Sikhism and the Punjab in Politics in the 20th century Bhindranwale-His ascent to power The Assassination of Indira Gandhi The Aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s Assassination Commissions and other efforts to investigate the 1984 riots.
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Khalistan movement
The Flag of Khalistan It was in Britain that the Khalistan movement gathered steam. Men like Jagjit Singh Chauhan, who became unhappy with Indira Gandhi’s stonewalling tactics concerning Sikh demands for greater autonomy in the Punjab, decided that the time was propitious to launch an agitation for not an autonomous state but an independent and theocratic nation-Khalistan. Khalistan mean “Land of the Pure”. Chauhan raised millions of dollars for his cause from rich Sikhs all over the world. Khalistan cells were created in Canada and the United States, where there were and still are significant Sikh enclaves. The Khalistan supporters issued their
own passports and their own currency, neither of which, of course,
was legal anywhere but in Chauhan’s home in London. The Khalistanis
feared that Sikhism was on the decline. Sikhs were freely intermarrying
with Hindus; Sikh males were cutting of their long hair (Sikhism
requires that the males never cut their hair) and beards. They feared
that Hindus viewed Sikhism as not a separate religion but as a variation
of Hinduism. The Khalistanis were aware of Hinduism’s great
modus operandi-triumph not by coercion but by cooperation; Hinduism
assimilated and absorbed, it did not convert by the sword. Chauhan
and his supporters felt that the purity of Sikhism could only be
preserved in a totally independent Sikh nation. They began to solicit
and receive the endorsement of many Sikh clergy men in the Punjab,
who shared Chauhan’s apprehension. In the Punjab the Akalis never formally called for a separate Sikh state but the Sikh fundamentalists thought that Khalistan was a necessary development. The fundamentalists rallied around Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who had originally helped Mrs. Gandhi undercut and embarrass the Akalis but who soon convinced himself that he was capable of dispensing with Mrs. Gandhi’s patronage. He launched a terrorist campaign of cleansing the Punjab of moderate Sikhs and Hindus-which drew national attention.
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