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Cong and SAD are fighting over it again. Here's all you need to know about the Khalistan movement

Geetika Mantri | Updated on: 13 February 2017, 9:47 IST

Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal attacked the Congress at a press conference today, calling it "anti-national." He also alleged that the Congress has links with terrorists and of having colluded with Pakistan and ISI.

"Why does Rahul Gandhi want to bring back those dark days of the 1980s in Punjab?" he asked, referring to the days of unrest when the Khalistan movement was at its peak.

This period was one of the most turbulent times in the otherwise peaceful state of Punjab. While the term has been rare in recent public discourse, the Khalistan movement is said to be alive in pockets within the country and abroad.

But why is any association with the movement so controversial? This brief history will tell you why.

1. Traced back to 1500 CE, Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, which, although relatively young, has gained the fifth largest following in the world.

While it began as a largely non-violent sect, the first causes of militarisation can be traced back to 1606 when Sikhism had come to be regarded as a threat to the state. This fear culminated in the execution of the fifth Sikh guru Arjan Singh. Angered, his successor Hargobind encouraged militarisation of his sect, aimed at resisting such oppression in the future.

2. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 saw the British government open fire at a peaceful meeting of people. This made Sikhs feel betrayed and marginalised as a large number of Sikh troops had served in the British army.

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Further, when India gained independence in 1947, the Partition drew a line through the heart of the then Punjab Province, causing mass migration of Sikhs to a much smaller Punjab in India.

3. After independence, the initial state of Punjab was much larger and was not exclusively populated by Punjabi population. Hence, they expressed a strong demand for a separate state. The central government finally carved out Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in 1966, making Punjab a smaller, Sikh majority state.

4. Instead of seeing a decrease, troubles merely piled up hereon. Apart from the water dispute with Pakistan, the celebrated Green Revolution of the 60's while bringing prosperity to the big farmer, resulted in further marginalisation of the small and medium farmer. Punjab was majorly an agricultural state, and faced the worst of this increasing gap.

The Indian government chose to focus on the brighter side of the agricultural breakthrough, not realising that it was encouraging resentment in those facing the darker reality.

5. These factors led to a faction of Sikhs taking to a more extremist ideology, causing a rift between the Nirankaris and fundamentalists. Nirankaris were the followers of the reformative Sant Nirankari Mission propagated by Gurubachan Singh. This tension between the two sects was aggravated by failure of the then ruling Akali Dal to prevent the April 13, 1978 clash which led to the death of 12 Sikhs including 3 Nirankaris.

6. It was at this time that Bhindrawala emerged as a strong leading figure. Another such leader was Jagjit Singh Chauhan, who met with Indira Gandhi in April 1980 and announced the formation of National Council of Khalistan.

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Photo: Raghu Rai/The India Today Group/Getty Images)

The movement for Khalistan began to get more violent in 1980's, leading Indira Gandhi's government to reciprocate similarly. The peak of this altercation was Operation Bluestar in June 1984, where the Indian military forcibly entered the Golden temple where Bhindrawala and other militants were believed to have taken refuge.

7. The militants were shot down and the Akal takth was also reported to have damaged in the confrontation. The Sikh community was deeply hurt by the government's move which gave rise to an anti-incumbecy sentiment. This ultimately resulted in Indira Gandhi being assassinated in October 1984 by two of her own bodyguards, both Sikh.

8. Deeply upset by the assassination of their popular leader, anti-Sikh riots ensued soon after where about 2800 Sikhs were beaten, tortured, raped and killed. About 20,000 Sikhs are believed to have fled from Delhi itself.

Some members of the Congress party allegedly instigated and led these anti-Sikh mobs. The court case against these suspected members remains open as the victims of these riots continue to demand justice.

9. The movement is said to be gaining ground in the Sikhs living abroad with alleged funding from NRI sources and public donations from some gurudwaras in UK, Canada etc.

First published: 21 November 2015, 6:18 IST