Pre-Crisis Phase (August 15, 1947-February 16, 1980): Punjab (originally East Punjab) became a state within the Union of India on August 15, 1947. Dr. Gopi Chand Bhargava of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a government as Chief Minister in the state of Punjab on August 15, 1947. Bhim Sen Sachar of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a government as Chief Minister in the state of Punjab on April 13, 1949. Dr. Gopi Chand Bhargava of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a second government as Chief Minister in the state of Punjab on October 18, 1949. Chief Minister
Gopi Chand Bhargava submitted his resignation on June 16, 1951, and the state of Punjab was placed under presidential rule by the Indian government on June 20, 1951. Elections were held in the state of Punjab from October 25, 1951 to February 21, 1952, and the Indian National Congress (INC) won 98 out of 126 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Akali Dal (Akali Party) won 13 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Presidential rule in the state of Punjab ended on April 17, 1952, and Bhim Sen Sachar of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a second government as Chief Minister in the state of Punjab. Chief Minister Bhim Sen Sachar submitted his resignation on January 7, 1956. Pratap Singh Kairon of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a government as Chief Minister in the state of Punjab on January 23, 1956. Elections were held in the state of Punjab in March 1957, and the Indian National Congress (INC) won 120 out of 154 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on February 24, 1962, and the Indian National Congress (INC) won 90 out of 154 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Akali Dal (Akali Party) won 19 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon was formed to resign by the Indian government on June 21, 1964. Ram Kishan of the Indian National Congress (INC) was elected as Chief Minister in the state of Punjab on July 7, 1964. The state of Punjab was placed under presidential rule by the state of Punjab on July 5, 1966. The state of Punjab was formally reorganized by the Indian government on November 1, 1966, resulting in the new state of Punjab with a Sikh majority. Giani Gurmukh Singh Mussafir was elected as the Chief Minister of the state of Punjab on November 1, 1966. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on February 19, 1967, and the Indian National Congress (INC) won 47 out of 104 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Akali Dal (Akali Party) won 26 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Gurnam Singh, representing the United Front (including the Akali Dal and the Communist Party of India), was elected as Chief Minister of the state of Punjab on March 8, 1967.
Following defections from the United Front, the government of Chief Minister Gurnam Singh resigned on November 22, 1967. With the support of the Indian National Congress (INC), Lachhman Singh Gill of the United Front formed a government as Chief Minister of the state of Punjab on November 25, 1967. After the Indian National Congress (INC) withdrew its support for the government of Chief Minister Lachhman Singh Gill on August 20, 1968, the state of Punjab was placed under presidential rule by the Indian government on August 23, 1968. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on February 9, 1969, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 43 out of 104 seats (56% of the vote) in the Legislative Assembly. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 38 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Gurnam Singh of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) formed a coalition government as Chief Minister of the state of Punjab on February 17, 1969. Chief Minister Gurnam Singh resigned on March 27, 1970, and Parkash Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) formed a coalition government as Chief Minister. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal resigned, and the state of Punjab was placed under presidential rule by the Indian government on June 15, 1971. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on March 11, 1972, and the Indian National Congress (INC) won 66 out of 104 seats (45% of the vote) in the Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 24 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Giani Zail Singh of the INC formed a government as Chief Minister on March 17, 1972. The Akali Dal (Akali Party) demanded autonomy for the state of Punjab on October 17, 1973. The National Council of Khalistan (NCK) headed by Jagjit Singh Chauhan was established in the state of Punjab in December 1972. The state of Punjab was placed under presidential rule on April 30, 1977. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on June 12, 1977, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 58 out of 104 seats (55% of the vote) in the Legislative Assembly. The Janata Party (JP) won 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Parkash Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) formed a coalition government as Chief Minister on June 20, 1977. Some 13 Sikh demonstrators were killed in the state of Punjab on April 13, 1978.
Crisis Phase (February 17, 1980-February 28, 1993): The Legislative Assembly of the state of Punjab was dissolved and the state of Punjab was placed under presidential rule by the Indian government on February 17, 1980. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on May 30, 1980, and the Indian National Congress (INC) won 63 out of 117 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 37 seats on the Legislative Assembly. Darbara Singh of the INC formed a government as Chief Minister on June 6, 1980. Lala Jagat Narrain, a Hindu journalist and publisher, was assassinated in the city of Ludhiana in the state of Punjab on September 9, 1981. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a Sikh leader, surrendered to government police on September 20, 1981. Following more than three weeks of riots, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was released from detention on October 15, 1981. Hindus and Sikhs clashed in the city of Amritsar on April 27, 1982. On May 1, 1982, the Indian government broke off negotiations with Akali Dal, a Sikh youth group, and banned Dal Khalsa, National Council of Khalistan (NCK), and several other Sikh organizations. Giani Zail Singh, former Chief Minister of the state of Punjab, was elected president of India by the parliament on July 15, 1982. On August 4, 1982, Akali Dal launched a civil disobedience campaign, resulting in the arrests of some 36,000 individuals in the following two months. Sikh militants led by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale launched an insurgency in the state of Punjab beginning in September 1982. Sikhs militants attacked the Indian parliament on October 11, 1982, resulting in the deaths of four individuals. Balbir Singh Sandu, leader of the NCK, announced the beginning of the Sikh rebellion against the government on April 28, 1983. Some 219 individuals were killed in a Sikh terrorist incident in Dilwan on October 6, 1983. The Indian government declared a state-of-emergency and presidential rule in the state of Punjab on October 10, 1983. The government banned the militant Sikh youth group (Akali Dal) on March 19, 1984. Sikh militants killed Ramesh Chandler, a Hindu newspaper editor, on May 12, 1984. Eleven Sikhs were killed by government troops in the Golden Temple in Amritsar in the state of Punjab on June 1, 1984, and government troops were deployed in Amritsar on June 2, 1984. Government troops attacked and overran the Golden Temple on June 3-10, 1984. Some 433 Sikh militants, including Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and 83 government troops were killed in Operation Bluestar. Some 492 civilians were also killed in Operation Bluestar. On June 13, 1984, the government accused Pakistan of training Sikh extremists in the state of Punjab. Eight bus passengers were killed by Sikh militants in Batala on September 12, 1984. Government troops completed their withdrawal from the Golden Temple on September 29, 1984. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the closure of the border between the state of Punjab and Pakistan on October 16, 1984. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh security observers in New Delhi on October 31, 1984, and some 3,000 Sikhs were killed in violence in Delhi and other cities following the assassination. Some 100,000 Sikhs fled as refugees from Delhi to the state of Punjab. The Indian government and moderate Sikhs led by Sant Harchand Singh Longowal signed an 11-point peace agreement on July 24, 1985, but Sant Harchand Singh Longowal was assassinated by Sikh extremists on August 20, 1985. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on September 25, 1985, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 73 out of 117 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 32 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Surjit Singh Barnala of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) formed a government as Chief Minister on September 29, 1985. The Indian government lifted the state-of-emergency and presidential rule in the state of Punjab on September 29, 1985. On January 22, 1986, three Sikhs were sentenced to death for their involvement in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Sikh militants killed 20 laborers in Mallian in Jalandhar District on March 29, 1986. Sikh militants killed six government policemen on April 6, 1986. Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) militants killed 22 bus passengers in Khudda on November 30, 1986. Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala of the state of Punjab was removed from office by the Indian government on May 11, 1987, and the state of Punjab was placed under presidential rule by the Indian government on June 11, 1987. Members of the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) killed 34 Hindus in northeast Punjab state on March 3, 1988, and KCF rebels killed another 17 individuals in the state of Punjab on March 29, 1988. Government troops launched a military offensive (Operation Black Thunder) against KCF rebels in Amritsar in May 1988, resulting in the deaths of some 40 rebels. Sikh militants killed some 80 individuals, mostly Hindus, in Ludhiana District in the state of Punjab on June 15, 1991. The Indian government deployed 120,000 government troops in the state of Punjab in November 1991. Sikh militants killed 49 individuals, mostly Hindus, on a passenger train in the village of Sohian in the state of Punjab on December 27, 1991. Some 5,000 individuals, including 3,300 civilians, were killed in violence in the state of Punjab in 1991. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on February 19, 1992, and the Indian National Congress (INC) won 87 out of 117 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won nine seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) boycotted the elections. Presidential rule was ended in the state of Punjab, and Beant Singh of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a government as Chief Minister on February 25, 1992. Gurbachan Singh Manochahal, the leader of the Bhindranwale Tiger Force for Khalistan, was killed by government police in the village of Rattaul on February 28, 1993. Some 25,000 individuals were killed, and some 100,000 individuals were displaced during the crisis.
Post-Crisis Phase (March 1, 1993-present): Chief Minister Beant Singh was assassinated by a Sikh militant in Chandigarh, and Harcharan Singh Brar of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a government as Chief Minister on August 31, 1995. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a government as Chief Minister on January 21, 1996. Elections were held in the state of Punjab in February 1997, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 75 out of 117 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) won 18 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Parkash Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) formed a government as Chief Minister on February 12, 1997. Government police arrested Wassan Singh Zaffarwal, leader of thew Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), in Amritsar on April 12, 2001. Two individuals were killed in a bus bombing in Hoshiapur District in the state of Punjab on January 31, 2002. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on February 13, 2002, and the Indian National Congress (INC) won 62 out of 117 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 41 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Amarinder Singh of the Indian National Congress (INC) formed a government as Chief Minister on February 26, 2002. Three individuals were killed in a train bombing near the town of Doraha in the state of Punjab on March 14, 2002. Manmohan Singh, a Sikh from the state of Punjab, was sworn in as Indian prime minister on May 22, 2004. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on February 11, 2007, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 48 out of 116 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 44 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Parkash Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) formed a government as Chief Minister on March 1, 2007. Jagjit Singh Chauhan, a Sikh separatist leader, died in the village of Tanda in Hoshiarpur District on April 4, 2007. Elections were held in the state of Punjab on January 30, 2012, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) won 56 out of 117 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 46 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Parkash Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party) formed a government as Chief Minister on March 6, 2012.
[Sources: Arnold et al., 1991, 133-136, 139-143; Associated Press (AP), February 28, 1993; Banks and Muller, 1998, 409-422; British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), April 12, 2001, January 31, 2002, February 12, 2002, February 13, 2002, March 14, 2002, May 22, 2004, November 11, 2004; March 16, 2005, April 4, 2012; Brogan, 1992, 193-198; Christian Science Monitor (CSM), June 12, 1984; Degenhardt, 1988, 152-154; India Today, March 12, 2007; Jessup, 1998, 301-307; New York Times (NYT), June 16, 1991, December 27, 1991, October 26, 1993.]
Selected Bibliography
Fair, C. Christian. 2009. “Lessons from India’s Experience in the Punjab, 1978-1993, In Sumit Ganguly and David P. Fidler, editors. India and Counterinsurgency: Lessons Learned. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 107-126.
Singh, Gopal. “Socio-Economic Bases of the Punjab Crisis,” Economic and Political Weekly, January 7, 1984, pp.42-47.