A SCARRED PAST
1940: Akali Dal chief Master Tara Singh opposes idea of Pakistan, says Sikhs would press for ‘Azad Punjab’ (later articulated as Khalistan), with parts of Lahore and Multan included
Apr. 1981: US-based Khalistan ideologue Ganga Singh Dhillon raises demand for Khalistan
Sept. 1981: Punjab police arrest Damdami Taksal jathedar Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He is freed a month later
Aug. 1982: Akali leaders such as H.S. Longowal and Parkash Singh Badal launch the Dharam Yudh Morcha with Bhindranwale for implementation of the Anandpur Sahib resolution and transfer of Punjabispeaking areas of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana to Punjab 1984: The Indian Army conducts Operation Blue Star at Golden Temple in June; Bhindranwale is killed. PM Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on Oct. 31. Anti-Sikh riots begin
July-Aug. 1985: PM Rajiv Gandhi and Longowal sign accord. Longowal is killed by extremists on his return to Punjab
1984-1995: Insurgency hits its peak in Punjab. Militants target security agencies and Hindus. The police crackdown is led by supercop Julio Ribeiro and then K.P.S. Gill
Aug. 1995: Punjab CM Beant Singh is killed by Khalistan militants
1995-1997: Badal rebrands the Akali Dal as a secular party, allies with the BJP to sweep the 1997 assembly poll; begins sidelining radicals in party
2002-2007: The Congress defeats SADBJP in the 2002 poll; Amarinder Singh, an exAkali leader, becomes CM. But his ‘soft on Khalistan’ image swings urban Hindu votes to the BJP in 2007 and brings Badal back to power
2015: Incidents of alleged desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib spark protests in Punjab
2017: AAP enters poll fray. A controversy erupts over Arvind Kejriwal reportedly camping at Khalistan Liberation Front activist Gurwinder Singh’s home in Punjab. Congress sweeps election
2018: The US-based Sikhs for Justice announces ‘Referendum 2020’, purportedly to vet the opinion of Punjabis everywhere on Punjab’s secession from India
2020: Farmers’ protests against central farm laws erupt in Punjab and rage at Delhi’s borders. Security officials claim radicals abroad using it to stoke Khalistan sentiment