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PUNJAB POLITICS) LESSON NO.1.5 AUTHOR: Dr M.A. (Political Science) Part II 39 PAPER-VII (OPTION-II) M.A. (Political Science) PART-II PAPER-VII (OPTION-II) Semester-IV (PUNJAB POLITICS) LESSON NO.1.5 AUTHOR: Dr. G. S. BRAR SIKH MILITANT MOVEMENT IN PUNJAB Punjab witnessed a very serious crisis of Sikh militancy during nineteen eighties till a couple of years after the formation of the Congress government in the state in 1992 under the Chief Ministership of late Beant Singh. More than thirty thousand people had lost their lives. The infamous ‘Operation Blue Star’ of 1984 in the Golden Temple, the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and the subsequent anti-Sikh riots left a sad legacy in the history of the country. The Sikhs, who had contributed to the freedom of the country with their lives, were dubbed as anti-national, and the age-old Hindu-Sikh unity was put on test in this troubled period. The democratic movement in the state comprising mass organizations of peasants, workers, government employees, teachers and students remained completely paralysed during this period. Some found the reason of Sikh militancy in ‘the wrong policies pursued by the central government since independence’ [Rai 1986]. Some others ascribed it to ‘an allegedly slow process of alienation among a section of the Punjab population in the past’ [Kapur 1986]. Still others trace it to ‘the rise of certain personalities committed to fundamentalist stream of thought’ [Joshi 1984:11-32]. The efforts were also made to trace its origin in ‘the socio-economic developments which had ushered in the state since the advent of the Green Revolution’ [Azad 1987:13-40]. The problem was seen as multi-dimensional. It was held that it was a political one and needed a political solution. The Central government, however, opted for a military solution and, may be said, succeeded in that way. The Background The Sikh Aspirations in the Pre-Independence Era Way back in history, in 1909, the Morley-Minto reforms gave weighted representation to the Muslims in provinces in which they were in minority. This created a lasting separatism between the Muslims and the Hindus. In 1916, the Congress attempted to appease the Muslims by proposing a number of separate communal laws and claims for them in a pact, called the Lucknow Pact. In Punjab, 50 per cent of seats in the provincial Assembly were reserved for the Muslims under this League-Congress pact and the Sikhs were completely ignored. In the same year, Sardar Gajjan Singh of Ludhiana, a Sikh representative, moved an amendment recommending the addition of words, "subject to the just claims of the Sikhs". This was opposed by both the Hindus and the Muslims. At that time, there M.A. (Political Science) Part II 40 PAPER-VII (OPTION-II) were only two Sikhs in Assembly. The franchise committee was established by the British to go into matter of composition of new legislatures based on religion. The Sikhs were given 15 per cent seats but were only 12 per cent of Punjab, while the Muslims in Bihar and Orissa were less than 10 per cent and got 25 per cent of total legislature seats. The Sikhs were the smallest minority in Punjab and they were generally averse to the communal representation. The Muslims, in spite of being a majority, had been given statutory protection and weightage in the form of separate electorates and reservation of seats. This created among the Sikhs a sense of grievance, and they demanded to be treated on par with the Muslims in the matter of political rights. In 1940, Mohammad Ali Jinnah called for a separate state, Pakistan, for the Muslims, which was to be created out of those areas in which the Muslims were living as a majority. It was a shock for the Sikhs, as they, although were spread out throughout Punjab, but were a minority in all the districts of the province. The British appointed a Commission under Sir Stafford Cripps in 1942 to look after the creation of a new province or a separate state for the Muslims. The Sikh representatives told this Commission: "Why should a province that fails to secure three-fifths majority of its legislature, in which a religious community enjoys statutory majority, be allowed to hold a plebiscite and given the benefit of a bare majority. In fairness, this right should have been conceded to communities who are in permanent minority in the legislature. From the boundary of Delhi to the banks of the Ravi river, the population is divided as follows: The Muslims, 4,505,000; The Sikhs and other the non-Muslims, 7,060,000. To this may be added the population of the Sikh states of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kapurthala and Faridkot, which is about 2,600,000, of this the Muslims constitute barely 20 per cent and this reduces the ratio of the Muslim population still further. We shall resist by all possible means, the separation of Punjab from the all-India Union. We shall never permit our motherland to be at the mercy of those who disown it’. When it was a certainty that Pakistan will be formed, Giani Kartar Singh in 1943 declared a call for a separate State, called the Azad Punjab, to be comprised of Ambala, Jalandhar, Lahore, Multan, and Lyallpur divisions. Master Tara Singh, the president of Shiromani Akali Dal, and other Sikh leaders, such as Giani Sher Singh, Sadhu Singh Hamdard, Amar Singh Dosanj, and Ajit Singh Ambalvi, supported this call for Azad Punjab. Then, in a speech in Amritsar in August 1944, Master Tara Singh declared that ‘the Sikhs were a nation’. And as such’ a demand was formerly put forward by Shiromani Akali Dal in a resolution passed on March 22, 1946 for a separate Sikh state. After this, the situation in Punjab got tense. On one hand, Jinnah and the Muslim League were calling for blood or Pakistan and declaring that the Muslims are no believer of ahimsa and will resort to any means possible to achieve their goal. The Muslim League declared August 16, 1946 to be M.A. (Political Science) Part II 41 PAPER-VII (OPTION-II) observed as Direct Action Day, where all the Muslims were asked to show the support for Pakistan by rioting. Explaining the implications of Direct Action Day threat, Liyaqat Ali Khan, the general secretary of the Muslim League said: "Direct action means resort to non-Constitutional methods that can take any form which may suit the conditions under which we live. We cannot eliminate any methods. Direct Action means any action against the law." Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar spoke in more forthright terms: "Pakistan can be achieved through shedding blood of others. The Muslims are no believers in ahimsa.” By this time, points out J.S. Grewal, the Akali leaders were not feeling happy with the Congress because of its indifference to the resolution of the Muslim League, passed at Lahore in March, 1940. Sikandar Hayyat Khan forcefully pleaded for the united Punjab in the Assembly, making an appeal to the Punjabi sentiments of its members. Nevertheless, the resolution of the Muslim League, popularly referred as the ‘Pakistan Resolution’, was denounced at the All India Akali Conference. Dr. V.S. Bhatti of Ludhiana published a pamphlet demanding ‘Khalistan’ as a buffer state between India and Pakistan. It may, however, be stated that the idea of Khalistan was meant merely to oppose the idea of Pakistan. This is evident from the frequent use of the phrase ‘if Pakistan is to be conceded’. On December 1, 1940, a general conference of the Sikhs was convened at Lahore to pass a resolution against the formation of Pakistan. Throughout 1940, however, the Congress did not formally react to the ‘Pakistan Resolution’, treating the idea as fantastic. Ultimately, the Muslims got their Pakistan, but the Sikhs gained only the assurances of the protection of the Sikh culture, identity and freedom by a leader no less in stature than of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1946. However, these assurances were not fulfilled at the time of the independence and afterwards. The Punjabi Suba Agitation In 1947, the country had a number of British provinces and a large number of independent territories, known as the Indian states. They were merged into the Indian Union by grouping them into A, B, and C categories. After a couple of years, the process of reorganization of these states was started on the linguistic basis. The reorganization was completed without any major difficulty in the case of other states. However, it was delayed in the case of Punjab. Initially, the Shiromani Akali Dal demanded the state to be carved out on the basis of Sikh population, ignoring the principle of language. The government on the other hand, struck to the linguistic pattern of reorganization [Kaur 2000:48]. The problem was complicated by the Hindu leadership in Punjab which insisted on getting Punjab declared as a bilingual state. Master Tara Singh considered all these steps discrimination against the Sikhs. He also alleged that the Government of India had not referred the case of Punjab to Dar Commission due to its step motherly attitude. He said “We want to M.A. (Political Science) Part II 42 PAPER-VII (OPTION-II) have a province where we can safeguard our culture and tradition” [Kaur 2000:49]. The Akali Dal decided to intensify its struggle for the achievement of its political goals. In order to curb the rising demand of the ‘Punjabi Suba,’ the Sachar Ministry in Punjab imposed a ban on the slogan of Punjabi Suba on April 6, 1955.
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