Ranjit Singh, popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died around Ranjit's early teenage years, Ranjit subsequently fought several wars to expel the Afghans throughout his teenage years. At the age of 21, he was proclaimed the "Maharaja of Punjab". His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839.
Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. He served twice as DGP for the state of Punjab, India, where he is credited with having brought the Punjab insurgency under control. While many see him as a hero, there are accusations that he and the forces under his command were responsible for "multiple cases of human rights violation", "in the name of" stamping out terrorism. He was also convicted in a sexual harassment case. Gill retired from the IPS in 1995.
The Insurgency in Punjab was an armed campaign by the militants of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh autonomy and separatism. This movement was initially peaceful, but foreign involvement and political pressures drove a heavy handed response from Indian authorities. The demand for a separate Sikh state gained momentum after the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star in 1984 aimed to flush out militants residing in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a holy site for Sikhs. Terrorism, police brutality and corruption of the authorities greatly exacerbated a tense situation. By the mid-1980s, the movement had evolved into a militant secessionist crisis due to the perceived indifference of the Indian state in regards to mutual negotiations. Eventually, more effective police and military operations, combined with a policy of rapprochement by the Indian government and the election loss of separatist sympathizers in the 1992 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, largely quelled the rebellion by the mid-1990s.
Maachis (transl. Matchsticks) is a 1996 Indian period political thriller film written and directed by Gulzar and produced by R. V. Pandit. It stars Chandrachur Singh, Om Puri, Tabu, and Jimmy Sheirgill. The film portrays the circumstances surrounding the rise of the Sikh insurgency in Punjab in the 1980s. The music of the film was composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, with lyrics penned by Gulzar. It was also the Hindi film debut of KK as a playback singer.
Jaswant Singh Khalra (1952–1995) was a prominent Sikh human rights activist.
Amrik Singh was the President of the All India Sikh Students Federation. He was killed in the Indian Army's operation on the Golden Temple on June 6, 1984.
Harjinder Singh Jinda was a Sikh militant and one of the two assassins of Arun Vaidya. He was responsible for three high-profile assassinations: Arjan Dass, Lalit Maken and Gen. Vaidya. He along with other members of Khalistan Commando Force participated in Indian history's biggest bank robbery of ₹ 57 million from Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana to finance the militancy for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 a.m. on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star by Indian Army between 1 and 8 June 1984 on the orders of Gandhi. The military operation was to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest site of Sikhism. The military action resulted in the death of many pilgrims as well as damage to the Akal Takht and the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library.
From 1984 to 1995, the state of Punjab in northern India was engaged in a power struggle between the militant secessionist Khalistan movement and Indian security forces. The Indian government responded to the escalating Punjab insurgency by launching Operation Blue Star in 1984, storming the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple complex in Amritsar—the center of Sikh religious and spiritual life, where some militant groups had retreated. The Operation was controversial and resulted in death of hundreds of civilians, militants and soldiers. After Sikh bodyguards assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a state wide massacre ensued.
Sukhwinder Singh Bhatti was a criminal defense attorney in Sangrur district of Punjab, India, and the district's leading defense lawyer for individuals accused of crimes under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). TADA was a law in effect from 1985 to 1995 that authorized the preventative detention of persons for up to two years in Punjab based only on suspicion of certain crimes done with the intent to cause terror. The law also established in camera courts, and under Section 21, detainees charged with certain crimes were presumed guilty until proven innocent.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and 3,350 nationwide, whilst other sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000–17,000.
Sumedh Singh Saini is an Indian police officer, and the former Director general of police (DGP) of Punjab Police. He was the youngest appointed DGP in India.
The Sikh Reference Library was a repository of an estimated 20,000 literary works located in the Darbar Sahib at Amritsar, Punjab which was destroyed during Operation Blue Star. In 1984, the library's contents were confiscated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the empty building allegedly burned to the ground by the Indian Army on 7 June. In recent years the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has attempted to recover the looted material but has not yet recovered substantial materials. To date, the status of library manuscripts and artifacts is unclear; the vast majority remain in the hands of the government, a few office files and passports were returned, and as many as 117 items were destroyed for being "seditious" materials. After the events of Operation Blue Star, the library was revived and its current collection has surpassed the total contents of the original library.
Chief General, Jathedar, Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochahal was Jathedar of Akal Takht who founded the Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan in 1987. Manochahal was responsible for over 1,000 killings by the time of his death as the head of a pro-Khalistan militant outfit. He was a farmer, soldier, religious preacher, social worker, militant, militant leader and a politician, though was not directly involved in politics.
The 1978 Sikh–Nirankari clash occurred between the Sant Nirankari Mission and Sikhs of Damdami Taksal and Akal Kirtani Jatha on 13 April 1978 at Amritsar, Punjab, India. Sixteen people—thirteen traditional Sikhs and three Nirankari followers—were killed in the ensuing violence, occurring when some Akhand Kirtani Jatha and Damdami Taksal members led by Fauja Singh protested against and tried to stop a convention of Sant Nirankari Mission followers. This incident is considered to be a starting point in the events leading to Operation Blue Star and the 1980s insurgency in Punjab.
Amrik Singh Cheema was an Indian civil servant, author, an advocate of green revolution and a former vice chancellor of the Punjab Agricultural University, known for his contributions to the agricultural initiatives of the Indian government. He was honoured by the Government of India in 1969, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society.
Jugraj Singh, better known as Toofan Singh, was a militant member of the Khalistan Liberation Force who was born in 1971 in Sri Hargobindpur, Punjab, India. According to police records, he was allegedly involved in 150 killings. He was killed in an encounter with police on April 8, 1990.
Surjit Kaur Athwal was a British-Indian woman murdered in an honour killing in India. She was 27 years old at the time of her death, and had two children, aged 7 and 9 months.
Udaariyaan is an Indian Hindi-language television romantic drama series. It premiered on 15 March 2021 on Colors TV and streams on JioCinema. The show is produced by Sargun Mehta and Ravi Dubey under Dreamiyata. It formerly starred Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, Isha Malviya, Ankit Gupta, Twinkle Arora, Hitesh Bharadwaj, Anuraj Chahal and Alisha Parveen Khan. Since May 2024, it stars Aditi Bhagat, Avinesh Rekhi and Shreya Jain.
Dhiren Bhagat (1957–1988) was an Indian journalist. His writing appeared in prominent publications of the pre-1990 era, and have been compiled in a book published by Viking. A contributor to the mainstream Indian and British media, his work was widely noticed, as was his early death at the age of 31.
South Asia Forum for Human Rights