7.11 Punjab — A State Reorganised, A Politics Unsettled

The decade of the 1980s witnessed major developments in the State of Punjab. The social composition of Punjab had changed first with Partition in 1947 and then with the carving out of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. While the rest of the country was reorganised on linguistic lines in the 1950s, Punjab had to wait till 1966 for the creation of a Punjabi-speaking state. The Akali Dal^?, which was formed in 1920 as the political wing of the Sikhs, had led the movement for the formation of a Punjabi suba. The Sikhs were now a majority in the truncated state of Punjab.

7.11.1 Political Context — A Precarious Akali Government

After reorganisation in 1966, the Akalis came to power in 1967 and again in 1977. On both occasions it was a coalition government. Despite the redrawing of boundaries, the Akalis discovered that their political position remained precarious for three reasons:

7.12 The Anandpur Sahib Resolution, 1973

It was in this context that during the 1970s a section of Akalis began to demand political autonomy for the region. This was reflected in a resolution passed at their conference at Anandpur Sahib in 1973. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution^? asserted regional autonomy and wanted to redefine centre–state relationship. The resolution also spoke of the aspirations of the Sikh qaum (community or nation) and declared its goal as attaining the bolbala (dominance) of the Sikhs. The Resolution was, fundamentally, a plea for strengthening federalism in India.

The Resolution had a limited appeal among the Sikh masses. A few years later, after the Akali government had been dismissed in 1980, the Akali Dal launched a movement on the question of the distribution of water between Punjab and its neighbouring states. A section of religious leaders raised the question of autonomous Sikh identity.

7.13 The Cycle of Violence — Bhindranwale and Operation Blue Star

Soon, the leadership of the movement passed from the moderate Akalis to the extremist elements and took the form of armed insurgency. By the early 1980s, militants under Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale made their headquarters inside the Sikh holy shrine — the Golden Temple in Amritsar — and turned it into an armed fortress. In June 1984, the Government of India carried out Operation Blue Star^?, the code name for army action in the Golden Temple. The government could successfully flush out the militants, but the operation also damaged the historic temple and deeply hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs. A large proportion of Sikhs in India and abroad saw the military operation as an attack on their faith, giving further impetus to militant and extremist groups.

7.13.1 The Assassination of Indira Gandhi — 31 October 1984

A still more tragic turn followed. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October 1984, outside her residence by her bodyguards Beant Singh and Satwant Singh. Both the assassins were Sikhs and wanted to take revenge for Operation Blue Star. While the entire country was shocked by this development, in Delhi and many parts of northern India violence broke out against the Sikh community. The violence continued for almost a week. More than two thousand Sikhs were killed in the national capital, the area worst affected by this violence. Hundreds were killed in other parts of the country, especially in places like Kanpur, Bokaro and Chas. Many Sikh families lost their male members and suffered great emotional and heavy financial loss.

What hurt the Sikhs most was that the government took a long time in restoring normalcy and that the perpetrators of this violence were not effectively punished. Twenty years later, speaking in Parliament in 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed regret over these killings and apologised to the nation for the anti-Sikh violence.

7.14 The Road to Peace — The Rajiv–Longowal Accord, July 1985

After coming to power following the election in 1984, the new Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi initiated a dialogue with moderate Akali leaders. In July 1985, he reached an agreement with Harchand Singh Longowal, then the President of the Akali Dal. This agreement, known as the Rajiv Gandhi–Longowal Accord^? or the Punjab Accord, was a step towards bringing normalcy to Punjab. Its main provisions were:

• Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab.
• A separate commission would be appointed to resolve the border dispute between Punjab and Haryana.
• A tribunal would be set up to decide the sharing of Ravi–Beas river water among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
• Compensation and better treatment for those affected by the militancy in Punjab.
• Withdrawal of the application of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Punjab.

7.14.1 The Long Aftermath — A Decade of Healing

However, peace did not come easily or immediately. The cycle of violence continued nearly for a decade. Militancy and counter-insurgency violence led to excesses by the police and violations of human rights. Politically, it led to fragmentation of the Akali Dal. The central government had to impose President's rule and the normal electoral and political process was suspended. When elections were held in Punjab in 1992, only 24 per cent of the electors turned out to vote — a historic low.

Militancy was eventually eradicated by the security forces. But the losses incurred by the people of Punjab — Sikhs and Hindus alike — were enormous. Peace returned to Punjab by the middle of the 1990s. The alliance of Akali Dal (Badal) and the BJP scored a major victory in 1997, in the first normal elections in the post-militancy era. Punjab is once again preoccupied with questions of economic development and social change. Though religious identities continue to be important for the people, politics has gradually moved back along secular lines.

7.15 The North-East — The Land of the Eight Sisters

In the North-East, regional aspirations reached a turning point in the 1980s. This region now consists of eight states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya — often called the "seven sisters" — and Sikkim, which has been added to the list and is sometimes referred to as the 'Brother'. The region has only 4 per cent of the country's population but about twice as much share of its area. A small corridor of about 22 kilometres connects the region to the rest of the country. Otherwise, the region shares boundaries with China, Myanmar and Bangladesh and serves as India's gateway to South-East Asia.

The region has witnessed a lot of change since 1947. Tripura, Manipur and the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya were erstwhile Princely States that merged with India after Independence. Political reorganisation followed: Nagaland in 1963; Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya in 1972; Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh in 1987. Partition had reduced the North-East to a land-locked region and affected its economy. Cut off from the rest of India, the region suffered neglect in developmental terms; its politics too remained insulated. Many states underwent major demographic changes due to the influx of migrants from neighbouring states and countries.

7.16 Three Challenges of North-East Politics

The isolation of the region, its complex social character and its backwardness compared to other parts of the country have all resulted in a complicated set of demands. The vast international border and weak communication between the North-East and the rest of India have further added to the delicate nature of politics there. Three issues dominate the politics of the North-East:

7.17 Demands for Autonomy

At Independence, the entire region except Manipur and Tripura comprised the State of Assam. Demands for political autonomy arose when the non-Assamese felt that the Assam government was imposing the Assamese language on them. There were opposition and protest riots throughout the state. Leaders of major tribal communities wanted to separate from Assam. They formed the Eastern India Tribal Union, which later transformed into a more comprehensive All Party Hill Leaders Conference in 1960. They demanded a tribal state to be carved out of Assam. Finally, instead of one tribal state, several states got carved out at different points of time — Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh — out of Assam. Tripura and Manipur were upgraded into states too.

The reorganisation of the North-East was completed by 1972. But this was not the end of autonomy demands. In Assam, communities like the Bodos, Karbis and Dimasas wanted separate states. They worked for this demand through public movements and insurgency. Often the same area was claimed by more than one community. It was not possible to go on making smaller and yet smaller states. So other provisions of the federal set-up were used: Karbis and Dimasas have been granted autonomy under District Councils, while Bodos were granted an Autonomous Council. The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) framework was further reorganised in subsequent agreements.

7.18 Secessionist Movements — Mizoram and Nagaland

Demands for autonomy were easier to respond to, for these involved using the various provisions in the Constitution for the accommodation of diversities. It was much more difficult when some groups demanded a separate country, not in momentary anger but consistently as a principled position. The Indian leadership faced this problem for a very long time in two states in the North-East: Mizoram and Nagaland.

7.18.1 Mizoram — Famine, Insurgency and Accord

After Independence, the Mizo Hills area was made an autonomous district within Assam. Some Mizos believed that they were never a part of British India and therefore did not belong to the Indian Union. But the movement for secession gained popular support after the Assam government failed to respond adequately to the great famine of 1959 in the Mizo hills. The Mizos' anger led to the formation of the Mizo National Front (MNF)^? under the leadership of Laldenga.

In 1966, the MNF started an armed campaign for independence. Thus began a two-decade-long battle between Mizo insurgents and the Indian army. The MNF fought a guerrilla war, got support from the Pakistani government, and secured shelter in then East Pakistan. The Indian security forces countered with a series of repressive measures of which the common people were the victims. At one point, even the Air Force was used. These measures caused more anger and alienation among the people.

At the end of two decades of insurgency, everyone was a loser. This is where maturity of political leadership at both ends made a difference. Laldenga came back from exile in Pakistan and started negotiations with the Indian government. Rajiv Gandhi steered these negotiations to a positive conclusion. In 1986, a peace agreement was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Laldenga — the Mizoram Accord. As per this accord:

• Mizoram was granted full-fledged statehood with special powers.
• The MNF agreed to give up the secessionist struggle.
• Laldenga took over as the Chief Minister.

This accord proved a turning point in the history of Mizoram. Today, Mizoram is one of the most peaceful places in the region and has taken big strides in literacy and development.

7.18.2 Nagaland — A Story Yet Unfinished

The story of Nagaland is similar to Mizoram, except that it started much earlier and has not yet had such a happy ending. Led by Angami Zapu Phizo, a section of the Nagas declared independence from India way back in 1951. Phizo turned down many offers of negotiated settlement. The Naga National Council launched an armed struggle for sovereignty of the Nagas. After a period of violent insurgency, a section of the Nagas signed an agreement with the Government of India, but this was not acceptable to other rebels. The problem in Nagaland still awaits a final resolution. In recent decades, the NSCN-IM (National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Isak-Muivah) entered into a ceasefire in 1997, and a framework agreement was signed in 2015 as part of the ongoing Naga peace process.

7.19 Movements Against 'Outsiders' — The Assam Movement, 1979–85

The large-scale migration into the North-East gave rise to a special kind of problem that pitted the 'local' communities against people seen as 'outsiders' or migrants. These latecomers, either from India or abroad, were seen as encroachers on scarce resources like land, and as competitors for employment opportunities and political power. This issue has taken political and sometimes violent form in many states of the North-East — particularly Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh (the last two with reference to Chakma refugees).

The Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985 is the best example of such movements against 'outsiders'. The Assamese suspected that there were huge numbers of illegal Bengali Muslim settlers from Bangladesh. They felt that unless these foreign nationals were detected and deported, the indigenous Assamese would be reduced to a minority. Other economic issues also drove the movement: there was widespread poverty and unemployment in Assam despite the existence of natural resources like oil, tea and coal — which were felt to be drained out of the state without commensurate benefit to its people.

In 1979, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU)^?, a students' group not affiliated to any party, led an anti-foreigner movement. The movement was against:

• illegal migrations;
• domination of Bengalis and other outsiders;
• a faulty voters' register that included the names of lakhs of immigrants.

The movement demanded that all outsiders who had entered the State after 1951 should be sent back. The agitation followed many novel methods and mobilised all sections of Assamese people. It also involved many tragic and violent incidents leading to loss of property and human life. The movement also tried to blockade the movement of trains and the supply of oil from Assam to refineries in Bihar.

7.19.1 The Assam Accord, August 1985

Eventually, after six years of turmoil, the Rajiv Gandhi-led government entered into negotiations with the AASU leaders, leading to the signing of the Assam Accord^? in 1985. According to this agreement, those foreigners who had migrated into Assam during and after the Bangladesh war and since were to be identified and deported — fixing the citizenship base year at 25 March 1971. With the successful completion of the movement, the AASU and the Asom Gana Sangram Parishad organised themselves as a regional political party — the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). It came to power in 1985 with the promise of resolving the foreign national problem and building a "Golden Assam".

The Assam Accord brought peace and changed the face of politics in Assam, but it did not solve the problem of immigration. The issue of 'outsiders' continues to be a live issue in the politics of Assam and many other places in the North-East. The problem is particularly acute in Tripura, where the original inhabitants have been reduced to a minority in their own land. Similar feelings inform the hostility of the local population to Chakma refugees in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. The NRC update of 2019 in Assam was the most recent — and most contested — administrative outcome of the unresolved citizenship question that the Accord had tried to settle.

7.20 AFSPA — A Long-Running Controversy

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 — commonly called AFSPA — has long been the most controversial instrument of the Indian state's response to insurgency in the North-East. It gives the armed forces special powers in areas declared 'disturbed'. The Rajiv–Longowal Accord provided for the withdrawal of AFSPA in Punjab. In the North-East, debate over AFSPA continues, with critics arguing that the law has been associated with human rights violations, and supporters arguing that it is necessary for counter-insurgency in difficult terrain. The political question — how much force, for how long, with what accountability — sits at the heart of the regional aspirations debate.

7.21 Memorise These Dates & Names — Part 2