Punjab is known for it's rich agricultural tradition, it's soil is very rich to
grow a variety of crops throughout the year. In the 90's the song "mere desh ki
dharti sona uglai, uglai here moti" which was very popular was basically
dedicated to Punjab. In the Indian Army their is a separate Punjab regiment
which has contibuted a lot to indias defense and security.Punjab is also
considered to be one of the India's richest states in terms of GDP and other
economic and social parameters.The question comes here why was the operation
blue star initiated in such a state which is important for india in terms of
economy and Security. The story dates back to 1977,when congress lost power in
many of the states. Punjab was one among them. In Punjab congress was defeated
by akali dal. It has defeated congress in other elections which were held within
the Punjab like the gurdawra election and others.Under prakash singh badal,akali
dal formed the government.Congress was so concerned about their extinction in
Punjab and the phenomenal rise of akali dal.Congress then raised and supported
the infamous Jarnail singh bhindrawala, who was the head of dham dhami taksal(
an Orthodox sikh organization which was founded by the 10th guru of sikhs).
Sanjay ghandhi, son of indira ghandi and Giani zail singh, who used to be a very
tall and famous leader in Punjab basically were the two masterminds behind the
rise of Bhindrawala in punjab. In 1988 there broke a voilent clash between the
two sikh sects, The nirankaris'( consider some individual as their Guru who is
selected within them after the death of the 10th guru of sikhs) and
amritdharis'( believe their guru as guru granth sahib after the death of the
10th guru of sikhs). In which thirteen amritdhari sikhs were killed. Baba
gurubachan singh who was the guru of nirankari sikhs was jailed and was later on
killed. It was believed that bhindrawala's supporters have killed him.A Congress
has painted Bhindrawala as a crucial person who can torn the power of akali
force. Hence they didn't took any step against Bhindrawala.Congress also formed
a new party in Punjab under Bhindrawala and during 1980 lok sabha elections,
Bhindrawala campaigned with Congress leaders to show his support to Congress.
But congress never acknowledged this relationship of Congress with bhindrawala.
When the results came of 1980 elections, Congress came back to power with huge
majority winning 351 seats out of 529 seats. In the state legislative Assembly
elections Congress also defeated the akali force,and formed the government under
Darbara singh. Akali force, which once used to defeat Congress in every election
and to crush them Bhindrawala was raised. At this point, the aim for which
Bhindrawala was raised by congress has been achieved. With this began a new era
of politics in Punjab. In 1981 , Census was conducted in Punjab which
intensified politics in Punjab in which the hindu newspaper, the Punjab kesari
played a significant role. Hindus who were living in Punjab were told to mention
their language as hindi not punjabi in the census. This was not liked by
Bhindrawala. As a result lala jaghat narayan, founder of Punjab kesari was
assassinated. This time Bhindrawala was again held responsible for his killing.
Arrest warrant was issued aganist him and was arrested after sometime. But with
the support of indira ghandi, he was released. It was said that no evidence was
found against Bhindrawala. Bhindrawala's influence was increasing at a
phenomenal speed. Within this situation the demand of "Khalistan" also
intensified. Bhindrawala held rallies across delhi and mumbai and no one stopped
him. In 1982,The ASIAD games were scheduled to be held in delhi, with near about
35 countries participating. It was a big international event being held in
India. Rajiv Ghandi was given the responsibility for the smooth conduct of the
games. At the same time Bhindrawala has also threatened the government that he
will held protests in Delhi. As a result Punjab border was sealed. About 1500
people were kept in police custody. Air Marshall Arjan singh and Lt. Gen. Jagit
singh were also mishandled by the police in Punjab haryana border. Due to these
incidents rage and anger spread across Punjab. Bhindrawala used this and said
that sikhs are considered as second class citizens in India and are are being
disrespected. As a response to this Punjab police DIG was killed in daylight
outside the golden Temple. Bhindrawala was feared at a level that no one took
the courage to lift the dead body of the DIG. The Chief Minister of Punjab,
Darbara singh has to request then to Bhindrawala to recover the dead body of the
DIG.Darbara singh recommended a police action against Bhindrawala,but zail singh
didn't support it.Situation was continuously tense In Punjab as a result
Presidents rule was declared.In 1983 , akal takht in golden Temple was also
taken over by Bhindrawala. Problems were continuously increasing for Indira
ghandi as lok sabha elections were also near and Bhindrawala ambitions were not
stopping. She wanted to negotiate with akalis and Bhindrawala as a result she
sent Narsingh rao, the then external affairs Minister to Punjab. In the
negotiations a formulla was stipulated in which chandigarh was to be given to
Punjab. Akalis accepted but Bhindrawala didn't.On ist june, 1984,punjab was
handed over to indian army. Phone lines were cut across the Punjab and Major
General kuldeep singh was sent to Punjab to carry out the operation, which was
named as "Operation Blue start". Bhindrawala was also ready to fight with the
army. On 5th june, the army operation started tanks were also deployed to force
bhindrawala to come out from Akal takht. On 7th june the operation concluded ,
which resulted in the killing of Bhindrawala and his associates.Basically the
thing is the game of flithy politics was played in Punjab.It was started by the
Congress as political tool to uproot akali force. But it left a dakest spot in
indian history which will be remembered by the time Immomrable. The operation
Blue star crushed this movement but was not able to uproot the ideology of
khalistan movement. Rise of Amritpal singh: Amritpal singh was not popular
before he was made the head of "Waris Punjab De".It is a pressure group which
was founded by deep singh sidhu, an actor turned activist who was killed in an
accident in February 2022.After his death, Amritpal singh took over the charge
of " Waris Punjab De".As per Amritpal he wants religious and social
transformation in Punjab. In November, 2022,he also started a drug de-addiction
journey in Punjab. Among them Amritpals open demand and support for khalistan
made him popular and made his rise a particular case of concern for indias
internal security. As per him the demand for khalistan is not for a separate
state. He believes that Punjab was forcefully taken into indian state by british
and there was no india before 1947.He also considers Jarnail singh bhindrawala
as his role model and wants to follow his footsteps for the formation of
khalistan. He is also followed and feared by Punjabi's like the bhindrawala and
as result he is termed as Bhindrawala 2.0.His rise is termed as a dangerous
trend that will destabilize Punjab and India's internal security. Their are many
perceptions about the rise of amritpal. The political vacuum which is prevalent
in Punjab is believed to be one of the causes for the rise for amritpal. Their
are many socio-economic issues prevalent in Punjab like unemployment,drug
addiction and other issues. People have lost faith in traditional political
parties to tackle these issues. Aam admi party(AAP) coming into power is also a
result of this. The traditional leadership has failed to meet the aspirations of
the people of Punjab. Their was also a lack of leadership in the radical space
of sikhs since the killing of bhindrawala. Amritpal singh is believed as an
antidote of these problems and issues. He is rising at a phenomenal speed like
the bhindrawala did and is openly challenging the indian state. Recently we have
seen, how a crowd led by amritpal singh stormes a police station in ajnala,
Amritsar forcing punjab police to release his close associate lovepreet singh
aka toofan Singh. Recently a police crackdown was launched in Punjab to trace
and arrest amritpal singh.Internet was suspended across Punjab to protect any
misadventure. Now it will be seen in future will amritpal be arrested or will be
used for political gains like bhindrawala was used and if so, will Punjab
witness then an Op. Blue Star 2.0 again. It is interesting to be witnessed in
the near future as lok sabha elections 2024 are again mocking the doors of
indian democracy and political parties will be looking for means to fullfill
their political motives. Refrences: 1.Kuldip nayer; beyond the lines: an
autobiography. 2.Mark tully, satish Jacob: Mrs ghandis last battle.
3.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.hinduamerican.org/issues/land-of-pure-khalistan&ved=2ahUKEwjw_-XEwOf9AhV7xgIHHa5XCZMQFnoECDkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0hqk6h6q2NY_ES9ABrc09f
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