Insurgency in Punjab

{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Insurgency in Punjab
, image = Punjab in India (claimed and disputed hatched).svg
, caption = Affected areas coloured in Red
, image_size = 300px
, date = 1984 – Present{{sfn, Mahmood, 1996, p=83, ps=: "Here, I concentrate on the epochal battle at the Golden Temple between the militants and the Indian Army that has spawned what we now know as the Khalistan movement."{{cite book , last1=Karim , first1=Afsir , title=Counter Terrorism, the Pakistan Factor , date=1991 , publisher=Lancer Publishers , isbn=978-8170621270 , page=36 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoqwQb38SQEC , quote="Previously the conflict had been limited to a few radical groups, after peration Blue Star it touched the whole of Punjab, with organized insurgency not taking root in Punjab until after the operation."
({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, year1=1984, year2=2022)

Main Phase:
• 1984 – 1995 (11 years)
, place = Punjab, India
, result = Ongoing ''(low level insurgency)''
* Insurgency weakened
* Many Sikh separatists fled from India
, territory =
, combatant1 = {{flagicon, India Government of India
* {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg CRPF
* {{flagicon image, Indian Armed Forces.svg Indian Armed Forces
, combatant2 = {{flag, Khalistan
* Sikh Militants{{sfn, Mahmood, 1996, pp=Title, 91, 21, 200, 77, 19
** Khalistan Liberation Force
**Babbar Khalsa
** Khalistan Commando Force
** Dal Khalsa
** Khalistan Liberation Army
** Dashmesh Regiment
----
Supported by:

{{flag, Pakistan {{sfn, Martin, 2013, p=190
, commander1 = {{flagicon, India, 22px Droupadi Murmu
(President)
{{flagicon, India, 22px Narendra Modi
(Prime Minister)
{{flagicon, India, 22px Amit Shah
(Minister of Home Affairs)
{{flagicon, India, 22px Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
( Ministry of External Affairs)
{{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Dr.Sujoy Lal Thaosen
(Director General)
{{flagicon image, Flag of Chief of Defence Staff (India).svg Anil Chauhan
( Chief of Defence Staff)
{{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Manoj Pande
( Chief of the Army Staff)
{{flagicon image, Naval Ensign_of India.svg R. Hari Kumar
( Chief of the Naval Staff)
{{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Vivek Ram Chaudhari
( Chief of the Air Staff)
{{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Rajnath Singh
(Minister of Defence)
{{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Giridhar Aramane
(Defence Secretary)
{{Collapsible list
, titlestyle=background-color:transparent; text-align:left;
, title= Former
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Zail Singh
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Ramaswamy Venkataraman
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Shankar Dayal Sharma
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Kocheril Raman Narayanan
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Pratibha Patil
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Pranab Mukherjee †
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Ram Nath Kovind
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Morarji Desai
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Indira Gandhi{{KIA
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Rajiv Gandhi{{KIA
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Vishwanath Pratap Singh
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Chandra Shekhar
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Atal Bihari Vajpayee
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Inder Kumar Gujral
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Manmohan Singh
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Prakash Chandra Sethi
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Shankarrao Chavan
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Buta Singh
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Murli Manohar Joshi
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Indrajit Gupta
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px L. K. Advani
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Shivraj Patil
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px P. Chidambaram
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Sushilkumar Shinde
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Bali Ram Bhagat
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px P. Shiv Shankar
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px N. D. Tiwari
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Vidya Charan Shukla
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Madhav Singh Solanki
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Dinesh Singh
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Sikander Bakht
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Jaswant Singh
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Yashwant Sinha
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Natwar Singh
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px S. M. Krishna
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Salman Khurshid
, {{flagdeco, India, size=23px Sushma Swaraj
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Shival Swarup
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg J F Ribeiro
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg T G L Iyer
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg S D Pandey
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg P G Harlarnkar
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Kanwar Pal Singh Gill
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg S Subramanian
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg D P N Singh
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg S V M Tripathi
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg M B Kaushal
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg M N Sabharwal
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Trinath Mishra
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg S C Chaube
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Jyoti Kumar Sinha
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg S I S Ahmed
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg V K Joshi
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg A S Gill
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Vikram Srivastava
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg K. Vijay Kumar
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Pranay Sahay
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Dilip Trivedi
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Prakash Mishra
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg K. Durga Prasad
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg R. R. Bhatnagar
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Anand Prakash Maheshwari
, {{flagicon image, CRPF Flag.svg Kuldiep Singh
, {{flagicon image, Flag of Chief of Defence Staff (India).svg Bipin Rawat{{KIA
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Arun Shridhar Vaidya
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Krishnaswamy Sundarji
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Vishwa Nath Sharma
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Sunith Francis Rodrigues
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Bipin Chandra Joshi
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Shankar Roychowdhury
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Ved Prakash Malik
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Sundararajan Padmanabhan
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Nirmal Chander Vij
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg J. J. Singh
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Deepak Kapoor
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg V. K. Singh
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Bikram Singh
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Dalbir Singh Suhag
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Bipin Rawat{{KIA
, {{flagicon image, Flag COAS.svg Manoj Mukund Naravane
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Oscar Stanley Dawson
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Laxminarayan Ramdas
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Vijai Singh Shekhawat
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Vishnu Bhagwat
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Sushil Kumar
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Madhvendra Singh
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Arun Prakash
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Sureesh Mehta
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Nirmal Kumar Verma
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Devendra Kumar Joshi
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Robin K. Dhowan
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Sunil Lanba
, {{flagicon image, Admiral-ensign-Indian-Navy.svg Karambir Singh
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Dilbagh Singh
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Lakshman Madhav Katre †
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Denis La Fontaine
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Surinder Mehra
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Nirmal Chandra Suri
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg S. K. Kaul
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Satish Sareen
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Anil Yashwant Tipnis
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Shashindra Pal Tyagi
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Fali Homi Major
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Pradeep Vasant Naik
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Norman Anil Kumar Browne
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Arup Raha
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg Birender Singh Dhanoa
, {{flagicon image, Air Force Ensign_of India.svg R. K. S. Bhadauria
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg K. C. Pant
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Sharad Pawar
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Pramod Mahajan
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Mulayam Singh Yadav
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg George Fernandes
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Jaswant Singh
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg A. K. Antony
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Arun Jaitley
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Manohar Parrikar
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Nirmala Sitharaman
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg S. K. Bhatnagar
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg T. N. Seshan
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Naresh Chandra
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Narinder Nath Vohra
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg K. A. Nambiar
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg T. K. Banerjee
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Ajit Kumar
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg T. R. Prasad
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Yogendra Narain
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Subir Dutta
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Ajay Prasad
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Ajai Vikram Singh
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Shekhar Dutt
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Vijay Singh
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Pradeep Kumar
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Shashi Kant Sharma
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg R. K. Mathur
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg G. Mohan Kumar
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Sanjay Mitra
, {{flagicon image, Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Ajay Kumar

, commander2 = Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala{{KIA
Amrik Singh{{KIA
Shabeg Singh{{KIA
Manbir Singh Chaheru{{KIA
Labh Singh{{KIA
Kanwaljit Singh Sultanwind{{Surrendered
Jagjit Singh Chauhan{{Surrendered
Paramjit Singh Panjwar
Ranjit Singh Neeta
Aroor Singh{{KIA
Avtar Singh Brahma{{KIA
Gurjant Singh{{KIA
Navroop Singh{{KIA
Navneet Singh Khadian{{KIA
Pritam Singh Sekhon{{KIA
Gurbachan Singh{{KIA
Balwinder Singh
Talwinder Singh Parmar{{KIA
Sukhdev Singh Babbar{{KIA
Wadhawa Singh Babbar
Harjinder Singh Jinda{{Executed
Sukhdev Singh Sukha{{Executed
, units1 = * {{army, India
* {{flagicon image, Emblem_of_India.svgMinistry of Home Affairs
** Intelligence Bureau
** {{nowrap, Central Reserve Police Force
** {{nowrap, Border Security Force
* Punjab Police
, units2 = *Babbar Khalsa
* Khalistan Zindabad Force
* Khalistan Commando Force
* {{nowrap, Khalistan Liberation Force
* Bhindranwale Tigers Force of Khalistan
----
* {{flagicon, Pakistan ISI{{sfn, Martin, 2013, p=190
* {{flagicon, Pakistan Special Services Group
, strength1 = {{flagicon, India 150,000
, strength2 = 30,000
, casualties1 = 1,714 security personnel Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th edition
Micheal Clodfelter, p. 608, McFarland
, casualties2 = 7,946 insurgents {{cite news, url=https://www.oneindia.com/india/punjab-militancy-there-have-been-12-000-civilian-deaths-1818756.html, title=Punjab Militant attacks, publisher=One India, date=27 July 2015, access-date=29 July 2015
, casualties3 = 11,690 non-combatants deaths. Other reports state higher numbers.

The Insurgency in Punjab, is an armed campaign by the Sikh militants and its goal to create a Sikh homeland called Khalistan via armed struggle.{{Cite news , last=Roy , first=Nilova , date=1986-06-02 , title=Violence Forces Hindus To Flee Punjab State , language=en-US , work=Washington Post , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/06/02/violence-forces-hindus-to-flee-punjab-state/a961bc55-921c-48d1-8694-a19bf2d0b7b0/ , access-date=2022-12-18 , issn=0190-8286 In the 1980s, the movement had evolved into a militant secessionist movement after the perceived indifference of the Indian state in regards to mutual negotiations.

The Green Revolution in India brought several social and economic changes which, along with factionalism of the politics, in the Punjab state increased tension between rural Sikhs in Punjab with the union Government of India.{{cite report, url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/33436078, title=The Punjab Crisis: A disastrous case of failed negotiations, publisher=South Asia Institute Department of Political Science University of Heidelberg, access-date = 14 Jan 2021 , date=June 2008{{cite book , last1=Ray , first1=Jayanta Kumar , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=khalistan , title=Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World , date=2007 , publisher=Pearson Education India , isbn=978-8131708347 , page=484 , access-date=23 July 2018 Pakistani strategists then began supporting the militant dimension of the Khalistan movement.

In the 1972 Punjab state elections, Congress won and Akali Dal was defeated. In 1973, Akali Dal put forward the Anandpur Sahib Resolution to demand more autonomic powers to the state of Punjab.{{cite book, last=Singh, first=Khushwant, title=The Anandpur Sahib Resolution and Other Akali Demands, url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195673098.001.0001/acprof-9780195673098-chapter-20, work=oxfordscholarship.com/, year=2005, publisher=Oxford University Press, isbn=978-0-19-908059-5, access-date=5 April 2013 The Congress government considered the resolution a secessionist document and rejected it. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale then joined the Akali Dal to launch the Dharam Yudh Morcha in 1982, to implement Anandpur Sahib resolution. Bhindranwale had risen to prominence in the Sikh political circle with his policy of getting the Anandpur Resolution passed, failing which he wanted to declare a semi-autonomous, federal region of Punjab as a homeland for Sikhs.Joshi, Chand, ''Bhindranwale: Myth and Reality'' (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1984), p. 129.{{sfn, Mahmood, 1996, p=77

Under Bhindranwale, the number of people initiating into the Khalsa increased. He also increased the awareness amongst the populace about the ongoing assault on Sikh values by politicians, alleging their intentions to influence Sikhism and eradicate its individuality by conflating it with Pan-Indian Hinduism.{{sfn, Mahmood, 1996, p=77 Bhindranwale and his followers started carrying firearms at all times for self defense.{{sfn, Mahmood, 1996, p=77 In 1983, he along with his militant followers occupied and fortified Akal Takht.{{cite book , last1=Muni , first1=S. D. , title=Responding to Terrorism in South Asia , date=2006 , publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 2006 , isbn=978-8173046711 , pages=36 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYraAAAAMAAJ&q=bhindranwale+terrorist , access-date=8 July 2018 While critics claimed that he entered it to escape arrest in 1983, there was no arrest warrant issued in his name, and he was regularly found giving interviews to the press in and outside the Akal Takht. He made the Sikh religious building his headquarters and led a campaign for autonomy in Punjab with the strong backing of Major General Shabeg Singh. They then took refuge in the Akal Takht as the extrajudicial violence against Sikhs increased in the months before Operation Bluestar.

On 1 June 1984, Operation Blue Star was launched to remove him and the armed militants from the Golden Temple complex. On 6 June, on Guru Arjan Dev Martyrdom Day, Bhindranwale was killed by the Indian military in the operation. The operation carried out in the Gurudwara caused outrage among the Sikhs and increased the support for Khalistan Movement. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi was assassinated in vengeance by her two bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh.{{cite web, url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-operation-blue-star-india-s-first-tryst-with-militant-extremism-2270293, title=Operation Blue Star: India's first tryst with militant extremism , date=5 November 2016, website=Dnaindia.com, access-date=29 October 2017 Public outcry over Gandhi's death led to the slaughter of Sikhs in the ensuing 1984 Sikh Massacre.{{cite book, last=Singh, first=Pritam, title=Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQLDcjhNoJwC&q=Blue+Star&pg=PR4, access-date=29 July 2010, year=2008, publisher=Routledge, isbn=978-0-415-45666-1, page=45 These events played a major role in the violence by Sikh militant groups supported by Pakistan and consumed Punjab until the early 1990s when the Khalistan movement was eventually crushed in Punjab.Documentation, Information and Research Branch, Immigration and Refugee Board, DIRB-IRB. India: Information from four specialists on the Punjab, Response to Information Request #IND26376.EX, 17 February 1997 (Ottawa, Canada).

In the mid-1990s, the insurgency petered out, and the Khalistan movement failed to reach its objective due to multiple reasons including a heavy police crackdown on civilians and militants, factional infighting, and loss of public support, with the militancy brought under the control of law enforcement agencies by 1993.

Background

In the 1950s the Punjabi Suba movement for linguistic reorganisation of the state of Punjab and status for the Punjabi language took place, which the government finally agreed to in 1966 after protests and recommendation of the States Reorganisation commission. The state of East Punjab was later split into the states of Himachal Pradesh, the new state Haryana and current day Punjab.

The process of Sikh alienation from the national mainstream was set in motion shortly after Independence due to the communalism of national and regional parties and organization including the RSS, Jan Sangh, and the Arya Samaj, exacerbated by Congress mishandling and local politicians and factions.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=29 According to Indian general Afsir Karim, many observers believed that separatist sentiments began in 1951 when Punjabi Hindus disowned the Punjabi language under the influence of radical elements, and "doubts on the concepts of a Punjabi Suba" created mutual suspicion, bitterness, and further misunderstanding between the two communities.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=29 The 1966 reorganization left the Sikhs highly dissatisfied, with the unresolved status of Chandigarh and the distribution of river waters intensifying bitter feelings.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=29

While the Green Revolution in Punjab had several positive impacts, the introduction of the mechanised agricultural techniques led to uneven distribution of wealth. The industrial development was not done at the same pace of agricultural development, the Indian government had been reluctant to set up heavy industries in Punjab due to its status as a high-risk border state with Pakistan.{{cite book , author1=Sumit Ganguly , author2=Larry Diamond , author3=Marc F. Plattner , title=The State of India's Democracy , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgs1tFTh-JMC&pg=PA56 , access-date=18 August 2013 , date= 2007 , publisher=JHU Press , isbn=978-0-8018-8791-8 , pages=56 The rapid increase in the higher education opportunities without adequate rise in the jobs resulted in the increase in the unemployment of educated youth. The resulting unemployed rural Sikh youth were drawn to the militant groups, and formed the backbone of the militancy.{{cite book , author1=Alvin William Wolfe , author2=Honggang Yang , title=Anthropological Contributions to Conflict Resolution , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=521m3YG-N38C&pg=PA17 , access-date=18 August 2013 , year=1996 , publisher=University of Georgia Press , isbn=978-0-8203-1765-6 , pages=17

After being routed in 1972 Punjab election, the Akali Dal put forward the Anandpur Sahib Resolution in 1973 to address these and other grievances,{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=30 and demand more autonomy to Punjab. The resolution included both religious and political issues. It asked for recognising Sikhism as a religion It also demanded that power be generally devoluted from the Central to state governments. The Anandpur Resolution was rejected by the government as a secessionist document. Thousands of people joined the movement, feeling that it represented a real solution to demands such as a larger share of water for irrigation and the return of Chandigarh to Punjab.{{cite book, author=Akshayakumar Ramanlal Desai, title=Expanding Governmental Lawlessness and Organized Struggles , year=1991, publisher=Popular Prakashan, isbn=978-81-7154-529-2, pages=64–66

The 1978 Sikh-Nirankari clashes had been within the Sikh community, but the pro-Sant Nirankari stance of some Hindus in Punjab and Delhi had led to further division, including Jan Sangh members like Harbans Lal Khanna joining the fray, who, in a protest against holy city status for Amritsar, raising inflammatory slogans like ''"Kachha, kara, kirpan, bhejo inko Pakistan"'' ("those who wear the 5 Ks (Sikhs), send them to Pakistan"), led to aggressive counter demonstrations.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=30

Dharam Yudh Morcha

{{Main, Dharam Yudh Morcha
Bhindranwale had risen to prominence in the Sikh political circle with his policy of getting the Anandpur Sahib Resolution passed. Indira Gandhi, the leader of the Akali Dal's rival Congress, considered the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as a secessionist document although it was purely humanitarian and according to earlier promises by the government but rejected.{{cite book, author=Giorgio Shani , title=Sikh nationalism and identity in a global age , year=2008 , publisher=Routledge , isbn=978-0-415-42190-4 , pages=51–60 The Government was of the view that passing of the resolution would have allowed Punjab to be autonomous.

As high-handed police methods normally used on common criminals were used on protesters during the Dharam Yudh Morcha, creating state repression affecting a very large segment of Punjab's population, retaliatory violence came from a section of the Sikh population, widening the scope of the conflict by the use of violence of the state on its own people, creating fresh motives for Sikh youth to turn to insurgency.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, pp=32-33 The concept of Khalistan was still vague even while the complex was fortified under the influence of former Sikh army officials alienated by government actions who now advised Bhindranwale, Major General Shabeg Singh and retired Major General and Brigadier Mohinder Singh, and at that point the concept was still not directly connected with the movement he headed.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, pp=32-33 In other parts of Punjab, a "state of chaos and repressive police methods" combined to create "a mood of overwhelming anger and resentment in the Sikh masses against the authorities", making Bhindranwale even more popular, and demands of independence gain currency, even amongst moderates and Sikh intellectuals.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, pp=32-33 Extrajudicial killings by the police of orthodox Sikh youth in rural areas in Punjab during the summer and winter of 1982 and early 1983, provoking reprisals. Over 190 Sikhs had been killed in the first 19 months of the protest movement.

Operation Blue Star

{{Main, Operation Blue Star
Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation carried out between 1 and 8 June 1984, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to remove religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar, Punjab.{{cite news, title=RAW chief consulted MI6 in build-up to Operation Bluestar, url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/raw-chief-consulted-mi6-in-buildup-to-operation-bluestar/article5579516.ece, work=The Hindu, date=16 January 2014, access-date=31 January 2014, location=Chennai, India, first=Praveen, last=Swami In July 1983, the Sikh political party Akali Dal's President Harcharan Singh Longowal had invited Bhindranwale to take up residence in Golden Temple Complex. Bhindranwale later on made the sacred temple complex an armoury and headquarters.{{cite news , title=Sikh Leader in Punjab Accord Assassinated , url=https://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-21/news/mn-1021_1_sikh-militants , access-date=14 June 2018 , agency=Times Wire Services , newspaper=LA Times , date=21 August 1985Operation Bluestar, 5 June 1984
{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408084615/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1970s/Bluestar.html , date=8 April 2009 In the violent events leading up to the Operation Blue Star, the militants had killed 165 Nirankaris, Hindus and Nirankaris, even 39 Sikhs opposed to Bhindranwale were killed. The total number of deaths was 410 in violent incidents and riots while 1,180 people were injured.{{cite book , last =Mark Tully , first = Satish Jacob , title = Amritsar; Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxhuAAAAMAAJ&q="deaths+in+violent" , year = 1985 , location = London, edition = e-book , page= 147, Ch. 11 , isbn = 978-0224023283

Counterintelligence reports of the Indian agencies had reported that three prominent figures in the operation, Shabeg Singh, Balbir Singh and Amrik Singh had made at least six trips each to Pakistan between the years 1981 and 1983. Intelligence Bureau reported that weapons training was being provided at gurdwaras in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Soviet intelligence agency KGB reportedly tipped off the Indian agency RAW about the CIA and ISI working together on a Plan for Punjab with a code name "Gibraltar". RAW from its interrogation of a Pakistani Army officer received information that over a thousand trained Special Service Group commandos of the Pakistan Army had been dispatched by Pakistan into the Indian Punjab to assist Bhindranwale in his fight against the government. A large number of Pakistani agents also took the smuggling routes in the Kashmir and Kutch n for three days ending on 8 June. A clean-up operation codenamed as Operation Woodrose was also initiated throughout Punjab.

The army had underestimated the firepower possessed by the militants. Militants had Chinese made rocket-propelled grenade launchers with armour piercing capabilities. Tanks and heavy artillery were used to attack the militants using anti-tank and machine-gun fire from the heavily fortified Akal Takht. After a 24-hour firefight, the army finally wrested control of the temple complex. Casualty figures for the Army were 83 dead and 249 injured.{{cite web, url= http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070320/punjab1.htm , title = Army reveals startling facts on Bluestar , publisher= Tribune India , date= 30 May 1984 , access-date = 9 August 2009 According to the official estimate presented by the Indian government, 1592 were apprehended and there were 493 combined militant and civilian casualties.{{cite book , title=White Paper on the Punjab Agitation , date=1984 , publisher=Shiromani Akali Dal and Government of India , page=169 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqSAngEACAAJ&q=493 , access-date=15 July 2018 High civilian casualties were attributed by the state to militants using pilgrims trapped inside the temple as human shields.{{cite book , last1=Kiss , first1=Peter A. , title=Winning Wars amongst the People: Case Studies in Asymmetric Conflict , date=2014 , publisher=Potomac Books , isbn=978-1612347004 , page=100 , edition=Illustrated , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIY6AwAAQBAJ&q=khalistani+currency+bhindranwale&pg=PA100 , access-date=15 July 2018 According to Indian army generals, it was "doubtful" that Bhindranwale had any assurance of help or promise of asylum from Pakistan, as he made no attempt to escape with any associates, in additions to traditions of martyrdom.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=34

Assassination of Indira Gandhi and anti-Sikh riots

The Operation Bluestar was criticized by many Sikhs bodies, who interpreted the military action as an assault on Sikh religion.{{cite book , last = Westerlund , first = David , title = Questioning The Secular State: The Worldwide Resurgence of Religion in Politics. , publisher = C. Hurst & Co , year = 1996 , page = 1276 , isbn =1-85065-241-4 Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated in vengeance by her two Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh.

Public outcry and instigation of the public by several high-profile politicians and actors over Gandhi's death led to the killings of more than 3,000 Sikhs in the ensuing 1984 anti-Sikh riots. In the aftermath of the riots, the government reported that 20,000 had fled the Dehli; the People's Union for Civil Liberties reported "at least" 1,000 displaced persons.{{Citation , title=Who are the Guilty ? , last1 =Mukhoty , first1 =Gobinda , last2 =Kothari , first2 =Rajni , url=http://www.sacw.net/aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html , year=1984 , publisher=People's Union for Civil Liberties, access-date=4 November 2010 The most-affected regions were the Sikh neighbourhoods of Delhi. Human rights organisations and newspapers across India believed that the massacre was organised.{{cite news, url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/1984-antisikh-riots-backed-by-govt-police-cbi/251375-37-64.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425011626/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/1984-antisikh-riots-backed-by-govt-police-cbi/251375-37-64.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=25 April 2012 , title=1984 anti-Sikh riots backed by Govt, police: CBI , publisher=IBN Live, date=23 April 2012 , access-date=27 April 2012Swadesh Bahadur Singh (editor of the Sher-i-Panjâb weekly): "Cabinet berth for a Sikh", ''The Indian Express'', 31 May 1996. The collusion of political officials in the violence and judicial failure to penalise the perpetrators alienated Sikhs and increased support for the Khalistan movement.{{cite book, last1=Watch/Asia, first1=Human Rights, last2=(U.S.), first2=Physicians for Human Rights, title=Dead silence: the legacy of human rights abuses in Punjab, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dx7b8w6snbsC&pg=PA13, access-date=29 July 2010, date=May 1994, publisher=Human Rights Watch, isbn=978-1-56432-130-5, page=10

Militancy

Since the November 1984 pogrom, the Sikhs considered themselves a besieged community.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=20 The majority of Sikhs in Punjab would come to support the insurgents as harsh police measures, harassment of innocent Sikh families, and fake encounters from the state had progressively increased support, and provided fresh motives for angry youth to join the insurgents, who were extolled by the community as martyrs as they were killed by police.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=20 Police activity discriminatory towards Sikhs increased alienation greatly, triggering indiscriminate militant incidents.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=20 However, the insurgent groups were also highly vulnerable to the infiltration by the security forces, providing possible motive as to frequent assassination of those suspected of being informants.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=20

A section of Sikhs turned to militancy in Punjab; some Sikh militant groups aimed to create an independent state called Khalistan through acts of violence directed at members of the Indian government, army or forces. Others demanded an autonomous state within India, based on the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. Rajiv Gandhi congratulated a "large number" of Sikhs in a speech in 1985 for condemning the actions of the militants "for the first time."{{cite book , author1=J. C. Aggarwal , author2=S. P. Agrawal , title=Modern History of Punjab , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-CN0Q4g-dwC&pg=PA108 , access-date=19 October 2012 , year=1992 , publisher=Concept Publishing Company , isbn=978-81-7022-431-0 , page = 117

An anthropological study by Puri et al. had posited fun, excitement and expressions of masculinity, as explanations for the young men to join militants and other religious nationalist groups. Puri et al. stated that undereducated and illiterate young men, and with few job prospects had joined pro-Khalistan militant groups with "fun" as one of the primary reasons, asserting that the pursuit of Khalistan was the motivation for only 5% of "militants".{{sfn, Van Dyke, 2009, p=991{{full citation needed, date=March 2021 Among the arrested terrorists were Harjinder Singh Jinda, who was a convicted bank robber and had escaped from prison, Devinder Singh Bai, a suspect in murder case and was Bhindranwale's close associate, and two drug smugglers, Upkar Singh and Bakshish Singh.{{cite news , title=Pakistan involvement in Sikh terrorism in Punjab based on solid evidence: India , url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19860515-pakistan-involvement-in-sikh-terrorism-in-punjab-based-on-solid-evidence-india-800879-1986-05-15 , access-date=7 November 2018 , work=India Today , date=15 May 1986 However, retired Indian Army general Afsir Karim had described "myths" that had become part of the conventional wisdom of the establishment, including that of "Sikhs have no cause to be dissatisfied or disgruntled" or "have no grievances", or that "terrorism and violence is the work of a handful of misguided youth and criminals and can be curbed by strong measures taken by the state law and order apparatus", stating that the terrorism was a preliminary stage of insurgency in Punjab, that it was well organized, and that the militants were highly motivated and that crime was not their motive.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=65 Army leaders during the earlier operation had noted that "it was now evident that this was no rabble army, but a determined insurgent army fired up with religious fervour." The movement would only begin to attract lumpen elements in the late 1980s, joining for the allure of money rather than the long cherished cause of a separate homeland for the Sikhs, as well as by entryists like Naxalites who "took advantage of the situation for their own ends."

According to Human Rights Watch in the beginning, on the 1980s, terrorists committed indiscriminate bombings in crowded places, as Indian security forces killed, disappeared, and tortured thousands of innocent Sikhs extrajudicially during its counterinsurgency campaign. On the same day, in another location, a group of militants killed two officials during an attack on a train.{{cite book , author1=Robert L. Hardgrave , author2=Stanley A. Kochanek , title=India: Government and Politics in a Developing Nation , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSyRgcSQhuIC&pg=PT187 , access-date=20 October 2012 , year=2008 , publisher=Cengage Learning , isbn=978-0-495-00749-4 {{rp, 174 Trains were attacked and people were shot after being pulled from buses.

The Congress(I)-led Central Government dismissed its own Punjab's government, declaring a state of emergency, and imposed the President's Rule in the state.{{rp, 175

The Operation Blue Star and Anti-Sikh riots across Northern India were crucial events in the evolution of the Khalistan movement. The nationalist groups grew in numbers and strength. The financial funding from the Sikh diaspora sharply increased and the Sikhs in the US, UK and Canada donated thousands of dollars every week for the insurgency. Manbir Singh Chaheru the chief of the Sikh militant group Khalistan Commando Force admitted that he had received more than $60,000 from Sikh organisations operating in Canada and Britain. One of the militant stated, "All we have to do is commit a violent act and the money for our cause increased drastically."{{cite book , last1=Pruthi , first1=Raj , title=Sikhism and Indian Civilization , date=2004 , publisher=Discovery Publishing House , isbn=978-8171418794 , page=162 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KxndvJs3wUkC&q=khalistan+flag&pg=PA162 , access-date=25 October 2018 Indira Gandhi's son and political successor, Rajiv Gandhi, tried unsuccessfully to bring peace to Punjab.

The opportunity that the government had after 1984 was lost and by March 1986, the Golden Temple was back in control of Sikh institution Damdami Taksal. By 1985, the situation in Punjab had become highly volatile. In December 1986, a bus was attacked by Sikh militants in which 24 Hindus were shot dead and 7 were injured and shot near Khuda in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab.{{cite news , last1=Tempest , first1=Rone , title=Sikh Gunmen Kill 24 Hindus, Wound 7 on Punjab Bus , url=https://articles.latimes.com/1986-12-01/news/mn-198_1_sikh-terrorists , access-date=17 October 2018 , work=Los Angeles Times , date=1 December 1986

Pakistan involvement

According to Indian general Afsir Karim, there was "nothing to suggest that the initial break between Sikhs and the national mainstream was engineered by outside agencies."{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=19 The first impetus occurred shortly after Independence in 1951 when Punjabi Hindus, under the influence of local Hindu radical groups,{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=19 abandoned Punjabi to call Hindi their mother tongue in falsified censuses to prevent the formation of the Punjabi Suba, which brought out other differences between the two communities in the open.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=19 Despite this, it required an event of the magnitude of Operation Blue Star to give rise to militancy in an organized form.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=19 The pre-operation period generated enough heat to draw Pakistan interest, but it was Operation Blue Star which gave the final push to angry Sikh youth to cross the border and accept Pakistani assistance and support.{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=19 Even then their anger was "not particularly against the Hindu population but against the humiliation of Blue Star compounded by the anti-Sikh riots of 1984."{{sfn, Karim, 1991, p=19

In 1964, Pakistani state-owned radio station began airing separatist propaganda targeted for Sikhs in Punjab, which continued during the Indo-Pak war of 1965. Pakistan had been promoting the Sikh secessionist movement since the 1970s. The Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had politically supported the idea of Khalistan wherever possible. Under Zia ul Haq, this support became even more prominent. The motive for supporting Khalistan was the revenge for India's role in splitting of Pakistan in 1971 and to discredit India's global status by splitting a Sikh state to vindicate Jinnah's Two-nation theory.{{cite book , last1=Kiessling , first1=Hein , title=Faith, Unity, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan , date=2016 , publisher=Oxford University Press , isbn=978-1849048637 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_cgDgAAQBAJ&q=bhindranwale+ISI&pg=PT146 , access-date=2 October 2018 Zia had seen this as an opportunity to weaken and distract India in another war of insurgency following the Pakistani military doctrine to "Bleed India with a Thousand Cuts". Former Director General of ISI Hamid Gul had once stated that "Keeping Punjab destabilized is equivalent to the Pakistan Army having an extra division at no cost to the taxpayers."{{cite book , last1=Sirrs , first1=Owen L. , title=Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate: Covert Action and Internal Operations , date=2016 , publisher=Routledge , isbn=978-1317196099 , page=167 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_S-TDAAAQBAJ&q=bhindranwale+ISI&pg=PA167 , access-date=7 November 2018

Since the early 1980s, for the fulfillment of these motives, the spy agency Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan became involved with the Khalistan movement. ISI created a special Punjab cell in its headquarter to support the militant Sikh followers of Bhindranwale and supply them with arms and ammunitions. Terrorist training camps were set up in Pakistan at Lahore and Karachi to train them. ISI deployed its Field Intelligence Units (FIU) on the Indo-Pak Border. Organisations like Bhindranwale Tiger Force, the Khalistan Commando Force, the Khalistan Liberation Force and the Babbar Khalsa were provided support.

A three-phase plan was followed by the Punjab cell of ISI.
* ''Phase 1'' had the objective to initiate alienation of the Sikh people from rest of the people in India.
* ''Phase 2'' worked to subvert government organisation and organize mass agitations opposing the government.
* ''Phase 3'' marked the beginning of a ''reign of terror in Punjab'' where the civilians became victims of violence by the militants and counter-violence by the government, due to which a vicious cycle of terrorism would be induced and utter chaos would ensue.

The ISI also attempted to make appeals to the five-member Panthic Committee, elected from among the religious leaders of the Panth at the Panj Takhts as the upholders of the Sikh religion, as well as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee due to its substantial financial resources, and as both Sikh committees had major political influence over Punjab and New Delhi.

Sikhs in Pakistan were a small minority and the Panthic Committee in Pakistan assisted the propaganda campaign of ISI in its propaganda and psychological warfare. The Sikh community in the country and abroad were its target. Panthic Committee delivered religious speeches and revealing incidents of torture to the Sikhs. Sikhs were instigated to take up arms against the Indian Government "in the name of a hypothetical autonomous Sikh nation".

ISI used Pakistani Sikhs as partners for its operation in the Indian Punjab. The terrorist training program was spread over and the Sikh gurdwaras on both sides of International border were used as place for residence and armoury for storing weapons and ammunitions.

The direct impact of these activities was felt during the Operation Blue Star where the Sikh insurgents fighting against the army were found to be well trained in warfare and had enough supply of ammunitions. After the Operation Blue Star several modern weapons found inside the temple complex with the Pakistan or Chinese markings on them.{{cite news , title=Operation Bluestar , work=India Today , date=1999

Training and infrastructure

Pakistan had been involved in training, guiding, and arming Sikh militants. Interrogation reports of Sikh militants arrested in India gave details of the training of Sikh youth in Pakistan including arms training in the use of rifles, sniper rifle, light machine gun, grenade, automatic weapons, chemical weapons, demolition of buildings and bridges, sabotage and causing explosions using gunpowder by the Pak-based Sikh militant leaders and Pakistani army officers. A dozen terrorist training camps had been set up in Pakistan along the International border. These camps housed 1500 to 2000 Sikh militants who were imparted guerrilla warfare training. Reports also suggested plans of ISI to cause explosions in big cities like Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Delhi and targeting politicians.{{cite news , title=CIA, ISI encouraged Sikh terrorism: Ex-R&AW official , url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/26raw.htm , access-date=7 November 2018 , publisher=Rediff News , date=26 July 2007 According to KPS Gill, terrorists had been mainly using crude bombs but since 1990s more modern explosives supplied by Pakistan had become widespread in usage among them. The number of casualties also increased with more explosives usage by the terrorists.

Weapons

By providing modern sophisticated weapons to the Sikh extremists, the Pakistani ISI was efficacious in producing an environment which conducted guerrilla warfare. AK-47 provided by ISI was primarily used by the militants as an ideal weapon in their guerrilla warfare, based on its superior performance in comparison to other weapons. While the Indian policemen fighting the militants had .303 Lee–Enfield rifles that were popular in the World war II and only a few of them had 7.62 1A self loading rifles. These weapons were outmatched by automatic AK-47s.

A militant from Babbar Khalsa who had been arrested in the early 1990s had informed Indian authorities about Pakistani ISI plans to use aeroplanes for Kamikaze attacks on Indian installations. The Sikhs however refused to participate in such operations on religious grounds as Sikhism prohibits suicide assassinations. In a hijacking in 1984 a German manufactured pistol was used and during the investigations, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service then confirmed that the weapon was part of a weapon consignment for Pakistani government. The American government had then issued warnings over the incident after which the series of hijackings of Indian aeroplanes had stopped.

End of violence

Between 1987 and 1991, Punjab was placed under an ineffective President's rule and was governed from Delhi. Elections were eventually held in 1992 but the voter turnout was poor. A new Congress(I) government was formed and it gave the Chief of the Punjab Police (India) K.P.S. Gill a free hand.

Under his Command, police had launched multiple intelligence-based operations like Operation Black Thunder to neutralise Sikh militants. Police was also successful in killing multiple High-value terrorists thus suppressing the violence and putting an end to mass killings.

By 1993, the Punjab insurgency had petered out, with a last major incident being the Assassination of Chief Minister Beant Singh occurring in 1995.

1,714 security personnel, 7,946 militants, and 11,690 non-combatants were killed throughout the conflict. Some sources have stated higher figures for non-combatant deaths.

Timeline

{{main, Timeline of the insurgency in Punjab

{, class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
, -
, + Punjab Insurgancy Chronology Outline
, -
! Date , , Event , , Source
, -
, March 1967, , Akali Dal heavily defeats INC Indian Congress Party in successive elections after 1967 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. , ,
, -
, March 1972, , Akali Dal loses in Punjab elections, Congress wins. , ,
, -
, 17 October 1973 , , Akalis ask for their rights through Anandpur Sahib Resolution , ,
, -
, 25 April 1980, , Gurbachan Singh of Sant Nirankari sect shot dead., ,
, -
, 2 June 1980, , Akalis lose suspect election in Punjab , ,
, -
, 16 Aug 1981, , Sikhs in Golden Temple meet foreign correspondent about their views on Khalistan, ,
, -
, 9 Sep 1981, , Jagat Narain, Editor, Hind Samachar group murdered., ,
, -
, 29 Sep 1981, , Sikh Separatists hijack aircraft to Pakistan., ,
, -
, 11 Feb 1982, , US gives Visa to Jagjit Singh Chauhan., ,
, -
, 11 Apr 1982, , US Khalistani G.S. Dhillon Barred From India, ,
, -
, July 1982, , Sikh militants storm the parliament in a protest related to the deaths of 34 Sikhs who were tortured in police custody. , , {{cite news, title=ANGRY SIKHS STORM INDIA'S ASSEMBLY BUILDING, author=WILLIAM K. STEVENS, work=THE NEW YORK TIMES, date=12 October 1982, url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40A14FA3C5F0C718DDDA90994DA484D81&scp=1&sq=ANGRY+SIKHS+STORM+INDIA%27S+ASSEMBLY+BUILDING
, -
, 4 Aug 1982, , Akalis demand autonomy and civil rights for Punjab, ,
, -
, 11 Oct 1982, , Sikh stage protests at the Indian Parliament which is violently broken up , ,
, -
, Nov 1982, , Longowal threatens to disrupt Asian Games but Sikhs are mass arrested and abducted before reaching the games,protests disrupted, ,
, -
, 27 Feb 1983, , Sikhs permitted to carry daggers in domestic flights, ,
, -
, 23 April 1983, , Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General A. S. Atwal was shot dead as he left the Harmandir Sahib compound by a unknown gunman, widely believed to be anti-Damdami Taksal and anti-brindranwale Sikh group AKJ, who had also occupied the Darbar Sahib Complex with firearms , ,
, -
, 3 May 1983, , Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, talks of violence being perpetuated against Sikhs without being reported since 1977 in Haryana, Rajasthan and some villages of South Punjab and for India to act, ,
, -
, 18 June 1983, , A detective inspector from Punjab police killed by Sikh militants., ,
, -
, 14 July 1983, , Four policemen killed by Sikh militants., ,
, -
, 21 September 1983, , Senior superintendent of Punjab Police wounded and his guard killed by Sikh militants., ,
, -
, 29 September 1983, , 5 Punjab Police constables killed by Sikh militants in a week., ,
, -
, 14 Oct 1983, , 3 people killed at a Hindu festival in Chandigarh , ,
, -
, 5 Oct 1983, , 6 Hindu passengers dragged off bus and shot dead in 1983 Dhilwan bus massacre., , {{cite news, title=INDIAN GOVERNMENT TAKES OVER A STATE SWEPT BY RELIGIOUS STRIFE, author=WILLIAM K. STEVENS, date=7 October 1983{{cite book , last1=Jeffrey , first1=Robin , title=What's Happening to India?: Punjab, Ethnic Conflict, and the Test for Federalism , date=2016 , publisher=Springer , isbn=978-1349234103 , page=167 , edition=2, Illustrated , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQO_DAAAQBAJ&q=6+hindu+bus+passengers+killed&pg=PA167 , access-date=5 November 2018
, -
, 6 Oct 1983, , President's rule imposed in Punjab, ,
, -
, Oct 1983, , 3 Hindus pulled off a train and killed., ,
, -
, 21 Oct 1983, , A passenger train was derailed and 19 agricultural labourers from Bihar were killed by Sikh militants along with 2 other passengers., ,
, -
, 18 Nov 1983, , A bus was hijacked and 4 Hindu passengers were killed by Sikh militants., ,
, -
, 9 Feb 1984, , A Hindu wedding procession in Hambran of Ludhiana district bombed by Sikh militants. 14 reported dead., ,
, -
, 14 Feb 1984, , Six policemen abducted from a post in Amritsar and one of them killed in captivity., , {{cite book , last=Gill , first=Kanwar Pal Singh , author-link=Kanwar Pal Singh Gill , title=Punjab, the Knights of Falsehood , url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/publication/nightsoffalsehood/falsehood4.htm , year=1997 , publisher=Har-Anand Publications
, -
, 14 Feb 1984, , More than 12 people killed in Sikh-Hindu riots in Punjab and Haryana., ,
, -
, 19 Feb 1984, , Sikh-Hindu clashes spread in North India., ,
, -
, 23 Feb 1984, , 11 Hindus killed and 24 injured by Sikh militants., ,
, -
, 25 Feb 1984, , 6 Hindus killed in a bus by Sikh militants, total 68 people killed over last 11 days. , , {{cite news , title=Sikh-Hindu Violence Claims 6 More Lives , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/25/world/around-the-world-sikh-hindu-violence-claims-6-more-lives.html , access-date=5 November 2018 , work=New York Times , date=25 February 1984
, -
, 29 Feb 1984, , Bhindranwale still openely speaks of first seeking civil rights for Sikhs and Punjab before seeking Khalistan, as opposed to the AKJ group., ,
, -
, 28 March 1984, , Harbans Singh Manchanda, the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president murdered., , {{cite news , title=DSGMC president Harbans Singh Manchanda murder in Delhi sends security forces in a tizzy , url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19840430-dsgmc-president-harbans-singh-manchanda-murder-in-delhi-sends-security-forces-in-a-tizzy-802973-1984-04-30 , access-date=10 July 2018 , work=India Today , date=30 April 1984
, -
, 3 April 1984, , Militants popularity grows and so does instability in Punjab., ,
, -
, 8 April 1984, , Longowal writes – he cannot control Bhindranwale anymore, ,
, -
, 14 April 1984, , Surinder Singh Sodhi, a follower of Bhindranwale, shot dead at a temple by a man and a woman., ,
, -
, 17 April 1984, , Deaths of 3 Sikh Activists in factional fighting., ,
, -
, 27 May 1984, , Ferozepur politician killed by Sikh militants after confessing to fake police encounters with "terrorist" killings., ,
, -
, 1 June 1984, , Total media and the press black out in Punjab, the rail, road and air services in Punjab suspended. Foreigners' and NRIs' entry was also banned and water and electricity supply cut off. , ,
, -
, 1 June 1984, , Operation Blue Star to remove militants from Harmandir Sahib commences, Punjab shut-down from outside world., ,
, -
, 3 June 1984, , Army takes control of Punjab's security. , ,
, -
, 6 June 1984, , 5 day-long battle over control of the Golden Temple concludes. , ,
, -
, 6 June 1984, , Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale shot dead by military., ,
, -
, 7 June 1984, , Indian military finally take full control of Harmandir Sahib after 8 days. Operation Bluestar concludes., ,
, -
, 8 June 1984, , 27 Sikhs killed in protests in Srinagar, Ludhiana, Amritsar after Government forces indiscriminately fired on protesters., ,
, -
, 9 June 1984, , Weapons and Ammunition of Sikh militants inside the Golden Temple seized by Indian troops. 2 Indian troops and 4 militants killed in shootout on the outskirts of Amritsar., , {{check quotation
, -
, 10 June 1984, , Reports of Anti-Sikh riots and killings in Delhi., ,
, -
, 11 June 1984, , Negotiators close to a settlement on waters., ,
, -
, 24 August 1984, , 7 Sikh militants abduct 100 passengers in 1984 Indian Airlines Airbus A300 hijacking., , {{cite news , title=Indian Jet Carrying Z264 Hijacked to Pakistan, Reportedly by Sikhs , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/06/world/indian-jet-carrying-z264-hijacked-to-pakistan-reportedly-by-sikhs.html , access-date=13 July 2018 , work=New York Times , date=1984 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713171330/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/06/world/indian-jet-carrying-z264-hijacked-to-pakistan-reportedly-by-sikhs.html , archive-date=13 July 2018 , url-status=live , df=dmy-all
, -
, 31 October 1984, , Indira Gandhi assassinated by her 2 Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh in retaliation for Operation Bluestar., ,
, -
, 1 November 1984, , In the retaliation of Indira Gandhi's assassination, 1984 anti-Sikh riots begin in Delhi., , {{cite news, url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8306420.stm, title=Indira Gandhi's death remembered, last=Bedi, first=Rahul, date=1 November 2009, publisher=BBC, quote=The 25th anniversary of Indira Gandhi's assassination revives stark memories of some 3,000 Sikhs killed brutally in the orderly pogrom that followed her killing, access-date=2 November 2009, archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091102113639/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8306420.stm, archive-date= 2 November 2009 , url-status= live
, -
, 3 November 1984, , Anti-Sikh violence concludes. A total of 2,733 Sikhs were killed in the violence., ,
, -
, 23 June 1985, , Air India Flight 182 was bombed by Sikh terrorists killing 329 passengers (including 22 crew members); almost all of them Hindus, ,
, -
, 20 August 1985, , Harcharan Singh Longowal assassinated by Sikh militants., ,
, -
, 29 September 1985
, , 60% vote, Akali Dal won 73 of 115 seats, Barnala CM, ,
, -
, 26 January 1986
, , Sikhs have a global meeting and the rebuilding of Akal Takht declared as well as the five member Panthic Committee selected and have draft of the Constitution of Khalistan written., ,
, -
, 29 April 1986
, Resolution of Khalistan passed by Sarbat Khalsa and Khalistan Commando Force also formed at Akal Takht with more than 80,000 Sikhs present. , ,
, -
, 25 July 1986
, 14 Hindus and one Sikh passenger killed in the 1986 Muktsar Bus massacre by Sikh militants. , , {{cite news , last1=Tempest , first1=Rone , title=Suspected Sikh Terrorists Kill 15 on India Bus , url=https://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-26/news/mn-2_1_sikhs , access-date=17 October 2018 , work=Los Angeles Times , date=26 July 1986
, -
, 30 November 1986
, , 24 Hindu passengers killed in the 1986 Hoshiarpur Bus massacre by Sikh militants. , , {{cite news , title=TEMPLE SIKH EXTREMISTS HIJACK PUNJAB BUS AND KILL 24 PEOPLE , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/01/world/sikh-extremists-hijack-punjab-bus-and-kill-24-people.html , access-date=17 October 2018 , work=The New York Times , date=1 December 1986
, -
, 19 May 1987 , , State Committee Member CPI(M) Comrade Deepak Dhawan was murdered at Village Sangha, Tarn Taran., , {{cite book , url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/IDSA_News_Review_on_South_Asia_Indian_Oc/WVw8AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=Deepak%20Dhawan , title=Deepak Dhawan gunned down by Extremists , page=987,994 , publisher=Institute for Defence Studies , year=1987
, -
, 7 July 1987, , Sikh militants from Khalistan Commando Force attacked two buses. They singled out and killed 34 Hindu bus passengers in 1987 Haryana killings. , , {{cite web , last1=Hazarika , first1=Sanjoy , title=34 Hindus Killed in New Bus Raids; Sikhs Suspected , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/08/world/34-hindus-killed-in-new-bus-raids-sikhs-suspected.html , work=New York Times , access-date=12 July 2018 , date=8 July 1987
, -
, 12 May 1988, , Operation Black Thunder II initiated to remove militants from Harmandir Sahib., ,
, -
, 10 January 1990, , Senior Superintendent of Batala Police, Gobind Ram, killed in bomb blast in retaliation for him and his Hindu police officers along with the BSF gang-raping Sikh women during a search on Gora Choor village., , {{sfn, Mahmood, 1996, p=46

, -
, 16 June 1991, , 125 Hindus killed on two trains by Sikh militants., ,
, -
, 17 October 1991, , 40 people killed and 197 injured in 1991 Rudrapur bombings by Sikh militants in Uttarakhand. All of the victims were Hindu civilians., ,

, -
, 25 February 1992, , Congress achieves a major victory in Punjab Assembly elections., , {{cite news, title=The Punjab Elections 1992: Breakthrough or Breakdown?, author=Gurharpal Singh, work=Asian Survey, volume=32, issue=11, date=Nov 1992, pages=988–999 {{JSTOR, 2645266
, -
, 7 January 1993, , Punjab's biggest police encounter done in village of Chhichhrewal Tehsil Batala; 11 Khalistani militants were successfully eliminated., ,
, -
, 1 March 1993
, Gurbachan Singh Manochahal was killed by the police.
,
, -
, 3 September 1995
, , CM of Punjab Beant Singh killed in bomb blast by Sikh militants., ,
, -
, 28 July 2001
, The Army and district administration recover more than 1100 live bombs, a rocket and shells from steel scrap in Ludhiana in a joint operation over two days.
,
, -
, 31 January 2002
, Two persons are killed and 12 injured in an explosion inside a Punjab Roadways bus at Patrana, Hoshiarpur district.
,
, -
, 13 March 2002
, Two persons are killed and 28 more are injured in a bomb blast inside the Ferozepur-Dhanbad express train at Daroha, about 20 km from Ludhiana.
,
, -
, 14 October 2007
, Seven persons, including a 10-year-old child, were killed and 40 injured in a bomb blast in a cinema hall in Ludhiana.
,
, -
, 24 September 2009
, Punjab Police arrested two Babbar Khalsa militants involved in the assassination of Rulda Singh, president of the Punjab Rashtriya Sikh Sangat who was shot at and seriously injured by two unidentified persons at his residence near New Grain market on 29 July
,
, -
, 18 January 2010
, A bomb was discovered along the Bhiwanigarh-Nabha highway outside Indian Oil's LPG bottling plant in Nabha, Patiala district.
,
, -
, 13 October 2011
, Five kg of RDX and 5 detonators were recovered from a car outside Ambala Cantt Railway Station. Two timers were found in the cavity of the power window buttons.
,
, -
, 15 September 2013
, Punjab Police busted a sleeper cell of KLF that had planned to target several Shiv Sena leaders. They arrested three militants named Sukhjinder Singh, Narinder Pal and Surinder Singh in Gurdaspur district.
,
, -
, 27 July 2015
, Insurgent Gunmen from Pakistan in Army fatigues attacked a police station in Gurdaspur. 7 people died including Gurdaspur SP and 3 terrorist also gunned down by Punjab Police SWAT Team
,
, -
, 2 January 2016
, Some militants who crossed the border from Pakistan illegally armed with weapons attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot. 6 militants and 7 soldiers were killed in it.
,
, -
, January 2016 – October 2017
, Target Killings of Hindu Leaders in Punjab.
,
, -
, 12 August 2018
, SFJ held "London Declaration" on 12 August at Trafalgar Square to Campaign for non-binding Referendum 2020.
,
, -
, 26 September 2019
, The police busted a terror module of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), backed by some persons based in Pakistan and Germany. Four KZF terrorists, Balwant Singh alias Nihang, Akashdeep Singh alias Akash Randhawa, Harbhajan Singh and Balbir Singh were arrested. KZF terrorists also burned a drone sent from Pakistan to drop arms and ammunition into Punjab after it failed to fly back.
,
, -
, 10 January 2020
, The Punjab Police busted a narco-terror module, which flew drones from Amritsar to Pakistan to fetch drugs in the last few days, by arresting three persons, including an Indian Army soldier and an expert drone operator.
,
, -
, 5 July 2020
, The Indian Government blocked 40 websites linked to the banned pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice being used to propagate an anti-India sentiment across the world and for enticing Sikh youth to join militancy.
,
, -
, 19 October 2020
, Comrade Balwinder Singh Sandhu shot dead by the militants of K.L.F.
,
, -
, 3 January 2021
, In a counter-terrorism measure in Punjab, the State Police have decided to recruit specialised de-radicalisation counsellors in the backdrop of radicalisation of youth for pro-Khalistan activities via social media, reports The Tribune on 3 January.
,
, -
, 7 February 2021
, A Pro-Khalistan militant identified as Gurpinder Singh (37), with alleged links to the banned terror group, Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), was arrested by a joint team of Punjab and Maharashtra Police in Nanded District of Maharashtra.
,
, -
, 8 February 2021
, A joint team of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh Police arrested an accomplice, identified as Jagdev Singh alias Jagga, of two Pro-Khalistan terrorists – Paramjit Singh Pammah and Maltani Singh from Vikas Nagar area in Lucknow.
,
, -
, 16 February 2021
, Indian intelligence agencies have sounded an alert that a global conspiracy has been hatched by Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) to target farmers’ leader protesting at Delhi’s borders
,
, -
, 22 May 2021
, Two Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) cadres identified as Lovepreet Singh alias Ravi and Ram Singh alias Sonu were arrested by Police from behind a senior secondary school near the Mehna railway crossing in Moga District of Punjab.
,
, -
, 9 August 2021
, The Punjab Police recovered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), hand grenades and other ammunition packed in a bag from near the Indo-Pak border in Daleke village in Amritsar District
,
, -
, 20 August 2021
, Punjab Police busted a terror module by arresting two persons, including former Akal Takht Jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode’s son Gurmukh Singh from his house in New Hardial Nagar in Jalandhar District
,
, -
, 15 September 2021
, International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) militant, identified as Rubal, a resident of village Bhaka Tara Singh, working under directions of ISYF ‘chief’ Lakhbir Singh Rode reported to have been arrested by the Punjab Police from Ambala.
,
, -
, 15 September 2021
, Punjab (CM), Captain Amarinder Singh ordered a high alert in the State following the arrest of four militants of an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-backed terrorist module involved in a bid to blow up an oil tanker with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) tiffin bomb in August.
,
, -
, 23 September 2021
, Punjab Police busted another militant module backed by Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) with the arrest of its three militants from Bhagwanpur village in the Bhikhiwind area in Tarn Taran.
,
, -
, 24 September 2021
, The two tiffin bombs, hand grenades and three 9-mm pistols recovered from three militants of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) were smuggled from drones reportedly in the Khalra area.
,
, -
, 20 October 2021
, In a joint operation, the Border Security Force (BSF) and the counter intelligence wing of Punjab Police recovered a cache of arms and ammunition along the barbed wire fence on the Indo-Pak border near Khemkaran village in Tarn Taran.
,
, -
, 20 November 2021
, A hand grenade kept in a tiffin box was found at Sekhwan village in Zira sub-division in Firozpur District, Punjab.
,
, -
, 21 November 2021
, A grenade blast occurred outside Triveni Gate of the Army cantonment near Dheerapul in Pathankot District, Punjab.
,
, -
, 23 December 2021
, A man was killed and five others injured in a blast at the District Courts Complex in Ludhiana District of Punjab.
,
, -
, 7 January 2022
, Three accomplices of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) operative Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala, an aide of KTF’s Canada-based ‘chief’ Hardeep Singh Nijjar, were arrested with two hand-grenades and two pistols from Chogawan village in Moga.
,
, -
, 15 January 2022
, An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) weighing five kilograms was recovered near the Attari-Wagah border.
,
, -
, 20 January 2022
, Police recovered one under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL), two live hand grenades, 3.7 kg of explosives, nine detonators, and codex wires from the Dinanagar area in Gurdaspur District.
,
, -
, 19 February 2022
, Sonipat Police arrested three terror associates of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
,
, -
, 24 April 2022
, The Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of the Punjab Police arrested a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist, identified as Charanjit Singh.
,
, -
, 27 April 2022
, The Punjab Police issued an alert after the Station Master, Sultanpur Lodhi Railway Station, on April 27 received a letter through which a terrorist group threatened to blow up religious shrines and railway stations in the State.
,
, -
, 5 May 2022
, A major Pakistan-Khalistan terror plot was thwarted in Karnal with the arrest of four terror suspects.
,
, -
, 5 May 2022
, Four Punjab-based terror suspects on way to Adilabad in Telangana to deliver a consignment of explosives in an Innova car with Delhi registration were arrested at Bastara toll plaza in Karnal District of Haryana.
,
, -
, 9 May 2022
, RPG attack at Punjab Police headquarters.
,
, -
, 4 August 2022
, An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was recovered by Special Task Force (STF) in polythene under a tree beside a hotel at Ambala-Delhi Highway near Chandigarh.
,
, -
, 10 October 2022
, Punjab Police has busted five terrorist modules in the State and also arrested 17 terrorists in the last 10 days.
,
, -
, 20 October 2022
, The Punjab Police and Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) in a joint operation with the Delhi Police, arrested three operatives of a terrorist module and recovered one AK-47 assault rifle and three pistols along with ammunition.
,
, -
, 29 November 2022
, In a joint operation, sleuths belonging to Counter Intelligence (CI) wing and troops of the 136th Battalion reportedly found arms and ammunition near the Dona Telu Mal Border Outpost (BOP) in Ferozepur sector in Ferozepur District of Punjab.
,
, -
, 6 December 2022
, Punjab Police neutralised an extortion racket run by Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).
,
, -
, 10 December 2022
, RPG attack at Sarhali Police Station.
, {{Cite web , date=2022-12-11 , title=RPG fired at Punjab police station; fifth attack in 13 months , url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/amritsar/rpg-fired-at-punjab-police-station-fifth-attack-in-13-months-8317748/ , access-date=2022-12-20 , website=The Indian Express , language=en

See also

* 1984 Anti-Sikh riots
* 1987 Punjab killings
* 1991 Punjab killings
* Khalistan
* Operation Blue Star

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

{{refbegin, 2
* {{cite book, title=The Punjab Mass Cremations Case: India Burning the Rule of Law, url=http://www.ensaaf.org/publications/reports/cremations.pdf, date=January 2007, publisher=Ensaaf, access-date=23 June 2010, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717045932/http://www.ensaaf.org/publications/reports/cremations.pdf, archive-date=17 July 2011, url-status=dead
* {{cite journal, last=Kaur, first=Jaskaran, author2=Sukhman Dhami , url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/india1007webwcover.pdf, date=October 2007, title=Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India, publisher=Human Rights Watch, location=New York, volume=19, issue=14
* {{cite book, last1=Lewis, first1=Mie, last2=Kaur, first2=Jaskaran, title=Punjab Police: Fabricating Terrorism Through Illegal Detention and Torture, url=http://www.ensaaf.org/publications/reports/fabricatingterrorism/fabricatingterrorism.pdf, date=5 October 2005, publisher=Ensaaf, location=Santa Clara, access-date=23 June 2010, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717045959/http://www.ensaaf.org/publications/reports/fabricatingterrorism/fabricatingterrorism.pdf, archive-date=17 July 2011, url-status=dead
* {{citation, last1=Martin, first1=Gus, title=Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJ6MeYq_FbkC&q=khalistan&pg=PA190, date=2013, publisher=Sage, isbn=978-1-4522-0582-3, page=174
* {{cite book, last1=Silva, first1=Romesh, last2=Marwaha, first2=Jasmine, last3=Klingner, first3=Jeff, title=Violent Deaths and Enforced Disappearances During the Counterinsurgency in Punjab, India: A Preliminary Quantitative Analysis, url=http://www.ensaaf.org/publications/reports/descriptiveanalysis/reportwcover.pdf, date=26 January 2009, publisher=Ensaaf and the Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG), location=Palo Alto, access-date=23 June 2010, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717050107/http://www.ensaaf.org/publications/reports/descriptiveanalysis/reportwcover.pdf, archive-date=17 July 2011, url-status=dead
* ''Cry, the beloved Punjab: a harvest of tragedy and terrorism'', by Darshan Singh Maini. Published by Siddharth Publications, 1987.
* {{cite book , last1=Mahmood , first1=Cynthia Keppley , title=Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with Sikh Militants , date=1996 , publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press , location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. , isbn=978-0812215922 , pages=50–80 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FqvTRUrwt2UC
* ''Genesis of terrorism: an analytical study of Punjab terrorists'', by Satyapal Dang. Published by Patriot, 1988.
* ''Combating Terrorism in Punjab: Indian Democracy in Crisis'', by Manoj Joshi. Published by Research Institute for the Study of Conflict and Terrorism, 1993.
* ''Politics of terrorism in India: the case of Punjab'', by Sharda Jain. Published by Deep & Deep Publications, 1995. {{ISBN, 81-7100-807-0.
* ''Terrorism: Punjab's recurring nightmare'', by Gurpreet Singh, Gourav Jaswal. Published by Sehgal Book Distributors, 1996.
* ''Terrorism in Punjab: understanding grassroots reality'', by Harish K. Puri, Paramjit S. Judge, Jagrup Singh Sekhon. Published by Har-Anand Publications, 1999.
* ''Terrorism in Punjab'', by Satyapal Dang, V. D. Chopra, Ravi M. Bakaya. Published by Gyan Books, 2000. {{ISBN, 81-212-0659-6.
* ''Rise and Fall of Punjab Terrorism, 1978–1993'', by Kalyan Rudra. Published by Bright Law House, 2005. {{ISBN, 81-85524-96-3.
* ''The Long Walk Home'', by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar. Harper Collins, 2009.
* ''Global secutiy net ''2010, Knights of Falsehood by KPS Gill, 1997
{{refend

External links

Times of India article on riots

Amnesty International on Punjab lack of Justice and Impunity

{{Sikhism
{{Sikh politics
{{India separatist movements
{{Military of India

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punjab Insurgency
20th-century conflicts
20th century in India
Rebellions in India
History of the Republic of India
History of Sikhism
History of Punjab, India (1947–present)

Khalistan movement
1984 in India
1980s conflicts
1990s conflicts
Sikh terrorism
Sikh politics
Sikh terrorism in India
Operations involving special forces
Indira Gandhi administration
Assassination of Indira Gandhi
Operations involving Indian special forces
Rao administration
Religiously motivated violence in India
Terrorist incidents in Asia in 1984
Revolution-based civil wars
Wars involving India
Insurgencies in Asia
Victims of Sikh terrorism
Terrorism in Punjab, India