Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Born
Jarnail Singh Brar[1]

(1947-06-02)2 June 1947
Rode, Moga, Punjab Province, British India
(present-day Punjab, India)
Died6 June 1984(1984-06-06) (aged 37)
Akal Takht, Amritsar, Punjab, India
Cause of deathKilled in gunfight during Operation Blue Star
MonumentsGurdwara Yaadgar Shaheedan, Amritsar[2]
Occupations
EraAround 1984
OrganizationDamdami Taksal
TitleSant[3]
SuccessorBaba Thakur Singh
MovementDharam Yudh Morcha
Spouse
Pritam Kaur
​
(m. 1966)​
Children2
Preview warning: Page using Template:Listen with missing file "Sant Jarnail Singh Speech on what the youth should do.ogg"

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (Punjabi: [d͡ʒəɾnɛːlᵊ sɪ́ŋɡᵊ pɪ̀ɳɖrãːʋaːɭe]; born Jarnail Singh Brar;[4] 2 June 1947[5]– 6 June 1984) was a Sikh militant.[6][7][8][9][10] After Operation Bluestar, he posthumously became the leading figure for the Khalistan movement.[11][12][13][5]: 156–157 [14]

He was the thirteeth jathedar or leader, of the prominent orthodox Sikh religious institution Damdami Taksal.[15][16] An advocate of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution,[17][18][19][20][21] he gained significant attention after his involvement in the 1978 Sikh-Nirankari clash. In the summer of 1982, Bhindranwale and the Akali Dal launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha ("righteous campaign"),[22] with its stated aim being the fulfilment of a list of demands based on the Anandpur Sahib Resolution to create a largely autonomous state within India. Thousands of people joined the movement in the hope of retaining a larger share of irrigation water and the return of Chandigarh to Punjab.[23] There was dissatisfaction in some sections of the Sikh community with prevailing economic, social, and political conditions.[24] Over time Bhindranwale grew to be a leader of Sikh militancy, organizing killer squads to eliminate those he perceived as enemies of Sikhism.[25][26][27]

In 1982, Bhindranwale and his group moved to the Golden Temple complex and made it his headquarters. Bhindranwale would establish what amounted to a "parallel government" in Punjab,[28][29] settling cases and resolving disputes,[28][30][31] while conducting his campaign.[32] In 1983, he along with his militant cadre inhabited and fortified the Sikh shrine Akal Takht. Scholars hold him responsible for launching attacks on Hindus and state institutions from the complex; his targeting of Hindus was intended to drive them out of Punjab.[33][34][35][36] Bhindranwale's relocation to the Harmandir Sahib complex was to strategically preempt his arrest by the government, as attacks on Hindus by his cohort escalated.[37][38][39] In June 1984, Operation Blue Star was carried out by the Indian Army to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib in the Golden Temple Complex,[40] which resulted in hundreds to thousands of deaths according to various reports, including that of Bhindranwale.[41]

Bhindranwale has remained a controversial figure in Indian history.[42] While the Sikhs' highest temporal authority Akal Takht describe him a 'martyr',[43] with immense appeal among rural sections of the Sikh population,[29][44] who saw him as a powerful leader,[44] who stood up to Indian state dominance and repression,[45][46] many Indians and academic critics saw him as spearheading a "revivalist, extremist and terrorist movement".[44][47][48][49][50] His stance on the creation of a separate Sikh state remains a point of contention.[57]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brar_son was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Chopra, Radhika (2018). Amritsar 1984: A City Remembers. Patiala, Punjab, India: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. pp. 2, 24. ISBN 978-1498571067. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  3. ^ Mahmood 1996, p. 75.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference SH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Singh 2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Who is Iqbal Singh Lalpura, ex-cop who arrested Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and newest member of BJP's top body?". Firstpost. 17 August 2022. Bhindranwale was a militant leader and leading figure of the Khalistan movement who was killed in Operation Blue Star in 1984.
  7. ^ "Controversy over Punjabi film, song glorifying militant on death row". NDTV. 22 February 2019. Bhindranwale was a militant leader who had holed up with his supporters
  8. ^ Malji, A. (2022). Religious Nationalism in Contemporary South Asia. Elements in Religion and Violence. Cambridge University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-108-91118-4. Bhindranwale was a militant Sikh
  9. ^ Sinha, C. (2019). The Great Repression: The Story of Sedition in India. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. p. 231. ISBN 978-93-5305-618-6. Bhindranwale was a militant religious leader and the leader of the Khalistani Movement
  10. ^ Bakke 2015, p. 144.
  11. ^ Larson, G.J. (1995). India's Agony Over Religion: Confronting Diversity in Teacher Education. SUNY Series in Religious Studies. State University of New York Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-7914-2412-4. Within a few years Bhindranwale developed his own power base quite apart from the Congress ( I ) and began to emerge as the key figure in the Sikh separatist movement that was demanding a new independent state for Sikhs in the Punjab, an independent state to be known as "Khalistan" (the "Land of the Khalsa" or the "Land of the Pure"). He and his followers took control of the Sikh Golden Temple and the Akal Takht (the "Eternal Tower"), the central shrine and symbol of the Sikh faith, in Amritsar early in 1984, stockpiling huge caches of weapons and apparently preparing for armed insurrection.
  12. ^ Juergensmeyer, M. (2020). God at War: A Meditation on Religion and Warfare. Oxford University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-19-007919-2. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the key figure in the Khalistan movement
  13. ^ Aspinall, E.; Jeffrey, R.; Regan, A.J. (2013). Diminishing Conflicts in Asia and the Pacific: Why Some Subside and Others Don't. Online access with subscription: Proquest Ebook Central. Routledge. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-415-67031-9. By 1981, he had become the leading figure of an aggressive movement for a Sikh state.
  14. ^ Deol 2000, p. 170.
  15. ^ Sinha, C. (2019). The Great Repression: The Story of Sedition in India. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. p. 123. ISBN 978-93-5305-618-6. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  16. ^ Dhillon 1996, p. 160.
  17. ^ Singh 2017, p. 156: "At some stage, Bhindranwale had taken it upon himself to get the 1973 Anandpur Sahib Resolution passed. Incidentally, Bhindranwale had never asked for a separate Sikh state, but was fighting for the implementation of the 1973 resolution...."
  18. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference dulat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference stevens was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Pettigrew 1987, p. 12.
  21. ^ Aspinall, E.; Jeffrey, R.; Regan, A.J. (2013). Diminishing Conflicts in Asia and the Pacific: Why Some Subside and Others Don't. Online access with subscription: Proquest Ebook Central. Routledge. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-415-67031-9. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  22. ^ Bakke 2015, p. 143.
  23. ^ Akshayakumar Ramanlal Desai (1991). Expanding Governmental Lawlessness and Organized Struggles. Popular Prakashan. pp. 64–66. ISBN 978-81-7154-529-2.
  24. ^ Van Dyke 2009, p. 980.
  25. ^ Fair 2005, p. 128.
  26. ^ Mahmood 1996, p. 77.
  27. ^ Jetly 2008: "He also organised killer squads in each village to eliminate the 'enemies' of the Sikh faith, thereby increasing his visibility and reach across the state"
  28. ^ a b Mahmood 1996, p. 67.
  29. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mahmood_WY was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Deol 2000, p. 168.
  31. ^ Grewal 1998, p. 225.
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference Robert2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Muni, S. D. (2006). Responding to Terrorism in South Asia. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 36. ISBN 978-8173046711. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  34. ^ Guidry, John; Kennedy, Michael D.; Zald, Mayer (22 December 2000). Globalizations and Social Movements: Culture, Power, and the Transnational Public Sphere. University of Michigan Press. p. 327. ISBN 978-0-472-06721-3.
  35. ^ Ganguly, Sumit; Mukherji, Rahul (1 August 2011). India Since 1980. Cambridge University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-139-49866-1. Not surprisingly, these rampant attacks on Hindus, orchestrated by Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest of Sikh shrines, led to a Hindu backlash across northern India
  36. ^ Ahmed, Ishtiaq (1 January 1998). State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia. A&C Black. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-85567-578-0.
  37. ^ Bonner, Arthur (20 February 1990). Averting the Apocalypse: Social Movements in India Today. Duke University Press. p. 381. ISBN 978-0-8223-1048-8. Bhindranwale attracted a coterie of terrorists who robbed banks and killed hundreds of Hindus and those dubbed Sikh apostates. [...] However, when the terrorists began random killings of Hindus, hoping to precipitate mass flight, thereby creating a de facto Khalistan, Bhindranwale could no longer count on behind the scenes government support and moved to the sanctuary of the Golden Temple.
  38. ^ Ganguly, Sumit; Mukherji, Rahul (1 August 2011). India Since 1980. Cambridge University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-139-49866-1. Not surprisingly, these rampant attacks on Hindus, orchestrated by Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest of Sikh shrines, led to a Hindu backlash
  39. ^ Ganguly, Sumit; Fidler, David P. (7 May 2009). India and Counterinsurgency: Lessons Learned. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-00808-7. Bhindranwale used terrorism to frighten and intimidate Hindus
  40. ^ Swami, Praveen (16 January 2014). "RAW chief consulted MI6 in build-up to Operation Bluestar". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  41. ^ "Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  42. ^ "BBC documentary 'provokes furious response from Sikhs". The Times of India. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  43. ^ "Akal Takht declares Bhindranwale 'martyr'". Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  44. ^ a b c "An echo of terrorism". A martyr is declared in Punjab. The Economist. 12 June 2003. Retrieved 11 January 2019. FOR most Indians, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a terrorist. But to Sikhs he was a powerful leader who led a violent campaign for an independent state called Khalistan
  45. ^ Pettigrew 1987, p. 15.
  46. ^ Singh, Pritam; Purewal, Navtej (2013). "The resurgence of Bhindranwale's image in contemporary Punjab". Contemporary South Asia. 21 (2): 133–147. doi:10.1080/09584935.2013.773291. ISSN 0958-4935. S2CID 145419188.
  47. ^ Crenshaw, Martha (2010). Terrorism in Context. Penn State. p. 381. ISBN 978-0271044422. the fulcrum of politics shifted increasingly to the revivalist, extremist, and terrorist movement symbolized by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
  48. ^ Fair, C Christine (29 September 2008). Treading on Hallowed Ground: Counterinsurgency Operations in Sacred Spaces. Oxford University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-19-534204-8. Bhindranwale emerged as a high profile leader of the Sikh militancy in the 1980s and cultivated many allies in the quest for Khalistan
  49. ^ Rapaport, David C. (2013). Inside Terrorist Organizations. Taylor and Francis. p. 7. ISBN 978-1135311780. drawing on the speeches of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the most prominent of the terrorist leaders, who was killed in 1984 when the Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple
  50. ^ Aspinall, E.; Jeffrey, R.; Regan, A.J. (2013). Diminishing Conflicts in Asia and the Pacific: Why Some Subside and Others Don't. Online access with subscription: Proquest Ebook Central. Routledge. pp. 89, 231. ISBN 978-0-415-67031-9. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  51. ^ Deol 2000, p. 170 "Bhindranwale was not an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, although he often emphasized the separate identity of the Sikhs."
  52. ^ Cite error: The named reference walia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  53. ^ Cite error: The named reference puri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  54. ^ Cite error: The named reference puri2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  55. ^ Cite error: The named reference chandel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  56. ^ Singh 2017, pp. 156–157: "Incidentally, Bhindranwale had never asked for a separate Sikh state, but was fighting for the implementation of the 1973 resolution.... Bhindranwale, in fact, had always opined that he never asked for Khalistan...."
  57. ^ [18][19][51][52][53][54][55][56]