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Essay Subject: Origins & historical development of conflict between Sikhs & Hindus in India. Politics, religion, culture, leadership, govt. responses, terrorism. Abstract. Map.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Origins & historical development of conflict between Sikhs & Hindus in India. Politics, religion, culture, leadership, govt. responses, terrorism. Abstract. Map. Paper Introduction: ABSTRACT In the, 1970s and 1980s, the Sikh separatist movement emerged as a particularly virulent manifestation of the centuries old struggle of the Sikhs to preserve their distinct culture and religion in the Indian subcontinent. The roots of that struggle, its unequal nature and its course lie deeply embedded in the historical experience of this embattled minority and certain fundamental geographic, economic and demographic realities. During the latter stages of the rule of Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1984, a tragic and violent series of confrontations developed between the Sikhs and the dominant Hindu majority. They resulted from the trauma of the 1947 partition of India, the polarization of political and communal conflict in post-independence India and miscalculations and Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Terrorist casualties rose from four in 1985 to 365 in1988 ("Eyes" 31). A Sikh leader, Bhagat Singh, was executed by the British for themurder of a police officer and became a martyr of the independencemovement. Tara was replaced by Sant Fateh Singh, who came from the Jat peasantsof East Punjab. The central government's determinationto resist secessionist pressures was also reinforced by the strategiclocation of Punjab in relation to Pakistan. This move backfired on the central government and more moderateAkalis who allowed Bhindranwale to seize the initiative. By 1984, 65 percent ofIndia's food grain reserves were produced in Punjab, which had asubstantially higher per capita income than any other region of India(Singh 13; Tully and Satish Amritsar 36). According to Tully and Zareen, "it wasOperation Blue Star which brought Jagit Singh Chauhan to prominence" (India211). When Fateh Singh threatened to immolate himself in 1969 overChandigarh, Gandhi promised to turn the capital over to Punjab but neverimplemented her promise. When state elections were finally held inFebruary, 1992, only 2 percent of Sikhs turned out to vote in a massivedisplay of resentment against Delhi's policies. India. one of the two most sacredSikh shrines, the Akal Takht, was pulverized. The terrorthen re-escalated. The attack outraged Sikhs of all persuasion around the world.From then on, the operations of Sikh terrorists were even more lavishlyfinanced, largely from the efforts of a Sikh physician in London, Dr. JagitSingh Chauhan, who raised millions of dollars from rich Sikhs all over theworld. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 197 .Singh, Rahal. The people of India were losing faith in hercapacity to act" (India 143). The first faint stirring of sentiment for greater Sikh autonomy datesback to the Singh Sabhas (local assemblies) founded by rich, landed andorthodox elites in 1873. The mostdesirable farmland and most of the vast irrigation network went toPakistan, as did 16 of the 29 districts of Punjab. The decline of the Mogul Empire was followed by theadvent of the British, who defeated Sikh forces in a series of ferociousbattles in 1848-1849. On October 31, 1984, Gandhi was shot to death in her garden by twoSikh members of her bodyguard. Tully and Satish said that "the Akalis had theirhomeland but could not govern it" (Amritsar 43). In the early198 s, he and his followers whipped up Sikh-Hindu hatred. . . In June, 1985, an Air India 747 blew up off the Irish Coast,killing 329 on board, which was widely believed but never proven to havebeen the work of Sikh terrorists. Tully and Satish say that these riots "causedmany Sikhs who had never thought of secession to wonder whether they weresafe in India" (Amritsar 14). . Anestimated 1, Sikhs were killed by vengeful Hindu mobs in the capital,and more than 1 , of them fled to Punjab (Gupte "the Punjab" 9 ).Later evidence revealed that local Congress leaders instigated some of thekillings (Tully Amritsar 8). Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his mother as prime minister. But nearly all Sikhs have grievances against thegovernment in New Delhi" (14). "The Punjab: Torn by Terror." New York Times Magazine, 8 September 1985: 81, 9 .Gupte, Pranay. Amritsar. The prognosis for amicable relationsbetween the two sides is not good. It had also miscalculated bylaunching its attack on a day in which hundreds of innocent Sikh pilgrimswere gathered in the courtyard of the Golden Temple. India Forty Years After Independence. . The central government succeeded in weakening the Akali Dal which,the Economist said in 1989, was "hopelessly divided" ("If" 38). Hehad incited some of the worst atrocities against the Muslims duringpartition. Sikhs helped the British suppress the Sepoy mutiny of1857 and loyally supported Britain in the two world wars in which theydistinguished themselves by their valor. Inthe 192 s, Sikhs organized demonstrations to restore Sikh control over theshrine of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, which was conceded by the Britishin 1925. It resisted Britishproposals for colonization of the Punjab and sponsored some revolutionaryterrorist activities, which included an attempted assassination of theBritish Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, in the 191 s. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U P, 1972.Collins, Larry, and DoMinique Lapierre. "Inside the Temple." New Republic, 4 July 1988: 13 -15.Gupte, Pranay. The army had badlyunderestimated how well the terrorists were armed and trained and the MadMonk's willingness to die for his cause. Finally, on June 5-6, 1984, the Indian Army surrounded the Golden Temple, and after a bloodytwo-day affair code-named Operation Blue Star, which involved the use oftanks and artillery, overran the complex in which the Mad Monk and hischief general perished. He said that "as the Akali dealings with Mrs. Gandhifaltered, the strength of the Bhinranwale extremists rose" (127). The forces which drovethem into a conflict of deepening intensity in the late 197 s and 198 sthreaten their ability to co-exist in peace, which has importantimplications not only for them but also for the political stability andeconomic progress of India. The central government, led by Pandit Nehru, pouredbillions of rupees into the construction of dams and the extension of theirrigation network. . The fundamental problem was that, althoughSikhs accounted for a majority of the population of Punjab, they comprisedonly 2 percent of the population of India, which was 8 percent Hindu. "Curse of victory." Far Eastern Economic Review 155 (5 March 1992): 11-12.McDonald, Hamish. Sheand the Congress Party fashioned a temporary covert political alliance witha more extreme Sikh leader, Sant Jarnail Bhindranwale Singh, thecharismatic "Mad Monk" in an effort, McDonald said, "to split the Akalisand win seats for Congress" (McDonald "Punjab" 18). The Akali Dal leadership "saw modernism that came withprosperity as a menace to their faith, a threat to their identity" (Tullyand Satish Amritsar 37). Origins of the Conflict The Sikhs, who did not emerge as a distinct cultural and religiousentity until the 15th century, are the descendants of semi-nomadic tribesfrom Central Asia of mostly Aryan and Caucasoid origins who began settlingin about 15 -12 B.C. The United States and India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. New York: George Brazilier, 1988.Wolpert, Stanley. Conclusion Enmity between Hindus and Sikhs, which produced the 198 s version ofSikh separatism, has all the earmarks of becoming a chronic source ofconflict and instability in India, at least until fanatic religiouspassions subside and more enlightened leadership in both communities comesto the fore. What Collins called"the greatest migration in human history," the transplantation of Sikhs andHindus from West Pakistan to India and of Muslims from India to Pakistan,then transpired (322). Chauhan . The Sikhs were persecutedby the Mogul (Muslim) rulers of India. [then called Sikhistan], but a hard coremovement did not get going until the late 197 s" (Vengeance 118). Gandhi released many politicalprisoners and in 1986 finally redeemed his mother's promise to transferChandigarh to the sole control of Punjab ("Bloody" 48) . Impetus to nationalistsentiment was provided by the massacre ordered by British General Dyer of acrowd gathered in the Sikh religious center of Amritsar on April 13, 1919which resulted in about 1,6 casualties, mostly Sikhs (Edwards 158). On August 2 , 1985, Longowal wasassassinated. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1975.Edwards, Michael. It also incorporated Islamic concepts of monotheism andbrotherhood and rejected the Hindu caste system. On October 16, 1973, Akali Dal adopted theAnandpur Sahib Resolution by which they openly called for the first timefor a separate Sikh nation, Khalistan, one in which the central governmentwould not interfere except in matters relating to defense, foreign policyand general communications. Their battlecry was "The Khalsa shall rule!" and they adopted the central tenet that"spiritual and temporal power, religion and politics are indivisible,"which is at the root of the Sikhs' conflict with states based on otherreligions and secular states (Tully and Satish Amritsar 2 ). Punjab remained under direct rule by the centralgovernment (martial law) until 1993 (McDonald "Punjab" 17). However, Punjab has remainedrelatively prosperous throughout its recent difficulties, yet thenationalist discontent remains. In 1993, that turnoutincreased to 82 percent (McDonald "Punjab" 17-18). For a brief period in the late 18th century and early 19th century,the Sikhs under Rajit Singh ruled themselves and a vast territory whichencompassed most of contemporary Pakistan, northwest India and parts ofAfghanistan and Tibet. More than 2, civilians perished. Historically, Punjab occupied a critical crossroads between thetraditional civilizations of the Indian subcontinent to the south and theeast and Greek, Mongol, Persian, Afghan, Arab and other invaders from thenorthwest. Sikhism was founded by a Hindu reformer and mystic, Guru Narak (1469-1539). Gupte says that "the new Punjab state thrivedeconomically, largely because of 'green revolution' advances thatdramatically improved agricultural yields, allowing it to become India'slargest food-producing region" ("The Punjab" 81). Atwal,who was shot outside the Golden Temple on April 23, 1983 and moderate Sikhpoliticians. His new religion contained incarnation, karma and other elements ofHinduism. Vengeance. Indira Gandhi and the Sikhs Indira Gandhi was at first more receptive to Sikh demands than herfather. Gupte says that "there was periodic agitations since the 193 sfor a separate Sikh nation . TheIndian Army gained the upper hand in 1988 by occupying the Golden Templeagain (Operation Black Thunder), where they forced the surrender of armedmilitants who had been using it as their main control center ("Even" 35).In July, 1992, the chief of the Sikh Tiger Force of Khalistan, GurbrachanNarinder Monochahal, was killed. Thereafter, Sikh politicians generally supported the Hindumovement for independence, which was led by the Congress Party and MahatmaGandhi. . Sikh-Hindu Antagonism (1947-1966) For most Sikhs, the first 2 years after independence were a time ofrising prosperity. Army casualties amounted to 83 dead and 2,489wounded. The Akali Dal shared power with Congress in the running of Punjabbetween 1977 and 1979. After they were pushed out of power by Gandhi'svictory in the general election of 198 , their agitation for implementationof the Anandpur Resolution became more strident. In 1989, the Economistsaid that "the period of central government rule has . Tully and Satish said she allowed "politicsto come before statesmanship" (Amritsar 79). Akali Dal leaders quickly concluded that she had tricked them bythe tripartite division. After stimulating broader unrest in Punjab through herdecision "to impose an unpopular Congress Party regime on the state,"Gandhi dithered (Singh 1 4). In 1993,McDonald said it was split into factions ("Punjab" 18). To survive, they established in1699 under the loth guru, Gobind Singh (lion), and his disciples (Sikhs)"an army of righteous soldier-saints to fight for the righteous cause" ofthe pure (Khalsa) (Mehta 466). Portrait of India. India constructed an electrifiedfence along the Pakistani border to cut off arms shipments from there. The peace which has been purchased with blood has in the view of manySikhs "been won by force and political manipulation and may be only a lullin the cycle of violence" (McDonald "Punjab" 18). . That Commission created13 such states out of 15 requested but rejected a Punjabi-speaking state.Akali-led agitation for such a state continued through the 195 s,culminating in Tara's threat to fast to death in 1961, a fast he abandonedafter 43 days and which Tully said "ended his political career in ignominy"(Amritsar 41). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1965.----------------------- 12 The partition of India in 1947 "proved cataclysmic for the Sikhs"(Singh 13). The leadership of the Sikh movement for independence during thisperiod was in the hands of the religious party, the Akali Dal, which hadbeen dominated by Tara Singh, a former schoolmaster, since the 192 s. Operation Blue Star was the first time Sikh holy shrines had beenviolated by non-Sikhs since the Afghans had done so in the early 19thcentury. Gandhi and her son, Sanjay, used the nationalstate of emergency she instituted in 1965-1967 to rule Punjab in a moreauthoritarian fashion. Works Cited"Bloody Sunday in Punjab." Economist, 6 Dec. ABSTRACT In the, 197 s and 198 s, the Sikh separatist movement emerged as aparticularly virulent manifestation of the centuries old struggle of theSikhs to preserve their distinct culture and religion in the Indiansubcontinent. Punjab wasplunged into a deepening cycle of terrorist violence and police repressionfrom which it has yet to recover fully. The British imposed a strictmilitary regime in Punjab, but they also recruited Sikhs in large numbersto serve in the army, respected the privileges of Sikh princes andconstructed massive irrigation canals, which converted Punjab into thegranary of India. Tully and Satish said that "no PrimeMinister . The movement gained broader supportamong Sikhs in part because of other Sikh grievances over the policies ofthe central government on agricultural price supports and the division ofthe area's waters. Despite these gains, Sikh agitation for greater autonomy began almostimmediately after independence and was increasingly asserted with greaterforce in the 195 s and 196 s. For nearly three years,Bhindranwale blatantly defied the authority of the central government andcarried out a series of killings of Hindus, the assassination of policeofficers, such as the murder of Sikh Deputy Inspector-General A.S. The Sikhs are unlikely to ever achieveindependence, nor is the central government likely to eliminate entirelyits interference in local affairs so long as it is detested by Sikhs. decided that the time was propitious tolaunch an agitation not for an autonomous state but an independent andtheocratic nation" (Vengeance 89). Thereafter, Tully and Satish said that "the Akali Dalbecame first and foremost a party representing the interests of . Sikh writer Gupte says that "the genesis of theSikhHindu polarization of the 198 s dates back to the last century whenIndia's British rulers successfully sowed the seeds of mutual suspicion"between Sikhs and Hindus (Vengeance 119). The rapprochement between Gandhi and the Sikhs was of a temporarynature. . "Punjab pacified." Far Eastern Economic Review 156 (1 April 1993): 17-18.Mehta, Ved. This essay traces the historical origins ofthat conflict, explores the reasons why it intensified in the second halfof the 2 th century and comments briefly on its likely evolution in thefuture. She said she was grateful to the Sikhs for their strong supportduring the 1965 war with Pakistan and praised their accomplishments assoldiers. She also saw the Akali Dal as potential allies in her battle tofree herself from the domination of the traditional Congress Partyestablishment. Theultimate outcome of that struggle will depend on many factors, the mostimportant of which is whether the modernization and economic and politicaldevelopment of India will facilitate the eventual accommodation of Sikh andHindu differences. Under the settlement she reached with Sikh leaders in 1966,East Punjab was split into three states: Haryana in the Hindi-dominatedplains; Himachal Pradesh, the smallest of the three, where the Sikhs wereonly 2 percent of the population; and a Sikh linguistic state, Punjab, inwhich Sikhs had a 52 percent majority. Tully and Satish said that "the Akali Dal leaders now saw it astheir task to win rights and privileges for Sikhs which would safeguardtheir in what they believed would be a Hindu-dominated religion. British India. Gandhi ignored that resolution. Gandhi, then at the peak of her power after the Indian victory overPakistan in Bangladesh in 1971, showed less interest in meeting the demandsof the Sikhs. Under Fateh's leadership, the Akali Dal increasinglymoved in a more radical direction. in the northwestern area of India, which becameknown as Punjab. It wasoccupied by 35 , troops aided by 15 , paramilitary forces and police(McDonald "Curse" of victory 11-12). embittered manyordinary Sikhs" and criticized Rajiv Gandhi, whom it said "has made theright moves but too late" ("If" 38). Nehru, who "remained resolutely opposed to the creation of a PunjabiSuba or state," formed in 1953 a States Reorganization Commission to studythe demands of various regions that state boundaries be redrawn on alinguistic basis (Tully and Satish Amritsar 35). In July, 1985, Rajiv Gandhi worked outan accord with Longowal under which he agreed to accede to the religiousdemands of the Akali Dal. Some prisoners were released. Norman. In the early 2 th century, an offshoot of thismovement, which then called itself the Arya Samaj, "grew into a militant aswell as reformist religious force" (Wolpert 125). It was accompanied by communal disorders andviolence which, according to varying estimates, resulted in the deaths ofbetween 5 , and 2.2 million people, many of whom were Sikhs, and thedisplacement of millions more (Brown 16 ; Gupte Vengeance 122). On October 6, 1983, the central government dismissed the stategovernment it had installed in Punjab and instituted president's (military)rule there. . Until modern times, Sikhs were primarily farmers andsoldiers. Gupte said that, by allowingthe crisis in Punjab to fester, she curried favor with the Hindu majorityin order to build support for Congress in forthcoming elections in 1985(Vengeance 127). Thedecision of the central government to split Punjab into two provinces,Patiala and East Punjab, in only the latter of which Sikhs predominated,further diluted the effectiveness of Sikh control there. Punjab was divided between West Pakistan and India. SIKH SEPARATIST MOVEMENT Introduction Until the events of the past 3 years, the Sikh and Hindu communitiesof northern India lived together in relative amity. Violencebegat more violence. Whateverher mixture of reasons, Tully and Zareen said that her "politicalpredicament was clear. Zail Singh stole "the Akalis'thunder by taking every opportunity to placate Sikh religious sentiments"(Tully and Satish Amritsar 45). India has embarked on amajor reform of its economy which may in time reduce the influence ofreligious fanatics in both communities. (Sanjay had beenkilled in a private plane crash). The movement was suppressed with greatdifficulty by the central government over the following decade. New York: Taplinger, 1968."Even in Punjab, that may be too much." Economist, 28 May 1988: 35."Eyes for Eye." Economist, 14 January 1989: 31.Glastris, Paul. They were commanded not to shave their hairor cut their beards and to follow other distinctive customs. The roots of that struggle, its unequal nature and itscourse lie deeply embedded in the historical experience of this embattledminority and certain fundamental geographic, economic and demographicrealities. The instabilityand quarreling among moderate Sikh leaders has been a perennial problemwith the Sikhs. Sikh Terror (1985-1993) Immediately after news of Gandhi's assassination spread, anti-Sikhriots and killings took place in New Delhi and other major cities. She appointed Giani Zail Singh, later presidentof India, as president of Punjab in 1973. . 1987: 47-48.Brown, W. Martial law wasintensified in Punjab, which at first remained relatively calm. Bhindranwale and many Akali Dal leaders moved their headquarters tothe Golden Temple complex, which became the home as well of a determinedband of terrorists. . The army withdrewfrom the Golden Temple area. Akali Dal leaders, such as Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, wereintimidated by Bhindranwale's appeal to Sikh youth and his growing nationalreputation. The level of terrorist killings multiplied in 1986 to 1988, thenumber of their victims rising from 61 in 1985 to 1,964 in 1988. A major dispute eruptedover the new capital of Chandigarh, which the French architect Le Corbusierdesigned, the use of which Gandhi decreed Punjab had to share with Haryana. They resulted from the trauma of the 1947 partition of India, thepolarization of political and communal conflict in post-independence Indiaand miscalculations and failures of leadership in both communities. in what they believed would be a Hindu-dominated nation" (Amritsar35). . The history of the past 5 years is not encouraging. could ever accept these terms [without]threatening the unity of India . Terrorists set off bombs in New Delhi in May, 1985.That same month, the FBI announced it had arrested several persons involvedwith a Sikh terrorist plot to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi in the UnitedStates. Gupte said that "it was in Britain that the Khalistan movementgathered steam. . In the period leading upto the 198 elections, Gandhi may have made a fatal miscalculation. . New York: Norton, 1985."If it were 1986." Economist, 11 March 1989: 38.McDonald, Hamish. Foreign press observer Glastris commented (in 1988) that "the vastmajority of Sikhs don't support the terrorists or share their desire tosecede from India. Mehta expressed the Hindu view (which limitedGandhi's flexibility in her subsequent negotiations with the Sikhs whichsputtered on and off during the 197 s) when he said in 197 that"Balkanization has become the greatest political threat to the survival ofIndia as a national entity" (472). London: Jonathan Cape, 1985.Tully, Mark and Masami Zareen. He immediately attended a Sikh funeralfor victims of the riots and appealed for peace. Theviolence escalated in the period which followed Gandhi's assassination in1984 to near civil war proportions. In Punjab, especially its upper regions, "the moderate rainfalland the irrigation based on its rivers support an extensive agriculture"(Brown 9). . [and] destroying the whole economy" (Amritsar 46). theJats" (Amritsar 42). Singh said that"the political leadership [of the Sikhs] was inept and was repeatedlyoutmaneuvered by the more experienced politicians in the centralgovernment" (13). . Freedom at Midnight. Last-ditch negotiations between Gandhi's emissaries and Sikhleaders failed to forestall the impending catastrophe. "Sikh India." New Republic, 16 July 1984: 11-14.Tully, Mark, & Jacob Satish. During the latter stages of the rule of Indira Gandhi, PrimeMinister of India from 1966 to 1984, a tragic and violent series ofconfrontations developed between the Sikhs and the dominant Hindu majority. Consequently, its inhabitants developed a strong martialtradition, what Glastris calls "a certain comfort with weapons andviolence" (13), and became the "defenders of India's Hindus against Muslimtyranny" (Gupte Vengeance 121). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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