From May 4-19, 1988, the Punjabi police and Indian paramilitary forces laid siege to the Golden Temple in Amritsar in order to flush out several hundred Sikh extremists who were engaged in fortifying the temple complex. [ Bryan Johnson, "Skirmishes, New Fortifications Hint at Violence in Amritsar," in The Globe and Mail, [Toronto], 6 may 1988.] Although intermittent gun battles in which approximately 40 extremists were killed took place, the police and paramilitary forces were reported to have been relatively restrained in conducting the operation. On the final day of the siege, 146 extremists surrendered to police. [ "Soldiers Storm Sikh Stronghold in Sacred Temple," in The Globe and Mail, [Toronto], 18 May 1988, pp. A1 and A2. ] In the weeks following the successful completion of this operation, Sikh extremists in the Punjab killed several hundred civilians in retaliation, mostly migrant agricultural labourers from Bihar. [ Sanjoy Hazarika, "India Sending More Troops to Punjab as Toll Rises," in The New York Times, 22 May 1988. ]

In the aftermath of the operation ,the Indian authorities are reported to have retrieved numerous documents which allowed them to identify networks of active supporters of the various Sikh extremists groups. [ "Eyes for an Eye," in The Economist, (London: 14 January 1989), p. 32.] Although disruption in extremist activity is reported to have been the result of this action, between July 1988 to January 1989 extremists carried out a series of indiscriminate bombings in which several hundred people were killed. [ "Bombs Kill 32 Near Golden Temple," in The New York Times, 18 June 1988.] Prior to the operation at the Golden Temple, Sikh extremists had primarily relied upon automatic weapons in their attacks on both police and civilian targets. [ "Playing to a New Tune," in India Today, (New Delhi: Living Media India Pvt. Ltd., 15 January 1988). ]

Despite the bombing campaign, the number of people killed in extremist violence in the Punjab actually began to decline in the latter part of 1988. [ Ibid.] The fact that the Supreme Court acquitted Balbir Singh, one of the persons implicated in the conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, no doubt ameliorated the sense of alienation harboured by many Sikhs, ["Court Frees Man Convicted of Gandhi Assassination," in The Toronto Star, 4 August 1988.] as did the release of 138 extremists who had been held in the Jodhpur prison since their capture during the Indian army's battle with Sikh extremists at the Golden Temple in June 1984. [ Barbara Crosette, "Gandhi Goes to Punjabis with a Plea," in The New York Times, 22 December 1988.]

During the past month, violence has again been on the rise in the Punjab. [ Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Daily Report: Near East and South Asia, (Washington: 25 January 1989), p. 61.] The source of this latest upsurge in violence was the hanging of two Sikhs on 6 January 1989 for conspiring to assassinate the late prime minister, Indira Gandhi. In the wake of their execution, extremists in Punjab have allegedly killed dozens of people. In a few instances, retaliatory hangings of Hindus have been reported. In response to the increased activity of Sikh extremists, Indian police and paramilitary forces have stepped up their operations, reportedly killing a number of extremists in various encounters. [ Ibid., 23 January 1989, p.50.]
On 3 March 1989, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi announced that he was going to release all but a few of the remaining Jodhpur detainees who had been taken into custody during the Indian Army action at the Golden Temple in June 1984. [ Sanjoy Hazarika, "Gandhi to Free Jailed Sikhs and Relax Curbs in Punjab," in The new York Times, 4 March 1989. ] Gandhi also indicated that village council elections would be held in the near future and that the power of the police and security forces to conduct searches and arrests without warrants and to use deadly force in pursuing terrorists in Punjab would be revoked, except in several districts that are still considered disturbed areas. [ Ibid.]
Endnotes