As India gears up for the 18th Lok Sabha elections, the farmers have returned to the Delhi borders, evoking memories of the 2020–21 protests. The majority of farmers waiting to enter Delhi at the Haryana border are from Punjab. Here, it must remember, how the farmer’s stir in 2020 turned violent and chaotic after it was hijacked by Khalistani elements.
Like the 2020-2021 ‘farmers protest’, this time too, the opposition is attempting to capitalize on the agitation to gain political brownie points. The Congress has accused the Modi government of being anti-Sikh while also extending its support to the so-called farmers. Though it’s clear that the Congress party is trying to use divisional politics ahead of the next 18th Lok Sabha elections, given the current situation, we must revisit some of Jawaharlal Nehru’s policies and decisions to understand the history of Punjab and the Sikhs.
As such, when we speak about militancy in Punjab, we remember the era of former PM and Congress leader Indira Gandhi. Between the 1st and 10th of June 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi launched an operation to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple. Operation Blue Star was the code name for the Indian military action carried out to remove Khalistan terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the Harminder Sahib complex in Amritsar.
Operation Blue Star, however, had far-reaching ramifications well after it was over. While the military had neutralised Bhindranwale, the Army Chief, who had coordinated the operation, was brutally assassinated by Khalistani terrorists only 2 years later.
Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31st October 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards as revenge for Operation Blue Star. From 1st November to 4th November, Sikhs across the country were killed. The government figures suggest the angry mobs, many of which were led by Congress leaders, brutally murdered 3350 Sikhs. However, the unofficial figures claim that around 8,000 to 17,000 Sikhs lost their lives.
On 19th November 1984, while giving a speech in front of thousands of people, then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi justified the violence that took place after Gandhi’s assassination. He had said, “Jab bhi koi bada ped girta hai, to dharti thodi hilti hai. (When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.)”
Even though everyone has some memory of Operation Blue Star, which was carried out under Indira Gandhi’s directives, few people are aware that Jawaharlal Nehru’s reign also saw an identical era in Punjabi history.
When India became independent, it was divided into 552 princely states, which were united by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. In 1956, the ‘States Reorganization Act’ came, under which new territories were created and the boundaries of the former territories were changed. Kerala was separated from Mysore, Andhra Pradesh from Madras, Himachal Pradesh (then a Union Territory) from Punjab and Tripura and Manipur (both Union Territories) from Assam. Delhi got the status of Union Territory.
This was the time when the ‘Punjabi Suba movement’, a long-drawn political agitation was also at its peak. The agitation was launched by Sikhs who demanded the formation of an autonomous state for themselves within India, where the rules and regulations would be according to them. The movement is defined as the forerunner of the Khalistan movement.
The agitation was spearheaded by Akali Dal. However, there was also opposition to this idea, like the Congress party was absolutely against it. By 1950, the State Congress Committee, led by Pratap Singh Kairon, had put all its strength in opposing this movement.
As Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru also rejected the demands of the Punjab Suba Movement. It was only two years after Nehru died in 1966, that the ‘Punjab Reorganization Act’ granted Punjab the status of a distinct state.
Arya Samaj was also active in Punjab at that time. A large number of Hindus in Punjab declined to acknowledge Punjabi as their language. Akali Dal, meanwhile, urged that Punjabi be recognized as the official language of the nation. It was against this backdrop that then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ordered that the language data should not be mentioned in the census. By 1951, this language divide led to communal polarization and rifts in the name of language started to appear in Punjab.
There were the aggressive Akali Dal supporters on the one hand and the non-Sikh community of Punjab on the other. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru stated unequivocally on January 4, 1952, in a speech in Patiala, that the formation of the province of Punjab would result in the nation’s division. “I will not allow India to be divided again,” he said out loud. “I’ll do everything in my power to put an end to any more unrest and refuse to let it start again,” he added.
In the first-ever general elections that were held in India between 25 October 1951 and 21 February 1952, Shiromani Akali Dal was forced to concede loss as the Congress Party garnered popular support. In fact, the Congress wave was so strong at that time that it won even in Sikh-dominated areas like Gurdaspur and Amritsar.
Shiromani Akali Dal, despite not managing to secure a single vote in Sikh-dominated areas like Jalandhar and Gurdaspur, persisted in advocating for the creation of an autonomous state and blamed its electoral loss on dishonesty and degenerative communalism.
Meanwhile, it is important to note here that a province known as ‘East Punjab’ existed at that time. East Punjab means that area of Punjab which remained in India after partition. Whereas West Punjab went to Pakistan. In the Constitution of India in 1950, East Punjab was called Punjab. Then PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab States Union) was formed, by merging 8 different princely states and 2 small princely states. During that time Shimla and Kasauli also used to be a part of it. In 1956, it was called the ‘State of Punjab’. Punjab in its present form came into existence on November 1, 1966, when most of its predominantly Hindi-speaking areas were separated to form the new state of Haryana. The city of Chandigarh, within the Chandigarh union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
Following its establishment in 1954, the Akali Dal submitted an 18-page memorandum to the State Reorganization Commission demanding that Punjab be divided linguistically. The political party’s memorandum stated that Punjabi is a distinct language with its own script, Gurmukhi, derived from Brahmi. Congress, on the other hand, insisted that Punjab, PEPSU, and Himachal Pradesh be combined to form Punjabi Suba. Jana Sangh demanded the formation of a ‘Maha Punjab’ state by including Delhi in it.
The State Reorganization Commission, formed by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, rejected the call for the creation of a new state. It argued that the demand lacked majority support and that Punjabi was not grammatically very distinct from Hindi. The commission also argued that the creation of a Punjabi-majority state would lead to the division of Punjab and the creation of two separate states, one with a Sikh majority and the other with a Hindu majority. The central government at the time held the view that dividing Punjab based on language would inevitably lead to a split based on religion, from which the nation had already suffered greatly. On the other hand, Punjab was home to a sizable Hindi-speaking population.
The Akali Dal was not satisfied with the SRC’s decision. They continued to agitate for the formation of Punjabi Suba. In 1966, the Punjab Reorganization Act was passed, which split Punjab into three states: Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh was made the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
According to statistics, 12,000 Sikhs who actively participated in the agitation demanding a separate Sikh state were arrested in 1955 and 26,000 Sikhs were arrested in 1956.
The situation continued to deteriorate and fearing law and order problem, the Amritsar DC on April 6, 1955, banned the slogans of ‘Punjabi Suba’ like “Seene vich goli khayenge, Punjabi Suba banavenge” and “Maha-Punjab amar rahe” under Section 144.
The imposition of the ban was seen as an attack on freedom of speech and expression. The SAD held a meeting on April 24, 1955, in Amritsar and passed a resolution to start a protest from 10 May 1955 if the ban on Punjabi Suba slogan was not revoked. Every day, dozens of Sikhs would gather in front of the Akal Takht in Amritsar for prayers, then raise slogans in support of the Punjabi Suba.
Nehru sent police to Golden Temple
In July, the agitation reached its peak with a record number of people reaching the Akaal Takht Sahib. Fearing a law and order threat, the government made extensive security arrangements around the Golden Temple and also revoked several weapons permits. The government also tried to confiscate the weapons that were owned by members of the ‘Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
Finally, around 4 am on 4 July 1955, Deputy Inspector General of Police Ashwani Kumar led the police invasion into the Golden Temple. The community kitchen was captured with the suspension of the langar service. Guru Ramdas ‘Saraan’ was also raided and various Granthi Singhs were arrested. Police also raided the offices of SGPC and SAD, which were part of the complex. Police used teargas shells in the ‘parikarma’ of Harmandir Sahib to gain control of Manji Sahib.
The police conducted a flag march inside the campus itself. This action continued throughout the day and during this time the main door of the Golden Temple was kept closed. According to police, 237 persons were arrested during the day of action.
This police action only served to strengthen the resolve of the agitation with around 8,000 arrests in the first week of July, out of a total of 12,000 in the entirety of the agitation. Finally, CM Bhim Sen Sachar relented and lifted the ban on Punjabi Suba slogans by 12 July 1955. Master Tara Singh, the leader of the “Akali Dal,” had to be let free. In September, the Chief Minister himself was required to visit the Golden Temple and offer an apology for this action. This operation has also been referred to as “Mini Blue Star.”
Nehru’s views regarding Punjab and Sikhs in 1955
It is evident that Jawaharlal Nehru thought of the “Punjabi Suba Movement” as sectarian. He expressed his deep sadness at witnessing Sikhs agitated over a pointless dispute. He had declared that neither Akali Dal nor the nation would gain from whatever the former was doing. Inquiring as to whether the nation was on the verge of another civil war, Nehru warned that the country would suffer if every small and large organization began to display their authority in this way.
He appealed to the people of Punjab, the Sikhs and Hindus, to put an end to their feud and rescue the state from chaos. In August 1955, Jawaharlal Nehru wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary of Punjab asking him to release the jailed Akalis as they had already been imprisoned for a month or two. He suggested they should be released in groups because he estimated their number to be in the thousands.
Essentially, Nehru and the Congress party, who opposed the Punjabi Suba movement in the past, are now fully supporting the Khalistani movement.
