissed in 1959. That government

8330-770: A small group of Sikhs, including some of Bhindranwale's followers, turned to militancy after being targeted by government officials and police for supporting the Anandpur Resolution. In 1982, Bhindranwale and approximately 200 armed followers moved into a guest house called the Guru Nanak Niwas near the Golden Temple . By 1983, the Temple complex had become a fort for many militants. The Statesman later reported that light machine guns and semi-automatic rifles were known to have been brought into

8575-518: A state which would be Sikh-majority. To undercut the linguistic basis of the demand, the Arya Samaj embarked on a newspaper propaganda campaign to encourage the Hindus of even the Punjabi-speaking area to disown Punjabi entirely and select Hindi in censuses beginning in early 1951. Falsifications by census officials also led to clashes at several locations, prompting the Prime Minister to place

8820-596: A strong Sikh majority, as a "homeland of the Sikhs". The interim government would be led by the Maharaja of Patiala, Yadvinder Singh , as rajpramukh , or appointed governor, and the Maharaja of Kapurthala Jagatjit Singh as deputy rajpramukh . A later 3-person caretaker government was formed with Gian Singh Rarewala as Premier, and Hindu ministers as Adviser (Sir Jai Lal) and Chief Secretary (B.R. Patel); this would be reworked following Akali protests for proportional administrative representation on 13 January 1949 with

9065-575: A strong leader and the weak governance of the Janata Party , her party won the next election by landslide with her return to the premiership. As prime minister, Gandhi was known for her uncompromising political stances and centralization of power within the executive branch . In 1967, she headed a military conflict with China in which India repelled Chinese incursions into the Himalayas . In 1971, she went to war with Pakistan in support of

9310-626: A sudden spike in prosperity, development, and agricultural production in the state in the first five years following its formation in 1966 , in spite of political instability. While poor landowners (57% of cultivators, defined as owning less than 5 acres) owned a disproportionally small fraction of the land (15%) compared to rich landowners (owners of more than ten acres, 23% of landowners owning 65% of available farmland), all farmers were increasingly concerned over crop prices and input costs. The Akalis made attempts to ameliorate these concerns by catering mostly to its rural constituency by easing land taxes on

9555-413: A team of doctors headed by Tirath Das Dogra . Dogra said that Gandhi had sustained as many as 30 bullet wounds from two sources: a Sten submachine gun and a .38 Special revolver. The assailants had fired 31 bullets at her, of which 30 hit her; 23 had passed through her body while seven remained inside her. Dogra extracted bullets to establish the make of the weapons used and to match each weapon with

9800-553: A train named after Harmandir Sahib, if you want to get this city given the status of a holy city, not eighty but eighty-five thousand to eighty-six thousand of you go to jail, over one hundred and thirteen shed your blood and achieved martyrdom and still there is no announcement from Indira. The basic issues of the Dharam Yudh Morcha were related to the prevention of the digging of the SYL Canal , deemed unconstitutional,

10045-509: Is my duty, but getting [the government] to accept it will be yours. If I fail to tell you, do not forgive me and if you do not protect your rights, Guru will not forgive you. Despite the Resolution's endorsement of "the principle of State autonomy in keeping with the concept of Federalism," Indira Gandhi and the central government took a hard line, emphasizing the Sikh demands and treating them as tantamount to secession, thus putting moderate Sikhs at

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10290-526: Is to survive or not. The democratic structure stands on three pillars, namely a strong opposition, independent judiciary, and a free press. The Emergency has destroyed all these essentials. Punjab was at the center of anti-Emergency activism, with the Akalis launching the Save Democracy morcha on 7 July, with marches commencing on July 9 from the Darbar Sahib, which served as well-accepted hub of national dissent and protest organization. Punjab served as

10535-400: Is vital that there should be a Punjabi speaking language and culture. This will not only be in fulfilment of the pre-partition Congress program and pledges, but also in entire conformity with the universally recognized principles governing formation of provinces…. The Shiromani Akali Dal has reason to believe that a Punjabi-speaking province may give the Sikhs the needful security. It believes in

10780-565: The 1980 elections Indira Gandhi approached the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid at the time, Syed Abdullah Bukhari and entered into an agreement with him on the basis of 10-point programme to secure the support of the Muslim votes. In the elections held in January, Congress (I) under Gandhi's leadership returned to power with a landslide majority. The Congress Party under Gandhi swept back into power in January 1980. In this election, Gandhi

11025-533: The Akal Takht . It also announced the release of Akali prisoners in installments, which proved slow to be implemented; Tara Singh was released on 8 September, and the last Akalis were not released until 18 October. Sachar received heavy criticism from fellow Congress members for the apology and for not "taming" the Akalis; he would subsequently resign, succeeded by Pratap Singh Kairon in January 1956. The States Reorganization Committee submitted its report to

11270-594: The Akali Dal , it resulted in the formation of the state of Punjab . The state of Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh were also created and some Pahari -majority parts of the East Punjab were also merged with Himachal Pradesh following the movement. The result of the movement failed to satisfy its leaders. Calls for the Punjabi Suba had been heard as far back as February 1947, and

11515-606: The Anandpur Sahib Resolution . The Akali Dal had opposed several effects of the Punjab Reorganisation Act on 1 November 1966, with Akali leaders protesting against it. Several months before its inauguration, movement leader Fateh Singh had expressed his dissatisfaction over several issues of contention. These included genuinely Punjabi-speaking areas being left out of the new state and given to Haryana and Himachal Pradesh which stemmed from

11760-624: The Dominion (and later Republic ) of India. Indira was her parents' only surviving child (she had a younger brother who died while young); she grew up with her mother, Kamala Nehru , at the Anand Bhavan , a large family estate in Allahabad. In 1930, the Nehru family donated the mansion to the Indian National Congress and renamed it Swaraj Bhavan (meaning abode of freedom). A new mansion

12005-476: The Golden Temple and killed hundreds of Sikhs . On 31 October 1984, she was assassinated by two of her bodyguards, both of whom were Sikh nationalists seeking retribution for the events at the temple. Gandhi is remembered as the most powerful woman in the world during her tenure. Her supporters cite her leadership during victories over geopolitical rivals China and Pakistan, the Green Revolution ,

12250-485: The Minister of Law and Justice Dr. B. R. Ambedkar . Ambedkar suggested that the Akali delegation demand a Punjabi-speaking state or Punjabi Suba (Punjabi Province) as a Sikh state, since the central government had declared a commitment to a linguistic basis for the reorganization of the states. The Sikh population, after the partition of Punjab, had become a majority population in a contiguous, strategic land area for

12495-599: The Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was India's first and, to date, only female prime minister, and a central figure in Indian politics as the leader of the Indian National Congress (INC). She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru , the first prime minister of India , and the mother of Rajiv Gandhi , who succeeded her in office as

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12740-611: The Punjabi Suba movement were characterized by a centralizing tendency in the country. In 1978, several new policy areas were moved from the State List to the Concurrent List, including education, giving the center the power to set guidelines and make decisions regarding textbooks and curricula. The Akalis saw this move as yet another strategy of the central government to intrude on the Sikhs' hard-won autonomy and limit

12985-575: The Rajya Sabha , the upper house of the Indian Parliament . After Shastri's sudden death in January 1966, Gandhi defeated her rival, Morarji Desai , in the INC's parliamentary leadership election to become leader and also succeeded Shastri as prime minister. She led the Congress to victory in two subsequent elections, starting with the 1967 general election , in which she was first elected to

13230-734: The Sant Nirankari Mission and he was accused of instigating the murder of Jagat Narain , the owner of the Punjab Kesari newspaper. After being arrested, Bhindranwale disassociated himself from the Congress Party and joined Akali Dal. In July 1982, he led the campaign for the implementation of the Anandpur Resolution , which demanded greater autonomy for the Sikh-majority state. Meanwhile,

13475-468: The Sikh -majority Akali Dal came to power in the northern Indian state of Punjab . In an effort to split the Akali Dal and gain popular support among the Sikhs, Gandhi's Congress Party helped to bring the orthodox religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to prominence in Punjab politics. Later, Bhindranwale's organisation, Damdami Taksal , became embroiled in violence with another religious sect called

13720-1016: The University of Mumbai . She and her mother moved to the Belur Math headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission where Swami Ranganathananda was her guardian. Indira then studied at the Vishwa Bharati in Santiniketan , which became Visva-Bharati University in 1951. During an interview with Rabindranath Tagore , he named Indira Priyadarshini , which means "looking at everything with kindness" in Sanskrit and she became known as Indira Priyadarshini Nehru. A year later, however, she had to leave university to attend to her ailing mother in Lausanne, Switzerland . There it

13965-443: The Yamuna running through Haryana from which Punjab also drew water, on a mutual agreement; following the failure to reach one, the central government would be the arbiter. Indira Gandhi decided in 1976 during the Emergency that .2 of the 7.2 m.a.f. would go to Delhi , and the remaining 7 m.a.f. to be split evenly. The Chief Minister of Punjab Giani Zail Singh did not appreciate this injustice, though did not resign after being given

14210-454: The constitution requires that the Prime Minister must be a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, the two houses of the Parliament of India , she was effectively removed from office. However, Gandhi rejected calls to resign. She announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court and insisted that the conviction did not undermine her position. She said, "There is a lot of talk about our government not being clean, but from our experience

14455-420: The independence movement and war of independence in East Pakistan , which resulted in an Indian victory and the independence of Bangladesh , as well as increasing India's influence to the point where it became the sole regional power in South Asia . She played a crucial role in initiating India's first successful nuclear weapon test in 1974. Her rule saw India grow closer to the Soviet Union by signing

14700-411: The "Goongi Goodiya" (Hindi for "dumb doll") that later was echoed by other Congress politicians who were wary of her rise in the party. One of her first major actions was to crush the separatist Mizo National Front uprising in Mizoram in 1966. The first electoral test for Gandhi was the 1967 general elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The Congress Party won a reduced majority in

14945-400: The 100 women who defined the past century as counterparts to the magazine's previous choices for Man of the Year . Indira Gandhi was born Indira Nehru, into a Kashmiri Pandit family on 19 November 1917 in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh . Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru , was a leading figure in the Indian movement for independence from British rule , and became the first Prime Minister of

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15190-404: The 14th, and shelled the city. As surrender became apparent by 14 December 1971, Pakistani paramilitaries and militia roamed the streets of Dhaka during the night, kidnapping, torturing and then executing any educated Bengali who was viewed as someone who could lead Bangladesh once Pakistan surrendered. Over 200 of these people were killed on the 14th. By 16 December, Pakistani morale had reached

15435-411: The 1920s. The SGPC , which provided logistical and organizational support for Sikh politics, significantly bolstered the party's effectiveness. The Congress government did not lift the slogan ban, and the agitation began as promised on 10 May, with Tara Singh and ten companions being arrested for shouting Punjabi Suba slogans, as were successive groups of Akalis as they embarked from the temple doing

15680-432: The 1960s and 1970s. According to an Akali politician interviewed in 1973, "What I stress is more economic and financial powers to the states. The justification of the demands is that the yoke of the center will go. States would work independently and they will not have to run to Delhi for each and every thing." Even among some militants in the late 1980s after Bhindranwale's death, similar financial concerns were raised, with

15925-407: The 1965 war, while the Pakistani airforce could not launch attacks on the same scale as the Indian airforce. The Pakistan Army quickly attempted major land operations on the Western border, but most of these attacks besides some in Kashmir stalled, and allowed Indian counterattacks to gain land. The Pakistan Army lacked wide-scale organization which contributed to miscommunication and high casualties in

16170-455: The 21 months of the Emergency, over 140,000 people were detained, including journalists, scholars, activists, and opposition political party members, using laws like MISA and AFSPA . Seizure of private property, illegal home searches, mass sterilizations, and extrajudicial killings took place among targeted individuals, community leaders, and parties. Of the arrests during the Emergency, approximately 40,000, or 30%, were of Sikh protesters, and

16415-450: The 4 Indian pilots celebrities and created large-scale nationalism as the Bangladesh Liberation War saw more and more Indian intervention and escalation. Other clashes also happened on the same day but did not receive as much media attention as did the battle of Boyra and Garibpur. On 3 December 1971, the Pakistan Air Force launched Operation Chengiz Khan , which saw Pakistani aircraft attacking Indian airbases and military installations across

16660-470: The Akali Dal and Congress through to 1952; Congress would go on to win the election, but by forming and leading a coalition called the United Front with other opposition parties, the Akali Dal would go on to form the first non-Congress government of India in PEPSU in April 1952. Before the United Front could elect a new leader after Gian Singh Rarewala, Congress would dissolve the Assembly under President's Rule , implementing changes in administration including

16905-411: The Akali Dal and disavowed political ambition, in 1980 the Akali Dal faced a serious challenge from Bhindranwale and his mass support from the AISSF , the Akali youth wing. Bhindranwale and the AISSF in turn derived most of their support from poor and middle-class rural Sikhs; unlike 1920, when the Akali party was founded to give voice to Sikh issues, and 1962, when Fateh Singh would assume leadership of

17150-427: The Akali Dal and shift its support base to rural Sikhs of Punjab's Malwa region during the Punjabi Suba movement , the leadership of the Sikh movement did not switch strata quickly and decisively, and the dichotomy between Bhindranwale/AISSF and the Akali Dal reflected different economic classes of agricultural Sikhs; they struggled for leadership of the community while simultaneously engaged in protest agitations against

17395-408: The Akali Dal banner and Longowal's leadership, and began with Akalis courting arrest with a large number of volunteers. Bhindranwale, leaving his base in Chowk Mehta for the Golden Temple, joined his movement to have Amrik Singh and two other followers released after his arrest on 19 July to the larger Akali movement for their political, economic, cultural, and religious demands; Amrik Singh had offended

17640-736: The Akali Dal issued an ultimatum to rescind the ban by 10 May or face an agitation. Following the slogan ban imposed by the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, the Akalis commenced the Punjabi Suba Slogan Agitation of 1955. Large numbers of summoned volunteers congregated at the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar from demonstrations all over the province, thus reviving the protest methods of the Akali movement of

17885-443: The Akali Dal regarded this reasoning as a pretext that amounted to religious discrimination, and that the demand would have been accepted without hesitation if the Sikhs were not set to be the majority. The commission also recommended the integration of Sikh-majority PEPSU, as well as Himachal Pradesh , with the Punjab, which was rejected by the Akali Dal a day after the report's release; a Commission member reportedly remarked that if

18130-401: The Akali Dal to reingratiate itself with the Sikh electorate following electoral losses in previous years and alienated Akalis who advocated for a return to a more Sikh orientation, and called for a devolution of power, which had remained greatly centralized following the Emergency. It outlined a more autonomous Punjab and Sikh community, with the most important points being less interference from

18375-451: The Akali Dal try to compromise on the Anandpur Sahib Resolution I am not going to forgive them. I will be your watchdog but I tell you as watchdog that you will have to force the Akalis.... But do not think that as in the past, leaders can settle everything in Delhi or by taking a glass of juice on their own. [reference to Tara Singh abandoning his fast unto death in 1961 during the Punjabi Suba movement ] This time they cannot give up by taking

18620-609: The Akali delegation maintained that the measure of provincial autonomy afforded in the document did not match prior assurances, and the demarcation of provinces in the North was specifically delayed to deprive Sikhs of a political foothold in their own homeland of Punjab. On these grounds, the two Akali delegates in the Constitutional Assembly, Hukam Singh and Bhupinder Singh Mann, did not sign the constitution in 1950, stating that "the Sikhs do not accept this constitution;

18865-450: The Akalis after releasing all arrested Akali volunteers, reaching agreements on Chandigarh, river waters, Centre-State relations, and the Amritsar broadcast, which were approved by a cabinet subcommittee. While Swaran Singh relayed the government's approval of the agreement, Gandhi had unilaterally altered it significantly before submitting it to Parliament. The talks would collapse after this action, and Longowal would announce in November 1982

19110-422: The Akalis formulated a list of 45 policies, 21 of which were economic in nature and concerned the state's entire population, eight were political in nature and concerned autonomy restrictions and ethnic concerns like Punjabi-speaking areas left out of the state, 14 were religious in nature, including calls for proper representation for Sikh minorities in other states and permission to install a broadcasting station at

19355-453: The Akalis to organize a forceful agitation in response. According to Tara Singh, the script, language, culture, religion, and existence of the Sikhs were under zealous attack by Arya Samaji fanatical elements in order to wipe out their identity and thereby subsume them, and that the only safeguard against this was a state in which Sikhs held effective political power. Earlier Sikh movements had achieved, in large part, significant demarcation from

19600-636: The Akalis would vote for partition on 23 June 1947, confident that aspirations would be satisfied through "the goodwill of the Congress and the majority community," relinquishing their bargaining power to join the Indian Union in doing so. A July 1947 resolution for Partition that had been passed by Sikh and Hindu members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly stated that in the Indian portion of Punjab, "special constitutional measures are imperative to meet just aspirations and rights of

19845-438: The Anandpur Sahib Resolution's demands, and economic measures taken by the government to suppress Punjabi prosperity, as well as past struggles in post-Independence India by Sikhs to ensure the most basic rights, including the protests against political and economic suppression since the 1960s: How shall we get rid of this curse of slavery? If you wish to speak Punjabi, if you want a Punjabi-speaking state demarcated, if you wish

20090-741: The Asian Games," the response to which the central government would prosecute through Bhajan Lal , the Chief Minister of Haryana. Another round of talks between the Akalis and Congress MP Amrinder Singh was successful, but was sabotaged by Bhajan Lal, who stated that protests, which were largely stifled, would not be allowed in Haryana during the event. The Haryana police, under instruction from Bhajan Lal in repayment of Congress' favorable river water allocation for his state, harassed and maltreated any Sikhs travelling through his state by rail or road to Delhi with "needless and excessive" force, in

20335-534: The Assembly three weeks after the Akali resolution's passing. The Assembly was against even proportional reservation as potentially yielding to the Sikhs more than their supposed fair share, even denying Sikh representatives of scheduled castes concessions given to Hindu scheduled castes, which would be rescinded upon converting out. In his autobiography, Tara Singh would write that when meeting with Nehru for equal concessions to scheduled castes, Nehru admitted that he

20580-419: The Congress (I) mediators were toasting this event and waiting for the official declaration from the cabinet, Indira Gandhi suddenly announced that the agreement was not acceptable to her." According to Khushwant Singh, "In sheer disgust the Akalis decided to embarrass the central government by letting the world know how they were being treated. They organized bands of volunteers to raise anti-government slogans at

20825-523: The Darbar Sahib complex. This would lead to Bhindranwale, who had been warning of a government attack, to reside at the Akal Takht complex in December 1983. In October 1983, following the issuance of an ordinance, police had been given powers to search, arrest, and shoot who they wanted, immune from legal action. Following protestor deaths, Swaran Singh restarted negotiations on behalf of Gandhi with

21070-604: The Declaration and the morcha in the interests of all residents of Punjab to prevent the economic ruin of the state. The considered view of the Governor of West Bengal sent to Punjab, B. D. Pande , that a political problem required a political solution, went unheeded. In response to demands that the Supreme Court be consulted in regards to concerns that the center was unconstitutionally usurping water from Punjab,

21315-631: The Eastern border. At one point, Indian forces along with Mukti Bahini rebels allied together and attacked Pakistani forces at Dhalai. The attack, supported and later successfully executed by India, was done to stop Pakistani cross-border shelling. The battle occurred more than a month before India's official intervention in December. Gandhi quickly dispatched more troops to the Eastern border with East Pakistan, hoping to support Mukti Bahini rebels and cease any Pakistani infiltration. Indian forces then clashed again with Pakistani forces after Indian forces crossed

21560-494: The Emergency, Punjab was allotted only 23% of its own waters, and upon reelection, Gandhi raised the allotment only 1%, solely to silence her opposition on the technicality that she had legally raised it, while allotting neighboring Haryana state 10% more water than it ever needed, another blow to the farmers of Punjab. The allocation of waters to other states limited canal irrigation and forced farmers to use more expensive, complicated, and environmentally unsound tube-wells. While this

21805-452: The Emergency, and the secularization of Akali priorities increased as Akalis interacted with other jailed political leaders. The following 1977 elections were thus primarily focused on the Emergency and the restoration of democratic process, during which the Akalis would defeat the Congress, and again in 1979 with the Akalis winning 95% of contested seats. The elections were contested on a secular platform of constitutional devolution to reverse

22050-496: The Golden Temple, and two were social, concerning Sikhs specifically. The list would be trimmed down to 15 demands in October 1981, of which five were economic. The Dharam Yudh Morcha would champion these preliminary demands. The inclusion of religious demands were a result of polarization of Akali goals following failed negotiations in November with the Congress government, which would raise the specter of separatism to exploit

22295-465: The Government of India on 10 September 1955 where it was considered and published on 10 October. In its 1955 report, the Commission admitted that the demand for a Punjabi-speaking state was analogous to the demand for other linguistic states, but rejected the demand even on its intrinsic merit. The Commission tried to turn down the demand for Punjab state being advanced based on the argument that

22540-491: The Hindi-speaking areas were removed from Punjab, it would yield a Sikh-majority area, prompting accusations of discrimination from the Akalis, who saw the verdict as another majoritarian maneuver to contain the Sikhs. Tara Singh regarded the verdict as a "decree of Sikh annihilation," believing that if there were no Sikhs, a Punjabi state would have been granted like other linguistic states had been. To him, its refusal

22785-424: The Hindus, preserving themselves as a distinct religious and political entity. The Punjabi Suba was also seen as a means to prevent Sikh religious apathy, and resultant backsliding into Hinduism, on the basis of shared religious postulates and cultural kinship, after considerable repudiation of traditional beliefs during the 19th century formation of Hindu identity by reformist neo-Hindus like the Arya Samaj, including

23030-553: The Indian Defense Ministry. Chinese sources made no declarations of casualties but alleged India to be the aggressor. In December 1967, Indira Gandhi remarked these developments that "China continues to maintain an attitude of hostility towards us and spares no opportunity to malign us and to carry on anti-Indian propaganda not only against the Indian Government but the whole way of our democratic functioning." In 1975, Gandhi incorporated Sikkim into India, after

23275-569: The Lok Sabha after these elections owing to widespread disenchantment over the rising prices of commodities, unemployment, economic stagnation and a food crisis. Gandhi was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Raebareli constituency . She had a rocky start after agreeing to devalue the rupee which created hardship for Indian businesses and consumers. The importation of wheat from the United States fell through due to political disputes. For

23520-513: The Morcha was against the economic erosion of the state of Punjab, with the most important demand was the restoration of the state's river waters as per constitutional, national and international norms based on riparian principles; more than 75% of the state's river water were being drained from the state, to Rajasthan and Haryana, which were non- riparian states, and its accompanying hydropower potential, powered by Punjab's only natural wealth. After

23765-463: The PEPSU elections in January 1954. Though the calls for a Punjabi Suba were initially disregarded by the central government, the problem did not subside, and another States Reorganization Commission was set up in 1953. Stemming from new nationwide momentum for linguistic states, it was charged with "'investigat[ing] the conditions of the problem, the historical background, the existing situations and

24010-512: The Punjab Congress, which had contested under the banner of the "Khalsa Dal," which had only won 3 out of 132 contested seats. The results proved a strong morale booster for the party, which had demonstrated strong Sikh support for its platform, and felt encouraged to start a movement for the Punjabi Suba. The opportunity presented itself when on 6 April 1955 the Punjab Congress banned the shouting of Punjabi Suba slogans; twenty days later

24255-475: The Punjab-Haryana border including retired officers Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh , Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora , and Maj. Gen. Shabeg Singh . Indira Gandhi Premiership [REDACTED] Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi ( Hindi: [ˈɪndɪɾɑː ˈɡɑːndʱi] ; née Indira Nehru ; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as

24500-516: The Resolution was adopted. He insisted, however, that having said the Ardas at the Akal Takht, no Sikh could go back on his solemn word. Longowal's core political base began to wither; about a third of his SGPC members and district Akali presidents reportedly defected to Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale promised the Sikh masses that he would not allow the chief Akali leadership to fail them as before: You people come and offer me money, love, and support. And if

24745-464: The Senate of Panjab University , then Punjab's only university, passed a resolution on 9 June refusing to use Punjabi in any script as a medium of instruction; both were strongholds of the Arya Samaj, which, supported by its Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha allies, would never accept the formula or implement it in its schools. Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel, writing to Nehru on 17 July 1949, bolstered

24990-399: The Sikh community has agreed to this constitution. I wish to record an emphatic protest here. My community cannot subscribe its assent to this historic document." The Sachar Formula was introduced on 2 October 1949 under the government of Bhim Sen Sachar to forestall the growing agitation. Drafted by two Hindu members and two Sikh members of the Congress party, it proposed making Punjabi as

25235-562: The Sikh minority through a Punjabi Suba, to protect against the aggressive communal mentality displayed by some in the majority if weightage or reservation for Sikhs in the Constituent Assembly was not possible, though a decision adopted by the Congress in its annual session held in December 1948 read, "We are clearly of the opinion that no question of rectification of the boundaries in Northern India should be raised at

25480-508: The Sikh religion will live only as long as the Sikh panth exists as an organized entity." The Akali Dal considered the continued existence of the Sikh religion as predicated on the community acting as a consolidated political unit, which could only be effective with its own territorial unit. Regarding Sikh political participation as an integral to Sikh theology itself, as the Khalsa had been established in 1699 to organize religious Sikhs into

25725-549: The Sikh would earn Gandhi's ill-favor; many considered her resentment over the Emergency activism to be the root of the strife of the 1980s.According to policy analyst Tridivesh Singh Maini, "It has been argued that Mrs. Gandhi never forgave the Akalis for their opposition to the Emergency;" according to Puran Chand Joshi , "Indira got into her head that it [was] only the Sikhs who constituted a threat to her imperious and dynastic rule, and decided to inflict blows from which they would take long, if ever, to recover." The years following

25970-590: The Sikhs after the British left that the "circumstances had now changed." He had also strongly rejected the formation of Punjabi-speaking areas into a separate state when Lord Mountbatten had forwarded the suggestion from Baldev Singh and Giani Kartar Singh to him just prior to the Partition and population transfer. The Minority Committee formed by the Punjab Chief Minister made the case to

26215-665: The Sikhs of full rights and addressal of claims; he and Liaqat Ali Khan had offered a Sikh state within Pakistan with its own military establishment. Countering this, Sardar Patel had reaffirmed on 24 August 1945, the Congress Resolution of 1929 and promised on 5 April 1946: "Sikhistan issue will be considered in the Constituent Assembly after the transfer of power in the hands of the Indians." The Sikh leadership had opposed partition, but would opt for India based on

26460-415: The Sikhs reject this constitutional Act." Hukam Singh would state to the Assembly on 21 November 1949: "...Their demands were very simple. They wanted a Punjabi speaking province. That has been denied. It was not a communal demand, but a territorial one. But the majority community in the province went so far as to disown their mother tongue. That language is in danger on account of aggressive communalism of

26705-454: The Sikhs. The merging of PEPSU into the Punjabi-speaking region was also advocated in December by Tara Singh to further ensure Sikh territorial unity within the proposed Suba. The Akali Dal criticized Congress in its handling of PEPSU in relation to the designated Punjabi-speaking area, though the Congress announcement on 27 December 1953 of another States Reorganization Commission undercut accusations of division, and Congress retained control in

26950-625: The Sikhs." Nehru had been quoted in the 9 January 1930 edition of the Lahore Bulletin during the freedom struggle, and as late as July 1946 at the All India Congress Committee in Calcutta, that "the brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to special considerations. I see nothing wrong in an area set up in the North of India wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom," though afterwards telling

27195-740: The States, the Centre may issue guidelines from time to time. Income tax should be provincialized; though it may be levied by the Centre for the sake of uniformity, the collection should be by and through the State Agencies. As the income tax is divisible between the Union and the States, the States after collection should contribute to the central pool a fixed share out of the income tax revenue. Several other Indian states also argued that discretionary transfers contributed to increased centralization during

27440-691: The Union home minister during the previous year had ordered the Gandhi's' arrests, took advantage of this and started courting Indira and Sanjay. After a significant exodus from the party to Singh's faction, Desai resigned in July 1979. Singh was appointed prime minister, by President Reddy, after Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi promised Singh that Congress (I) would support his government from outside on certain conditions. The conditions included dropping all charges against Indira and Sanjay. Since Singh refused to drop them, Congress (I) withdrew its support and President Reddy dissolved Parliament in August 1979. Before

27685-632: The United Kingdom Braj Kumar Nehru said Gandhi's conviction would not harm her political career. "Mrs Gandhi has still today overwhelming support in the country," he said. "I believe the prime minister of India will continue in office until the electorate of India decides otherwise". Gandhi moved to restore order by ordering the arrest of most of the opposition participating in the unrest. Her Cabinet and government recommended that then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare

27930-605: The Western border in a pre-emptive strike. The initial night-time attack by Pakistani forces was foiled, failing to inflict any major damage on Indian airbases, allowing Indian aircraft to counterattack into West Pakistan. Gandhi quickly declared a state of emergency and addressed the nation on radio shortly after midnight, stating: "We must be prepared for a long period of hardship and sacrifice." Both countries mobilized for war and Gandhi ordered full-out war, ordering an invasion into East Pakistan. Pakistan's Navy had not improved since

28175-616: The Western front. In the Eastern Front of the war, Indian generals opted for a high speed lightning war , using mechanized and airborne units to quickly bypass Pakistani opposition and make quick strides towards the capital of East Pakistan, Dhaka . Jagjit Singh Aurora (who later became a critic of Gandhi in 1984) led Indian Army's Eastern Command. The Indian Air Force quickly overcame the small contingent of Pakistani aircraft in East Pakistan, allowing for air superiority over

28420-559: The administration, setting up what was in effect a police state." It was said that during the emergency Sanjay virtually ran India along with his friends, especially Bansi Lal . It was also quipped that Sanjay had total control over his mother and that the government was run by the PMH (Prime Minister House) rather than the PMO (Prime Minister Office) . In 1977, after extending the state of emergency twice, Indira Gandhi called elections to give

28665-414: The affected states, under central supervision. Because water, including water supplies, irrigation, canals, drainage, embankments, water storage, and water power, which greatly affected the state's agriculture and industry, were under the jurisdiction of states governments under Article 17 of the State List of the nation's constitution, the center's continued control over Punjab's river waters and power system

28910-472: The agitation was continued under the leadership of Sardar Hukam Singh , who in early 1950 described the demand for a Punjabi-speaking state as both secular and democratic. The Working Committee of the Akali Dal passed a resolution in May supporting a state based on Punjabi language and culture. Sikh members of the Assembly would refuse to sign the draft constitution to be enacted on 26 January 1950. In addition,

29155-402: The appointed Punjab Governor Marri Chenna Reddy by protesting the mass arrest of the Akali volunteers and pleading their case. The centralization of such powers, which India has been described as having "made too much use of", also included the central government using Punjabi money to finance other regions of India by channelling a high proportion of agrarian and commercial savings deposits to

29400-415: The backlash against campaigns of mass sterilization in earlier decades, under Western influence, which affected working-class and low-caste citizens particularly, in attempted population control. Of all states affected by sterilization, Punjab had had the highest rate of citizens sterilized, with 60,000 by 1965. This had, according to Punjab officials, put the state "on a war footing". Compulsory sterilization

29645-400: The ban on the slogan "Punjabi Suba Zindabad" ("long live Punjabi State"). Attempted negotiations with Congress led the agitation to be adjourned twice, though Jawaharlal Nehru continued to reject the demand. A flashpoint during the agitation occurred on 4 July 1955, when a group led by Fateh Singh , who had joined the movement, had arrived from Ganganagar a few days prior to take part in

29890-432: The banks of other states. with only about 35% of money invested within Punjab's banks remaining within Punjab. The government also did not provide the state with any industrial outlets for its sugar and cotton surpluses, and did not increase the river-water allocation required by new wheat strains and farming practices, which affected soil and water systems and created ecological vulnerability. The Green Revolution had caused

30135-471: The bearing of all relevant important factors thereon." Five days before the announcement, in the wake of President's Rule, during the mid-term polls of 1953, Nehru had come to campaign to a Sikh congregation at Fatehgarh Sahib on the occasion of Saka Sirhind ; due to his firm opposition to the Punjabi Suba, he was prevented from using the observance to electioneer, with a group lead by former MLA Atma Singh going on stage to prevent him from speaking. Considered

30380-428: The behavior of the Haryana government in November 1982, when Sikhs traveling between Punjab and Delhi were indiscriminately stopped, searched, and humiliated, it became increasingly clear that the government would seek a military solution to the unrest, instead of any political settlement, making elaborate plans for an army action while feigning readiness for negotiations and denying any intention of sending armed forces to

30625-542: The belligerent locals. Most of the 93,000 captured were Pakistan Army officers or paramilitary officers, along with 12,000 supporters ( razakars ). Hostilities officially ended on 17 December 1971. 8,000 Pakistani soldiers were killed along with 25,000 wounded; Indian forces suffered only 3,000 dead and 12,000 wounded. India claimed to have captured 3.6k square kilometres of Pakistani land on the Western Front while losing 126 square kilometres of land to Pakistan. Gandhi

30870-445: The benefit of their efforts were flowing to other parts of the country. The little industrial development that existed, concentrated in Amritsar , Jalandhar , and Ludhiana , was limited to some small-scale industries like woollen textiles and garments, machine tools, and farming implements, financed largely by remittances from overseas Sikhs. The continued widening of the gap between the agrarian economy and industrialization, as well as

31115-504: The border and secured Garibpur after a one-day battle lasting from 20 November 1971 to the 21st. The next day, on 22 November, Indian and Pakistani aircraft engaged in a dogfight over the Boyra Salient, in which thousands of people watched as 4 Indian Folland Gnats shot down 2 Pakistani Canadair Sabres and damaged another. Both Pakistani pilots that were shot down were captured as prisoners of war. The Battle of Boyra instantly made

31360-564: The bullets recovered by ballistic examination. The bullets were matched with their respective weapons at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Delhi. Subsequently, Dogra appeared in Shri Mahesh Chandra's court as an expert witness (PW-5); he gave his testimony in several sessions. The cross examination was conducted by Shri Pran Nath Lekhi , the defence counsel. Salma Sultan provided

31605-725: The capital solely of Punjab as promised, the level of autonomy of all of the states in the country, riparian concerns, agrarian reforms, and power and irrigation projects being taken over by the central government, instead of the state retaining control of them. On 12 June 1975, Indira Gandhi was found guilty for election fraud. A few weeks later on 25 June 1975, as her election opponent Raj Narain began organizing civil disobedience protests, she imposed Emergency rule, under which she would crack down on rival political parties, national institutions, civil liberties, and press. The Akali Dal, which took part in Raj Narain's Delhi protest, resolved in

31850-690: The cause of Punjab, especially in the socio-economic field. Following failed talks, the Nehr Roko Morcha , or "struggle to stop the canal", was launched on April 24, 1982 by the Akali Dal at the village of Kapuri, Punjab to prevent the initial digging of the SYL Canal which would have diverted most of the state's water to Haryana, resulting in volunteer arrests. The Dharam Yudh Morcha was launched later that year on 4 August, following an Akali Dal meeting in July at Amritsar; Bhindranwale and Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi were persuaded to lead it under

32095-442: The central West Pakistan Government. In response, Pakistani security forces launched the infamous Operation Searchlight, in which Pakistan committed genocide among Bengali Hindus, nationalists and intelligentsia. Gandhi's India was initially restrained from intervening in the insurgency but quickly started to support Bengali rebels through the provision of military supplies. Indian forces clashed multiple times with Pakistani forces in

32340-489: The central government found loopholes to circumvent such a demand, instead offering a tribunal, which did not have the authority to override the Punjab Reorganization Act to begin with, and never issued a final decision over an issue critical to agricultural growth and state development. Since the launch of the April 1982 morcha against the SYL Canal, followed by provocations like police crackdowns and

32585-475: The central government in areas which other states enjoyed independence, like the economy, and fair consideration of Sikhs in civil service, as Sikhs from Partition to the Reorganization in 1966 claimed to have been run out of the job market if they kept a visible Sikh appearance, including the turban and beard. During this period the Akali Dal had become part of the anti-Congress national mainstream against

32830-512: The central government, through the Akali Dal . The Sikhs now constituted a majority in the northwestern seven districts of the thirteen districts of East Punjab state at the time: Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Firozpur, Ludhiana, and Ambala, along with Patiala and East Punjab States Union , or PEPSU, which had been formed as an administrative unit on 5 May 1948 including the six Sikh princely states , and with sizable populations in surrounding districts. Meanwhile, Hindus formed

33075-483: The central government, under President's Rule , dismissing the Akali Dal joint government in Punjab. This had been preceded by the Emergency, which had been protested by the Akalis amidst mass arrests of tens of thousands. The Akalis had earlier pushed for more autonomy in decision-making over taxation and spending, with fewer strings attached to central transfers. In a speech at the party's 1978 Ludhiana conference, Gurcharan Singh Tohra called for more taxation powers to

33320-555: The central government. The economic and political crisis began to take religious overtones as the Akali Dal couched its economic and social demands in religious terms, and as negotiations with the central government on issues like Chandigarh and water rights continued to fail, Bhindranwale's position was strengthened. As described by Joyce Pettigrew, "it was not difficult for a people who defined themselves by reference to religious and historical tradition to identify themselves with Bhindranwale's message on questions relating to civil rights and

33565-656: The commission's recommendation was fully in accord with the most extreme elements opposing the Punjabi Suba, and even the Sachar Resolution, acknowledged as never even having been adhered to by those elements, was eroded. The resolution of the Amritsar Convention stated in part, "this convention of the Sikhs view with alarm and great resentment the complete and callous resolution of the States Reorganisation Commission of

33810-414: The complex. The army used heavy artillery, including tanks, in the action code-named Operation Blue Star . The operation badly damaged or destroyed parts of the Temple complex, including the Akal Takht shrine and the Sikh library. It led to the deaths of many Sikh fighters and innocent pilgrims. The number of casualties remains disputed, with estimates ranging from many hundreds to many thousands. Gandhi

34055-567: The compound. On 23 April 1983, the Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General A. S. Atwal was shot dead as he left the Temple compound. The next day, Harchand Singh Longowal (then president of Akali Dal) confirmed the involvement of Bhindranwale in the murder. After several futile negotiations, in June 1984, Gandhi ordered the Indian army to enter the Golden Temple to remove Bhindranwale and his supporters from

34300-568: The constitutional provision allowing for a dismissal of a state government on the recommendation of the state's governor. Indira Gandhi used the emergency provisions to change conflicting party members: Unlike her father Jawaharlal Nehru, who preferred to deal with strong chief ministers in control of their legislative parties and state party organizations, Mrs. Gandhi set out to remove every Congress chief minister who had an independent base and to replace each of them with ministers personally loyal to her...Even so, stability could not be maintained in

34545-455: The continuation of the protests in Delhi during the 1982 Asian Games , in order to draw international attention to the matter. Former attorney general of West Bengal, Dipanker Gupta, wrote that, "But what is perhaps unknown to many is that on the eve of the inauguration of the Asiad in 1982, an agreement was actually arrived at between the Congress (I) and the Akalis. While the Akali leaders... and

34790-419: The country's sixth prime minister. Gandhi's cumulative tenure of 15 years and 350 days makes her the second-longest-serving Indian prime minister after her father. Henry Kissinger described her as an "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her tough personality. During Nehru's premiership from 1947 to 1964, Gandhi was his hostess and accompanied him on his numerous foreign trips. In 1959, she played

35035-415: The country." The Congress government faced numerous problems during this term. Some of these were due to high inflation which in turn was caused by wartime expenses, drought in some parts of the country and, more importantly, the 1973 oil crisis . Opposition to her in the 1973–75 period, after the Gandhi wave had receded, was strongest in the states of Bihar and Gujarat . In Bihar, Jayaprakash Narayan ,

35280-485: The creation of a Punjabi-speaking state. On 25 August, he announced that the goals of the movement would also include Sikh recruitment to the Indian Army, safeguarding Sikh rights and interests in PEPSU, Punjabi as the language of institutions and the medium of education, and the allotment of land and property to Partition refugees equivalent to what they possessed before. PEPSU was formally inaugurated on 15 July 1948 by Sardar Patel, who in his address described PEPSU, with

35525-673: The cremation. Her funeral was televised live on domestic and international stations, including the BBC . After her death, the Parade Ground was converted to the Indira Gandhi Park which was inaugurated by her son, Rajiv Gandhi . Punjabi Suba movement Master Tara Singh ( AD ) Fateh Singh ( AD ) Darshan Singh Pheruman Jawaharlal Nehru Pratap Singh Kairon Indira Gandhi Ashwini Kumar Lala Jagat Narain The Punjabi Suba movement

35770-435: The criterion of language in favor of religious sentiments. For many, the former was a larger setback. Hukum Singh wrote, "while others got States for their languages, we lost even our language," seeing it as "another deadlier blow to the Sikhs." Giani Kartar Singh remarked that out of the 14 national languages of the Constitution, only Punjabi was left without a state. With the language being distinct in grammar and lexicon,

36015-563: The declining support of the Sikh constituency, had fallen by the wayside. The Akalis, in their subsequent electoral defeat in 1980, would be forced by the presence of Bhindranwale and his huge base of support in the AISSF to return to its Sikh base. Another point of contention was Article 25, which fueled Sikh concerns over identity preservation, as they were not recognized as a separate community. This, along with economic factors and concerns over state resources, added to deepening alienation and kept

36260-470: The demand for a Punjabi Suba as a policy position was first presented in April 1948 by Master Tara Singh of the Shiromani Akali Dal, a Sikh political party active mainly in Punjab. The movement was primarily conceived to secure a distinct Sikh political status as a safeguard for what was to be a small minority after independence; as Tara Singh wrote in 1945, "there is not the least doubt that

36505-405: The desire for a separate state alive among the community. Later, noting Indira Gandhi 's intransigence, it appeared that the Akali leaders were willing to water down their demands. Bhindranwale reminded his audiences that it had been Gurcharan Singh Tohra , Surjit Singh Barnala , Balwant Singh and other leaders who were signatories to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution and that he was not present when

36750-523: The districts of Gurgaon and Rohtak, Panipat Tehsil in Karnal, and a few tehsils of Hisar district, which were to merge with Hindi-speaking regions. The Akalis drafted their case with care, strictly on the basis of language and using pre-1947 census figures, to present the proposed Punjabi-speaking state of an area over 35,000 square miles; they were supported in their effort by parties advocating rural interests, and complemented other linguistic state demands in

36995-494: The economic grievance of farmers, and for their subsequent action to be encapsulated within that religious tradition." As Bhindranwale became increasingly influential, the party decided to join forces with him. In August 1982, under the leadership of Harcharan Singh Longowal , the Akali Dal launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha , or "righteous campaign", in collaboration with Bhindranwale to win more autonomy for Punjab. At

37240-477: The effect of sharpening the divide between the majority Sikh north and majority Hindu south. The Arya Samaj led the forces of Hindu communalism against the Akali Dal. While earlier in June 1948, both Punjabi and Hindi were both made official media of educational instruction, the Municipal Committee of Jalandhar in February 1949 resolved to make Devanagari Hindi the sole media in its schools, and

37485-502: The effects of Gandhi's Emergency rule, failing to focus on the work that the SGPC was entrusted with, and depriving religious issues of a platform, leaving the party vulnerable on its "Sikh flank." The religious foundations of the Akali Dal were also played down during this period due to the party's need for coalition partners, as Congress drew enough Sikh votes to deny a majority. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which had been drafted to win back

37730-508: The elections were the last chance for India to choose between "democracy and dictatorship". The Congress Party split during the election campaign of 1977; veteran Gandhi supporters like Jagjivan Ram , Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna , and Nandini Satpathy were compelled to part ways and form a new political entity, the CFD ( Congress for Democracy ) due primarily to intra-party politicking and the circumstances created by Sanjay Gandhi. The prevailing rumour

37975-528: The electorate a chance to vindicate her rule. She may have grossly misjudged her popularity by reading what the heavily censored press wrote about her. She was opposed by the Janata alliance of Opposition parties. The alliance was made up of Bharatiya Jana Sangh , Congress (O) , The Socialist parties, and Charan Singh 's Bharatiya Kranti Dal representing northern peasants and farmers. The Janata alliance, with Jai Prakash Narayan as its spiritual guide, claimed

38220-420: The end of 1977, she was such a dominating figure in Indian politics that Congress party president D. K. Barooah had coined the phrase "India is Indira and Indira is India." Gandhi formed her government with Morarji Desai as deputy prime minister and finance minister. At the beginning of her first term as prime minister, she was widely criticised by the media and the opposition as a " Goongi goodiya " (Hindi for

38465-490: The end of the war. 93,000 soldiers of the Pakistani security forces surrendered, the largest surrender since World War II. The entire four-tiered military surrendered to India along with its officers and generals. Large crowds flooded the scenes as anti-Pakistani slogans emerged and Pakistani POWs were beaten by the locals. Eventually, Indian officers formed a human-chain to protect Pakistani POWs and Niazi from being lynched by

38710-538: The establishment of the Punjabi Suba in 1966, the Punjab Reorganization Act was amended to further drain the state of its waters. While according to the hastily estimated needs of each state in the 1955 Indus Water Treaty, 7.2 million acre-feet was allotted to Punjab, 8 m.a.f. to Rajasthan , and .65 m.a.f. to Jammu and Kashmir , the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 stipulated that Punjab's rivers would be split between Punjab and Haryana, but not

38955-423: The expression of Sikh culture, history, and religion. The struggle that emerged in the 1970s was primarily justified on economic reasons, some of which were a consequence of the 1966 reorganization. The Anandpur Sahib resolution, issued by the Akali Dal's working committee in 1973, called for the Indian constitution to be "recast on real federal principles, with equal representation at the center for all States," and

39200-541: The failure to develop other industries to absorb unemployed youth, exacerbated the situation; Large numbers of educated Punjabi youth were forced to go elsewhere to seek gainful employment, in turn attracting semi-skilled and unskilled labor from other states, which led to growing discontent among many sections of society, fueling wide discontent among the masses as the benefits started to fade. These economic developments occurred during Congress rule between 1971 and 1977, and Punjab had lost economic and political rights as power

39445-406: The fears of Hindu voters and push the Akalis into a corner, as well as attempts to ally with, or outbid, more militant Sikh factions, which gained traction following the lack of progress and the growing religious revivalism that both the Akalis and Congress would attempt to play to gain influence. According to Atul Kohli , The repeated failure of the Akalis to wrest power from Congress had left open

39690-411: The first news of her assassination on Doordarshan 's evening news on 31 October 1984, more than 10 hours after she was shot. Gandhi was cremated in accordance with Hindu tradition on 3 November near Raj Ghat . The site where she was cremated is known today as Shakti Sthal . Paying homage, Gandhi's body lay in state at Teen Murti House. Thousands of followers strained for a glimpse of

39935-406: The first time in its history, with a new socio-political position, This enabled the Akali Dal to focus on expressing unencumbered Sikh political needs, free from the politics of the former Muslim majority that had needed to be accommodated on its political platform prior to it, and provided the opportunity for Sikhs themselves to express a degree of autonomy from the sway of the Congress party and

40180-429: The first time, the party also lost power or lost its majority in a number of states across the country. After the 1967 elections, Gandhi gradually began to move towards socialist policies. In 1969, she fell out with senior Congress party leaders over several issues. Chief among them was her decision to support V. V. Giri , the independent candidate rather than the official Congress party candidate Neelam Sanjiva Reddy for

40425-414: The formation of linguistic-based provinces would spur other demands for the separation of other linguistic groups elsewhere; such claims had already been advanced by Sikhs , Jats , and other groups. The reasons cited in its report were that it did not recognize Punjabi as a distinct language, and that the movement lacked enough support amongst the Hindus of the proposed Punjabi-speaking state setting aside

40670-522: The fourteen largest banks in India. In 1967, a military conflict alongside the border of the Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim , then an Indian protectorate , broke out between India and China. India won by repelling Chinese attacks and forced the subsequent withdrawal of Chinese forces from the region. Throughout the conflict, the Indian losses were 88 killed and 163 wounded while Chinese casualties stood at 340 killed and 450 wounded, according to

40915-516: The garden of the prime minister's residence at 1  Safdarjung Road , New Delhi , allegedly in revenge for Operation Blue Star . The shooting occurred as she was walking past a wicket gate guarded by the two men. She was to be interviewed by the British filmmaker Peter Ustinov , who was filming a documentary for Irish television . Beant shot her three times using his side-arm; Satwant fired 30 rounds. The men dropped their weapons and surrendered. Afterwards, they were taken away by other guards into

41160-517: The government and rival Sikh factions, both political and militant. One of Bhindranwale's main concerns in his speeches was condemning factionalism and internal disunity among the Sikhs. This is reflected in one of his speeches, Our misfortune is disunity.... We try to throw mud at each other. Why don't we give up thinking of mud and in close embrace with each other work with determination to attain our goals? The Akali Dal leadership had initially opposed Bhindranwale. While Bhindranwale ceded leadership to

41405-450: The government began to run out of room in jails for the over 25,000 volunteer protesters. Over 250,000 protesters would be arrested over the course of the morcha . The central government, instead of preempting any Akali agitation in regard to the Punjab by constitutionally referring all the legal issues to the Supreme Court, which the Akali Dal had demanded, played up the threat of extremism and law and order, choosing to make scapegoats out of

41650-500: The grounds of electoral malpractice. In an election petition filed by her 1971 opponent, Raj Narain (who later defeated her in the 1977 parliamentary election running in the Raebareli constituency), alleged several major as well as minor instances of the use of government resources for campaigning. Gandhi had asked one of her colleagues in government, Ashoke Kumar Sen , to defend her in court. She gave evidence in her defence during

41895-443: The just and reasonable demand for a Punjabi-speaking state." The resolution called on the government to create the Punjabi Suba not only in the interest of the Sikhs but in the interest of the Hindi-speaking peoples of East Punjab; Tara Singh received authorization from the Amritsar Convention "to take suitable steps to for conveying the views and sentiments of the Sikh community to Government of India and urging them to do their duty to

42140-548: The largest airborne operation since World War Ii. 750 men of the Army's Parachute Regiment landed in Tangail and defeated the Pakistani forces in the area, securing a direct route to Dhaka. Little Pakistani forces escaped the battle with only 900 out of 7000 soldiers retreating back to Dhaka alive. By December 12, Indian forces had reached the outskirts of Dhaka and had prepared to besiege the capital. Indian heavy artillery arrived by

42385-493: The leader of the Khalistan Commando Force , Wassan Singh Zaffarwal, stating, "Our development policies also were controlled by the center. Even our local tax collection was transferred to the center. The state government was a state government only in name." In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a significant portion of central resources going to Punjab was discretionary grants and loans, the kind of transfers with

42630-552: The leadership of Morarji Desai, came to power after the State of Emergency was lifted. The alliance parties later merged to form the Janata Party under the guidance of Gandhian leader, Jayaprakash Narayan. The other leaders of the Janata Party were Charan Singh, Raj Narain, George Fernandes , and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. After the humiliating defeat in the election, the king of Nepal , through an intermediatory offered to move her and her family to Nepal . She refused to shift herself, but

42875-540: The lower house of the Indian parliament, the Lok Sabha . In 1971, her party secured its first landslide victory since her father's sweep in 1962 , focusing on issues such as poverty. But following the nationwide state of emergency she implemented, she faced massive anti-incumbency sentiment causing the INC to lose the 1977 election , the first time in the history of India to happen so. She even lost her own parliamentary constituency. However, due to her portrayal as

43120-406: The majority. Andhra Province is a settled fact; other cases are to be looked into; but North India cannot even be considered for it, The next was this consideration for services, that has also been denied.... "Naturally, under these circumstances, as I have stated, the Sikhs feel utterly disappointed and frustrated. They feel that they have been discriminated against. Let it not be misunderstood that

43365-639: The medium of instruction up to the matriculation stage in the "Punjabi zone" area, with Hindi taught as a compulsory subject from the end of the primary level onward, and vice-versa for "Hindi zone" areas. The "Punjabi zone" consisted of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Ferozpur, and Ludhiana districts, along with Hisar district north of the Ghaggar river, and the Ropar and Kharar tehsils of Ambala district. Its goal had been mutual bilingualism, but as it divided East Punjab into Punjabi and Hindi zones, it had

43610-628: The moment of surrender as Indian soldiers from the Parachute Regiment streamed into the city. As Indian forces and Mukti Bahini rounded up the remaining Pakistani forces, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora of India and A.A.K. Niazi of Pakistan signed the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender at 16:31Hrs IST on 16 December 1971. The surrender signified the collapse of the East Pakistan Government along with

43855-535: The most conditions attached. Regional politicians in several other states had also reacted against such strings attached and several states also criticized central-state fiscal relations, but to the Akalis it seemed like the center was tightening its grip just when the Sikhs had won the struggle for a Punjabi Suba . The retention of the planned city of Chandigarh as a union territory serving as capital for both Punjab and Haryana, which had been promised exclusively to Punjab as its state capital in 1970, also had long been

44100-409: The movement as they felt that it represented a real solution to their demands, such as a larger share of water for irrigation, and return of Chandigarh to Punjab. By early October, more than 25,000 Akali workers courted arrest in Punjab in support of the agitation. In February 1983, Bhindranwale gave a speech openly calling Sikhs in Punjab "slaves", outlining the unfair judicial system, Gandhi's denial of

44345-400: The movement, opposite to the intention of the government, and proved to be so potentially destabilizing to the government, provoking disaffection among the Sikh masses and in the army, that on 12 July, the government under Sachar used the pretext of a "triumphal return from peace mission abroad" to lift the ban on Punjabi Suba slogans, appealing for peace. Sachar himself personal apologized at

44590-421: The only languages not considered for statehood were Punjabi , Sindhi and Urdu . Its jurisdiction was limited to the southern states, with northern India kept out of its purview, specifically to avoid problems like those of Punjab, in particular issues raised by the Sikhs. In January 1948, Akali Dal's three-member delegation of leaders, Harcharan Singh Bajwa, Bhupinder Singh Mann , and Giani Kartar Singh, met

44835-401: The opposition by stating that Punjabi was not a language but a dialect, with no willingness on the part of the people to adopt it. After failed efforts to absorb the Sikhs, and with the slogan of "Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan," Hindu organizations opted to spurn the language so that the Sikhs would be considered a linguistic minority as well as a religious minority, and thus prevent the formation of

45080-588: The party, Tara Singh turned it down, reminding the Congress of its commitment to forming linguistic states, and that a Punjabi-speaking region had already been demarcated for the purposes of the Sachar Formula itself. The Akali Dal would hold its first major protest demonstration in August 1950. In response to the Hindi opposition, the Akali Dal mobilized the Sikhs of the region. This competition led to several clashes in Punjab, and heated electoral campaigns by

45325-469: The police, the Administration and the Chief Minister for pursuing its own political designs, and appeared disinclined to solve the issues justly or constitutionally. The government also framed the movement as a religious issue, announcing only the granting of symbolic requests to holy city status to Amritsar and the right to wear kirpans , while ignoring the more numerous economic issues central to

45570-436: The policy proposals developed a few years later based on the Anandpur Sahib Resolution was the 1978 Ludhiana Resolution, which put socio-economic concerns at the core. The Ludhiana Resolution called for an end to the center's control of Punjab's river waters and the just distribution of it, state control of the headworks, and better procurement prices and subsidies for the state's farmers. These issues were of particular concern to

45815-669: The poor and procuring loans for inputs in the early 70s; conflicting attitudes to farming prices and costs highlighted tensions between the central and state governments, to which Akalis attributed their electoral loss in 1972, and which contributed to the drafting of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution . Farming had been becoming unprofitable as crop prices fell, and farm infrastructure and supply costs increased by 20-30%. Power and water shortages, and increases in power and fuel costs, as well as fertilizer and pesticides, also progressively made irrigation and transport prohibitively expensive for both rich landlords and farmers with small holdings, who were

46060-434: The possibility of forging an Akali-Congress partnership in Punjab was being discreetly explored. This caused the decline of support for the Akalis and the concurrent increase of support for Bhindranwale's message among both educated orthodox Sikhs and the rural population, along with what was increasingly seen as the ineffectual Akali approach of protests and inter-party collaboration in producing results for Punjab, leaving open

46305-417: The present moment whatever the merits of such a proposal." The Congress leadership, including Nehru and Gandhi, had passed a resolution in its December 1929 annual Lahore session, stating that no national constitution framed after the transfer of power would be passed unless acceptable to the Sikhs, and Congress leader had reiterated their promise to provide maximal provincial autonomy in the new country as

46550-581: The pretext of Punjab being a "sensitive border state" susceptible to easy invasion in wartime, and Punjabi industrial growth was kept weak by promoting it in other states, using raw commodities extracted from Punjab. The growth of industrial employment was negligible during the 1970s, and the lack of central investments in industries precipitated the Akalis' demands that Punjab was not receiving its fair share of central revenues given its contribution. Similar sentiments were echoed by Sikh farmers and peasants who felt that they were not getting their due and that much of

46795-599: The promises made by Hindu leaders like Nehru, Gandhi, and Patel in 1929, 1946 and 1947. In 1946, the Akali Dal had submitted a memorandum to the British government in which it asserted that Pakistan should not be conceded to the Muslims without at the same time conceding a sovereign Sikh nation as well, a sentiment echoed until independence by Akali leaders, who adopted a resolution in favour of one in March 1946, variously referred to as Sikhistan or Khalistan. When Sikh statehood

47040-405: The protest movement. The police cordoned off the complex, with the entry of people into the complex and Amritsar was stopped. At night, government police forces, led by DIG Ashwini Kumar, forced their entry into the temple premises and heavyhandedly took the entire group into custody, along with the head granthis of the Akal Takht and Golden Temple , volunteer protestors, and even cooks of

47285-462: The rate (5-10%) of input costs, with Punjabi farmers taking the brunt of the losses. Additionally, in 1980, hailstorms across Punjab resulted in a poor wheat harvest; Gandhi, in addition to refusing to raise the price the government would pay for wheat, limited the sale of the wheat to restricted "food zones" that prohibited wheat sales even to other districts within Punjab, and prohibited wheat dealers to hold substantial amount of wheat in storage. During

47530-403: The redrawing of Punjab's boundaries following the Punjabi Suba movement to include left-out Punjabi-speaking areas, the restoration of Chandigarh to Punjab, the redefining of relations between the central government and the state, and greater autonomy for the state as envisioned in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution; the Akali Dal had demanded what was constitutionally due to Punjab. The main thrust of

47775-412: The region. In a manifesto, the Akali Dal proposed that the establishment of a Punjabi state would enable education, administration, and cultural preservation in the language: "The true test of democracy, in the opinion of the Shiromani Akali Dal, is that the minorities should feel that they are really free and equal partners in the destiny of their country…to bring home a sense of freedom to the Sikhs, it

48020-429: The region. Indian forces liberated Jessore and several other towns during the Battle of Sylhet between 7 December and 15 December 1971, which saw India conduct its first heliborne operation. India then conducted another airdrop on December 9, with Indian forces led by Major General Sagat Singh capturing just under 5,000 Pakistani POWs and also crossing the Meghna River towards Dhaka. Two days later, Indian forces conducted

48265-486: The rejection of polytheism, idol and avatar worship, temple offerings, pilgrimages, the widow remarriage prohibition, child marriage, sati , and Brahmin priestcraft. Such repudiations had often converged with the earlier ones of Sikhism, though instead leading to competition between the two factions in Punjab and consequently North India. The Akali Dal entered the 1955 Punjab SGPC elections on this platform and won resoundingly, winning all 110 seats it contested against

48510-427: The remaining 1.32 of the 17.17 m.a.f. between Punjab and Rajasthan, while postponing other actions except for the completion of the SYL Canal within two years, in time for Haryana elections. After the 1966 reorganization, the committee in charge of the formation of the states decided that both irrigation and power from the rivers Sutlej , Beas , and Ravi should be controlled by a board of representatives from each of

48755-413: The removal of the Sikh Chief Secretary and the two Sikh Deputy Commissioners, to avert any efforts toward a Punjabi state, opposed by Nehru In August 1952, the Akali Dal would position itself as the premier representative for Sikh rights, broadcasting its victory in the subsequent annual elections and dislodging of the pro-Congress president of the Dal as a referendum for support for the Punjabi Suba among

49000-492: The same. In the next five days more than 1,000 prominent Akali leaders were arrested; in nearly two months, 12,000 Sikhs had been arrested for the Slogan Agitation, and by the end of July as many as 21,000 Akalis were jailed in Congress efforts to quash the growing movement, which nevertheless continued steadily. In several towns there were instances of Hindu communal organizations throwing stones and brickbats at Sikh processions. Thousands of volunteers were arrested for defying

49245-420: The service of the nation, I would be proud of it. Every drop of my blood ... will contribute to the growth of this nation and to make it strong and dynamic." —Gandhi's remarks on her last speech a day before her death (30 October 1984) at the then Parade Ground, Odisha. On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh , shot her with their service weapons in

49490-400: The side of the Congress (O) faction. The Gandhi faction, called Congress (R) , lost its majority in the parliament but remained in power with the support of regional parties such as DMK . The policies of the Congress under Gandhi, before the 1971 elections, also included proposals for the abolition of the Privy Purse to former rulers of the princely states and the 1969 nationalization of

49735-450: The situation was very much worse when [opposition] parties were forming governments." She dismissed criticism of the way her Congress Party raised election campaign money, saying all parties used the same methods. The prime minister retained the support of her party, which issued a statement backing her. After news of the verdict spread, hundreds of supporters demonstrated outside her house, pledging their loyalty. Indian High Commissioner to

49980-417: The start of the protest movement, against long-standing wrongs not addressed by the state's economic and political process, the Akali leaders had, in their Ardas , or prayer, at the Akal Takht , resolved that they would continue the struggle until the Anandpur Sahib Resolution was accepted and implemented by the Government. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution itself had been written during the concerted effort of

50225-449: The state's rural Sikh population, as the Sikhs dominated the agricultural sector. Other demands included the maintenance of the ratio of Sikhs in the army, protections of Sikhs outside Punjab, Punjabi as a second language for states with significant Punjabi-speaking populations, amendments to tax and property policies for rural populations, a broadcasting station and a dry port at Amritsar, and a stock exchange at Ludhiana. In September 1981,

50470-416: The state's water and power needs. A Deputy Advocate General would attribute the growing separatist sentiments for Khalistan to this, saying, "Overcentralization will not keep India united." Leading the Congress party, Indira Gandhi adopted a highly autocratic, authoritarian approach with an aggressive agenda of centralization, and in 1980 put nine states, including Punjab, whose governments were unfavorable to

50715-415: The states, among other federalistic ideas in keeping with the promises of the national constitution, with the idea that if the state retained more taxation powers, it could better manage its own economy: Apart from statutory share in the Union Revenues, the State should have the exclusive power to levy, collect, and retain the taxes, duties within their own sphere. For the purpose of uniformity of taxation in

50960-460: The states... President Ahmed issued ordinances that did not require debate in the Parliament, allowing Gandhi to rule by decree . During the emergency Gandhi's younger son, Sanjay Gandhi , entered into Indian politics. He wielded tremendous power during the emergency without holding any government office. According to Mark Tully , "His inexperience did not stop him from using the Draconian powers his mother, Indira Gandhi, had taken to terrorise

51205-439: The suggested basis of the Punjabi Suba, for which Tara Singh campaigned vigorously between late 1948 and early 1949. On 30 May 1948, a delegate session of the Akali Dal meeting at Amritsar had passed a resolution rejecting the party's merger into the Congress, electing Tara Singh as president of the revived party. On 2 August 1948, at a press conference at Delhi, Tara Singh demanded the linguistic reorganisation of East Punjab, for

51450-434: The temple's langar . The Guru Ram Das Serai and Shiromani Akali Dal offices were also raided, and batons used and tear gas and shells fired to disperse the protestors gathered on the periphery of the temple, damaging the periphery and sarovar, or pool, of the temple. Supplies to the complex were cut off, all pilgrims staying at its rest houses were arrested, and Manji Sahib , where volunteers were sent daily to court arrest,

51695-415: The trial. After almost four years, the court found her guilty of dishonest election practices, excessive election expenditure, and of using government machinery and officials for party purposes. The judge, however, rejected the more serious charges of bribery, laid against her in the case. The court ordered her stripped of her parliamentary seat and banned her from running for any office for six years. As

51940-488: The urban commercial class. For their part, the previously voiceless poor would at last gain both political worth and political weight. The programs created through Garibi Hatao, though carried out locally, were funded and developed by the Central Government in New Delhi. The program was supervised and staffed by the Indian National Congress party. "These programs also provided the central political leadership with new and vast patronage resources to be disbursed ... throughout

52185-418: The usage of falsified returns by the Arya Samaj in the 1961 census, and resulted in the state of Punjab consisting of far less of the over 35,000 square miles of the Punjabi-speaking state proposed by the Akalis, who had carefully drafted the demand strictly on the basis of language and using pre-1947 census figures. Other concerns included Chandigarh being turned into a Union Territory instead of becoming

52430-425: The vacant position of president of India . The other was the announcement by the prime minister of Bank nationalisation without consulting the finance minister, Morarji Desai. These steps culminated in party president S. Nijalingappa expelling her from the party for indiscipline. Gandhi, in turn, floated her own faction of the Congress party and managed to retain most of the Congress MPs on her side with only 65 on

52675-521: The veteran leader came out of retirement to lead the protest movement there. Gandhi's biggest achievement following the 1971 election came in December 1971 with India's decisive victory over Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War . That victory occurred in the last two weeks of the Bangladesh Liberation War , which led to the formation of independent Bangladesh . An insurgency in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh ) formed in early 1971, with Bengali's and East Pakistanis revolting against authoritarian rule from

52920-416: The world. Suzuki of Japan was selected as the partner. The company launched its first Indian-manufactured car in 1984. By the time of Sanjay's death, Indira Gandhi trusted only family members, and therefore persuaded her reluctant son, Rajiv, to enter politics. Her PMO office staff included H. Y. Sharada Prasad as her information adviser and speechwriter. After the 1977 elections, a coalition led by

53165-465: The worst hit, and who would often mortgage their land to purchase farming equipment. The central government also controlled agricultural prices, set price ceilings on crops, limiting farmer profits, and small farmers also suffered from the lack of fair-pricing policies for wheat and paddy. During her second term, Gandhi's interests remained as opposed to Punjab's as in her first, and the top end of price ceilings she instituted had increased at less than half

53410-464: Was "helpless" before the communalism displayed by Parliament members. Tara Singh would also ascribe this to the domination of anti-Sikh communalists, particularly the Arya Samaj , in the "Punjab Congress, the Punjab press, the Punjab Legislative Assembly and all other spheres of political power," considering them to be "dup[ing]" Hindus outside Punjab. Tara Singh himself was arrested on 20 February 1949 and imprisoned for several months, during which time

53655-408: Was India's first elected communist government. After her father's death in 1964 she was appointed a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and served in Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri 's cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting . In January 1966, after Shastri's death, the Congress legislative party elected her over Morarji Desai as their leader. Congress party veteran K. Kamaraj

53900-459: Was a long-drawn political agitation, launched by Punjabi speaking people (mostly Sikhs ) demanding the creation of autonomous Punjabi Suba , or Punjabi -speaking state, in the post-independence Indian state of East Punjab . The movement is defined as the forerunner of Khalistan movement . Borrowing from the pre-independence demands for a Sikh country, this movement demanded a fundamental constitutional autonomous state within India. Led by

54145-614: Was accused of using the attack for political ends. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer stated that she attacked the temple complex to present herself as a great hero in order to win the general elections planned towards the end of 1984. There was fierce criticism of the action by Sikhs in India and overseas. There were also incidents of mutiny by Sikh soldiers in the aftermath of the attack. "I am alive today, I may not be there tomorrow ... I shall continue to serve until my last breath and when I die, I can say, that every drop of my blood will invigorate India and strengthen it  ... Even if I died in

54390-406: Was active socially at the university and was a member of the Oxford Majlis Asian Society. During her time in Europe, Indira Nehru was plagued with ill health and was constantly attended to by doctors. She had to make repeated trips to Switzerland to recover, disrupting her studies. She was there in 1940, when Germany rapidly conquered Europe. Nehru tried to return to England through Portugal but

54635-426: Was automatically expelled from Parliament. The allegations included that she "had planned or thought of killing all opposition leaders in jail during the Emergency". However, the strategy backfired disastrously. In response to her arrest, Gandhi's supporters hijacked an Indian Airlines jet and demanded her immediate release. Her arrest and long-running trial gained her sympathy from many people. The Janata coalition

54880-480: Was brought back in 1976 during the Emergency under Sanjay Gandhi. Adding to center-state tensions was an increasing perception among Akali ministers of the early '70s that the Punjab was getting a much smaller share of developmental funds from the Centre than its due. After the Punjabi Suba division in 1966, the industrial development was confined to Haryana and mineral and forest resources went to Himachal Pradesh, with Punjab's own industrial sector kept undeveloped on

55125-410: Was built nearby to serve as the family residence and given the name of the old Anand Bhavan . Indira had a lonely and unhappy childhood. Her father was often away, directing political activities or incarcerated, while her mother was frequently bedridden with illness and later suffered an early death from tuberculosis . Indira had limited contact with her father, mostly through letters. Indira Nehru

55370-536: Was decided that Indira would continue her education at the University of Oxford . After her mother died, Indira attended the Badminton School in Bristol, England for a short time period and then enrolled at Somerville College in Oxford in 1937 to study history. She had to take the entrance examination twice, having failed at her first attempt with a poor performance in Latin . At Oxford, she excelled in history, political science, and economics but her grades in Latin—a compulsory subject—remained poor. However she

55615-418: Was developed in response to the combined opposition alliance's use of the two-word manifesto—"Indira Hatao" (Remove Indira). The Garibi Hatao slogan and the proposed anti-poverty programs that came with it were designed to give Gandhi independent national support, based on the rural and urban poor. This would allow her to bypass the dominant rural castes both in and of state and local governments as well as

55860-430: Was elected by the voters of the Medak constituency . On 23 June, Sanjay Gandhi was killed in a plane crash while performing an aerobatic manoeuvre in New Delhi. In 1980, as a tribute to her son's dream of launching an indigenously manufactured car, Indira Gandhi nationalized Sanjay's debt-ridden company, Maruti Udyog , for Rs. 43,000,000 (4.34 crore ) and invited joint venture bids from automobile companies around

56105-406: Was hailed as Goddess Durga by the people as well as the opposition leaders at the time when India defeated Pakistan in the war. In the elections held for State assemblies across India in March 1972, the Congress (R) swept to power in most states riding on the post-war "Indira wave". On 12 June 1975, the Allahabad High Court declared Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha in 1971 void on

56350-421: Was happening, the lowering of the land ceiling from 30 to 17.5 acres, in line with the socialistic policies of the Congress at the time, also antagonized larger landowners, and Zail Singh was credited by admirers with "humbling the Jat leaders." This was seen by the Akalis as a political stunt. During the implementation of all these restrictions, the Akali Dal had accomplished little in response, and in addition,

56595-542: Was imposed on the two opposition party ruled states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu thereby bringing the entire country under direct Central rule or by governments led by the ruling Congress party. Police were granted powers to impose curfews and detain citizens indefinitely; all publications were subjected to substantial censorship by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting . Finally, the impending legislative assembly elections were postponed indefinitely, with all opposition-controlled state governments being removed by virtue of

56840-507: Was increasingly centralized; this had spurred the Akali Dal to give its formal support to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution in 1978, demanding financial autonomy and jurisdiction over its own administration and law, and seeking the restriction of central powers to foreign affairs, defense, and communications, as the problems had occurred as a result of the control of irrigation, power, development, and control of riparian headworks and dam construction had remained with New Delhi over Punjab, exacerbating

57085-424: Was instrumental in Gandhi achieving victory. Because she was a woman, other political leaders in India saw Gandhi as weak and hoped to use her as a puppet once elected: Congress President Kamaraj orchestrated Mrs. Gandhi's selection as prime minister because he perceived her to be weak enough that he and the other regional party bosses could control her, and yet strong enough to beat Desai [her political opponent] in

57330-570: Was left stranded for nearly two months. She managed to enter England in early 1941, and from there returned to India without completing her studies at Oxford. The university later awarded her an honorary degree. In 2010, Oxford honoured her further by selecting her as one of the ten Oxasians, illustrious Asian graduates from the University of Oxford . During her stay in Britain, Nehru frequently met her future husband Feroze Gandhi (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi ). They were married in Allahabad according to Adi Dharm rituals, alhough Feroze belonged to

57575-450: Was occupied. The government stopped volunteers on the way to the Golden Temple, and troops were ordered to flag-march through the bazaars and streets surrounding the site in a show of strength, though this would backfire as tension in the city increased, driving more volunteers to manage to reach the complex to keep the agitation going. Thousands were arrested and injured. According to former Akal Takht jathedar Lakhbir Singh Rode , "fire

57820-419: Was on a run. Few International organisations and Government officials issued request letters to Indira Gandhi pleading her to relinquish such decrees. Fernandes had called a nationwide railway strike in 1974, that shut the railways for three weeks and became the largest industrial action in Asia. Ghandhi had turned furious over him and the strike was massively cracked down. Within a few months, President's rule

58065-526: Was only united by its hatred of Gandhi (or "that woman" as some called her). The party included right wing Hindu Nationalists, Socialists, and former Congress party members. With so little in common, the Morarji Desai government was bogged down by infighting. In 1979, the government began to unravel over the issue of the dual loyalties of some members to Janata and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—the Hindu nationalist , paramilitary organisation. The ambitious Union finance minister, Charan Singh, who as

58310-482: Was open to move her two sons Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. However, after consulting with Kao , she declined the offer altogether keeping in view of her future political career. Since Indira Gandhi had lost her seat in the election, the defeated Congress party appointed Yashwantrao Chavan as their parliamentary party leader. Soon afterwards, the Congress party split again with Gandhi floating her own Congress faction called Congress(I) where I stood for Indira. She won

58555-399: Was opened at Akal Takht and Golden Temple, and many Sikhs were killed". The Tribune newspaper would comment, "What overshadows the entire situation is that every weapon in the armoury of the Government has been brought into play. A great tragedy is being enacted in the Punjab.... The Punjab is facing the greatest crisis in its history." The reaction from this event gave further momentum to

58800-428: Was rejected by the commission, sections of the Sikh community instead began to advocate for a homeland within the Indian Union. Though it was commonly recognized at the time of Independence that the Indian states were created not on a rational basis, but were the result of the exigencies of the progressive British conquest of the subcontinent, and Congress had been advocating the reorganization of provinces for over

59045-433: Was seen as a violation of the new state's constitutional rights. According to one Akali politician in 1982, the sharing of river water meant that Punjab's wealth was "gifted away to other states at the cost of [the people's] economy," a sentiment which resonated with the population, as according to surveys in the late 1980s, water deprivation for canal irrigation was among the top concerns for the state's population, and created

59290-440: Was tantamount to religious discrimination. Resolving to start a passive resistance movement, he took the opportunity to exhibit Sikh unity and resolution on this point, summoning a representative convention of Sikhs of all parties and organizations at Amritsar on 16 October 1955; nearly 1,300 invitees attended. The Amritsar convention strongly rejected the commission's proposal, castigating it for bias against Sikh claims, as

59535-413: Was taught mostly at home by tutors and attended school intermittently until matriculation in 1934. She was a student at the Modern School in Delhi , St. Cecilia's and St. Mary's Convent schools in Allahabad, the International School of Geneva in Geneva , the Ecole Nouvelle in Bex in Vaud, Switzerland , and the Pupils' Own School in Poona in Maharashtra and in Bombay , which is affiliated with

59780-429: Was that he intended to dislodge Indira Gandhi, and the trio stood to prevent that. The Gandhi's Congress party was soundly crushed in the elections. The Janata Party's democracy or dictatorship claim seemed to resonate with the public. Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi lost their seats, and Congress was reduced to 153 seats (compared with 350 in the previous Lok Sabha), 92 of which were in the South. The Janata alliance, under

60025-428: Was the unfulfilled promises and the unconstitutional and unaccountable drain of Punjab's resources, especially water resources, by the central government. Awareness of the water issue created by the Congress leadership spread among the people of rural Punjab, and they looked to Bhindranwale to protect their socio-economic and religious aspirations; Bhindranwale assured them that he would not allow vested interests to betray

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