Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (February 12, 1947 – June 6, 1984) was the controversial leader of the
Damdami TaksalThe Damdami Taksal was a relatively obscure sect of Sikhs until the 1970s, when it was brought to wider attention by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala and the Khalistan movement.It's headquarters are at Chowk Mehta, about 25 miles from Amritsar.- History :...
, a Sikh religious group based in India, who supported implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. He tried to spread his perceived values of
SikhismSikhism, founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and ten successive Sikh Gurus in fifteenth century Punjab, is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat or the Sikh Dharma...
. In 1981, Bhindranwale was arrested for his suspected involvement in the murder of Jagat Narain, the proprietor of the Hind Samachar Group. He surrendered to police but was later released due to lack of evidence, however, Bhindranwale was kept on close watch by Indian police officials. Bhindranwale is more notable for his involvement in
Operation Blue StarOperation Blue Star 3–6 June 1984 was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, to remove Sikh separatists who were amassing weapons in the Golden Temple in Amritsar...
in which he and his supporters, most of them radicalized Sikhs who believed in Bhindranwale's objectives, occupied the
Akal TakhtThe Akal Takht literally means The Seat of the Timeless One or Seat of God. It is one of the five seats of temporal physical religious authority of the Sikhs. Akal means The Timeless One - another term for God. Takht means 'seat' or 'throne' in Persian...
complex, including the
Golden TempleGolden Temple or Harmandir Sahib , informally referred to as The Golden Temple or Temple of God, is culturally the most significant place of worship of the Sikhs and one of the oldest Sikh gurdwaras...
, in
AmritsarAmritsar is a city in the northwestern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering just over 3,695,077...
. He was killed by the
Indian ArmyThe Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to ensure the national security and defense of the Republic of India from external aggression and threats, and maintaining peace and security within its borders...
, who had orders from Indian
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of India is the head of government of the Republic of India, and head of the Council of Ministers, appointed by the President to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive in India...
Indira GandhiIndira Priyadarshini Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi ( Indirā Priyadarśinī Gāndhī; née: Nehru; (19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977...
to remove all armed militants inside the sacred temple. Since his death, Bhindranwale has remained a controversial figure in Indian history. Some view him as a
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
who was fighting for the best interests of Sikhs, and others see him as a
militantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, comes from the 15th Century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier". The related modern concept of the militia as a defensive organization against invaders grew out of the Anglo-Saxon "fyrd"...
and extremist.
Early life
Bhindranwale was born in the village of Rode, in the
Faridkot DistrictFaridkot district is one of the twenty districts in the state of Punjab in North-West India. According to Punjab's Geo-Area, Faridkot is a Malwa District. It is one of the biggest cotton markets in South-East Asia. The name 'Faridkot' is derived from Baba Farid, a god-lover who wanted see the God...
located in the region of
Malwa (Punjab)Malwa is a region of Punjab and parts of Haryana between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. This Malwa should not be confused with the Malwa Plateau region of Madhya Pradesh, Central India. people of Malwa are known for being great fighters, and warriors The Malwa area makes up majority of the Punjab...
. His father, Joginder Singh, was a farmer and a local Sikh leader. Jarnail Singh was the seventh of eight brothers. He was brought up as a strict vegetarian. In 1965, he was enrolled by his father at the
Damdami TaksalThe Damdami Taksal was a relatively obscure sect of Sikhs until the 1970s, when it was brought to wider attention by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala and the Khalistan movement.It's headquarters are at Chowk Mehta, about 25 miles from Amritsar.- History :...
, a religious school, near
Moga, PunjabMoga is a city and a municipality in Moga district in the Indian state of Punjab. Moga is also considered as an NRI district of Punjab.It was declared 17th District in the state of Punjab State on 24th day of November 1995, by then Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar. Before this, Moga was a part...
, then headed by Gurbachan Singh Khalsa. After a one year course in Sikh studies he returned to farming again. He continued his studies under Kartar Singh, who was the new head of the Taksal. He quickly became the favourite student of Kartar Singh. Kartar Singh was fatally injured in a car accident and nominated Bhindranwale as his successor, in preference to his son Amrik Singh. Amrik Singh later became close associate of Bhindranwale.
He married Pritam Kaur, daughter of Sucha Singh of
BilaspurSee Bilaspur for disambiguationBilaspur is a census town in Yamuna Nagar District in the state of Haryana, India.Now it is a Sub Divisional Headquarter.-Geography:...
. His wife bore him two sons, Ishar and Inderjit Singh, in 1971 and 1975, respectively. Pritam Kaur died of heart ailment at age 60, on September 15, 2007 in Jalandhar.
Rise to popularity
In Punjab, Bhindranwale went from village to village as a
missionaryA missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith;...
and asked people to live according to the rules and tenets of
SikhismSikhism, founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and ten successive Sikh Gurus in fifteenth century Punjab, is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat or the Sikh Dharma...
. He preached to disaffected young Sikhs, encouraging them to return to the path of
KhalsaKhālsā is a term of Persian origin which refers to the collective body of all baptized Sikhs. The Khalsa was originally established as a military order of "saint-soldiers" on March 30, 1699, by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru...
by giving up vices like sex, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. His focus on fighting for the Sikh cause made appealed to many young Sikhs. Due to his religious background as a preacher, his followers formally called him
Bhindranwale Mahapurkh, which meant "The Great Man from Bhindran". Bhindranwale became the new leader of the
Damdami TaksalThe Damdami Taksal was a relatively obscure sect of Sikhs until the 1970s, when it was brought to wider attention by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala and the Khalistan movement.It's headquarters are at Chowk Mehta, about 25 miles from Amritsar.- History :...
when Kartar Singh Khalsa, the successor to Gurbachan Singh Khalsa, who died in a road accident on August 16, 1977, nominated Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale was formally elected at a
bhogBhog is the term used in the Sikh religion for the observances that are fulfilled along with the reading of the concluding part of the Guru Granth Sahib. The reading of this holy scripture is done on a day-to-day basis with a staff of readers at a major centre for worship...
ceremony at Mehta Chowk on August 25, 1977.
Bhindranwale participated in some behind-the-scene political work. In 1979, Bhindranwale put up forty candidates in the SGPC elections for a total of 140 seats, he lost all seats except 4. A year later, Bhindranwale campaigned actively for Congress in three constituencies' during the general elections. Due to his lack of success in election politics, he later claimed he did not personally seek any political offices. As stated in a 1984
Time MagazineTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
article, Bhindranwale's popularity reached a peak that he overthrew the authority of the
Shiromani Akali DalAkali Dal, also called Shiromani Akali Dal , is a collection of Sikh political parties mainly based in Punjab founded/headed by different people. The modern-day Akali Dal is made up of several break away factions that were once part of the same intellect, a proper unified Akali Dal, of times of...
, a
PunjabPunjab is a state in northwest India. The Indian state borders the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest. The total area of the state is 50,362 square kilometres...
-based
SikhSikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit term , meaning "disciple, learner" or , meaning "instruction"....
political partyA political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns...
. Bhindranwale wielded a great deal of power, and the political factions within Punjab could not commit any major action without considering Bhindranwale's reaction.
Bhindranwale was widely perceived to be a supporter for the creation of a proposed Sikh majority state of
KhalistanThe goal of the Khalistan movement is to create a Sikh homeland, often called Khālistān , in the Punjab region. Harking back to the 18th century Sikh Empire, the envisioned Sikh state would include all Punjabi-speaking areas, viz...
. However, in a BBC interview, he stated that if the government agreed to the creation of such a state, he would not refuse. Other quotes attributed to Bhindranwale on Khalistan include "we are not in favour of Khalistan nor are we against it". Responding to the formation of Khalistan he is quoted as saying, "I don't oppose it nor do I support it. We are silent. However, one thing is definite that if this time the Queen of India does give it to us, we shall certainly take it. We won't reject it. We shall not repeat the mistake of 1947. As yet, we do not ask for it. It is Indira Gandhi's business and not mine, nor Longowal's, nor of any other of our leaders. It is Indira's business. Indira should tell us whether she wants to keep us in Hindostan or not. We like to live together, we like to live in India." To which he added, "if the Indian Government invaded the Darbar Sahib complex, the foundation for an independent Sikh state will have been laid." The BBC reported that he was daring law enforcement to react to his actions of fortifying the Golden Temple in order to bolster support.
Role in the militancy
On April 13, 1978, a few Amritdhari Sikhs of
Akhand Kirtani JathaThe Akhand Kirtani Jatha is a jatha of Sikhs.Akhand means "non-stop", and kirtan means "devotional singing"; thus "Akhand Kirtani Jatha" means "non-stop devotional singing group."...
went to protest against
NirankariThe Sant Nirankari Mission also known as Universal Brotherhood Mission is a spiritual organization. It was formally launched in May, 1929 when Buta Singh bestowed Divine Knowledge to Avtar Singh ji in the province of Punjab ....
s. The confrontation led to the murder of thirteen members of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and three members of the Nirankaris. The victims were implicated. This infuriated many Sikhs further. On April 24, 1980, the leader of Nirankaris, Baba
Gurbachan SinghBaba Gurbachan Singh was the leader of the Sant Nirankari sect, considered to be heterodox by the mainstream Sikh. He was declared Satguru by his predecessor Baba Avtar Singh in 1962.He should not be confused with Gurbachan Singh Manochahal...
Nirankari, was assassinated. The
FIRA First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India, Pakistan and Japan when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is a report of information that reaches the police first in point of time and that is why it is called the First...
named nearly twenty people involved in the murder, most of whom had ties to Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale was subsequently implicated in ordering the assassination. A member of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Ranjit Singh, surrendered to committing the assassination three years later, and was sentenced to serve thirteen years at the
Tihar JailTihar Prisons , also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram , is the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. It is located at Tihar village, approximately 8 km from Chanakya Puri, to the west of New Delhi, India...
. Bhindranwale was later released due to absence of evidence.
On September 9, 1981,
Jagat NarainLala Jagat Narain was the founder of the Hind Samachar group.Lala Jagat Narain, a Chopra Khatri and an Arya Samaj and follower of the Nirankari sect, was born at Wazirabad, District Gujranwala in 1889. He graduated from D.A.V. College, Lahore in 1919, and joined the Law College, Lahore...
, the proprietor of the Hind Samachar Group, was shot dead near the Amaltas Motel. Jagat Narain was a prominent opponent of Bhindranwale. He was present during the clash that occurred between Nirankaris and Akhand Kirtni Jatha Members, and stood witness at the Karnal Trial, in favour of the accused. Two days after the assassination, police issued warrants for the arrest of Bhidranwale. A police search in Chando Kalan, a
HaryanaHaryana is a state in northern India. It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south. Eastern border to Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh is defined by river Yamuna. Haryana also surrounds Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and...
village, failed to produce an arrest. Upon seeing this, Bhidranwale publicly announced that he would surrender on September 20. On September 20, 1981, Bhindranwale surrendered to the police at a function held in a Gurudwara Gurdarshan Parkash. Over the next twenty-five days while Bhindranwale was held in custody, sporadic fights erupted in areas where Bhindranwale's accomplices had gathered. Bhindranwale was released on bail on October 15 as India's Home Minister,
Giani Zail SinghGiani Zail Singh was an Indian politician and member of the Congress Party.He served as the seventh President of India....
announced in the
ParliamentThe Parliament of India is the federal and supreme legislative body of India. It consists of the office of President of India and two houses, the lower house, known as the Lok Sabha and the upper house, known as the Rajya Sabha.. It is located in New Delhi at Sansad Bhavan on Sansad Marg...
that there was no evidence against Bhindrawale.
Sanctuary in the Golden Temple
In 1982, Bhindranwale took shelter with a large group of his armed followers, in the Guru Nanak Niwas (Guest house), in the precincts of the
Golden TempleGolden Temple or Harmandir Sahib , informally referred to as The Golden Temple or Temple of God, is culturally the most significant place of worship of the Sikhs and one of the oldest Sikh gurdwaras...
. On December 15, 1983, Bhindranwale, forced out of Guru Nanak Niwas by Longowal, then moved into the temple compound itself. He fortified the temple with light machine-guns
and sophisticated self-loading rifles were brought in. Mark Tully and Satish Jacob wrote, "All terrorists were known by name to the shopkeepers and the householders who live in the narrow alleys surrounding the Golden Temple. ...The Punjab police must have known who they were also, but they made no attempt to arrest them. By this time Bhindranwale and his men were above the law."
Death
On June 3, 1984 Indian Prime Minister
Indira GandhiIndira Priyadarshini Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi ( Indirā Priyadarśinī Gāndhī; née: Nehru; (19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977...
initiated
Operation Blue StarOperation Blue Star 3–6 June 1984 was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, to remove Sikh separatists who were amassing weapons in the Golden Temple in Amritsar...
and ordered the
Indian ArmyThe Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to ensure the national security and defense of the Republic of India from external aggression and threats, and maintaining peace and security within its borders...
to surround the Golden Temple complex to remove armed militants from the complex. Bhindranwale reportedly did not survive the operation...
According to
Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Kuldip Singh BrarKuldip Singh Brar is a retired Indian Army officer, who was involved in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and commanded the highly controversial Operation Blue Star to flush out Sikh militants from the Golden Temple complex.-Early days:...
, who commanded the operation, the body of Bhindranwale was identified by a number of agencies, including the police, the Intelligence Bureau and militants in the Army's custody. Bhindranwale's brother is also reported to have identified Bhindranwale's body. Pictures of what appear to be Bhindranwale's body have been published in at least two widely circulated books,
Tragedy of Punjab: Operation Bluestar and After and
Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle. BBC correspondent
Mark TullySir Mark Tully, KBE was the Chief of Bureau, BBC, New Delhi for 22 years. Schooled in England, he stayed mostly in India covering all major incidents in South Asia during his tenure. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1985 and was awarded the Padma Shree in 1992, a rare...
also reported seeing Bhindranwale's body during his funeral.
People who maintain that he survived the operation include Dilbir Singh, the Public Relations Advisor at
Guru Nanak Dev UniversityGuru Nanak Dev University, or GNDU, was established at Amritsar, India on November 24, 1969 to commemorate Guru Nanak Dev's birth quincentenary celebrations...
. He stated that Bhindranwale was injured on the right side of his temple. He stated, "a government doctor verified he was captured alive. He was tortured to death." R.K. Bajaj, a correspondent for Surya magazine, claimed to have seen a photograph of Bhindranwale in custody. This claim is strongly contested, especially by Bhindranwale's son who has now become a prominent figure within Sikh politics. Some within the Damdami Taksal claimed he is still alive. However, Jarnail Singh was pronounced a
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee at a function in 2003.
Legacy
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was praised by many
SikhSikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit term , meaning "disciple, learner" or , meaning "instruction"....
s as a martyr of common time, but by other Sikhs he was considered a terrorist. Famed Indian novelist
Khushwant SinghKhushwant Singh is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, is among the most widely-read columns in the country.An important Indo-Anglian novelist, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism,...
stated that
[Operation Blue StarOperation Blue Star 3–6 June 1984 was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, to remove Sikh separatists who were amassing weapons in the Golden Temple in Amritsar...
] gave the movement for
KhalistanThe goal of the Khalistan movement is to create a Sikh homeland, often called Khālistān , in the Punjab region. Harking back to the 18th century Sikh Empire, the envisioned Sikh state would include all Punjabi-speaking areas, viz...
its first martyr in Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale." In 2003, at a function arranged by the
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak CommitteeThe Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee is an organization in India responsible for the upkeep of gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in three states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. SGPC also administers Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Gurdwaras in Delhi are the administered by Delhi Sikh...
, Joginder Singh Vedanti, former
jathedar of the
Akal TakhtThe Akal Takht literally means The Seat of the Timeless One or Seat of God. It is one of the five seats of temporal physical religious authority of the Sikhs. Akal means The Timeless One - another term for God. Takht means 'seat' or 'throne' in Persian...
made a formal declaration that Bhindranwale was a "martyr" and awarded his son, Ishar Singh, a robe of honor. Harbans Singh's
The Encyclopedia of Sikhism describes Bhindranwale as "a phenomenal figure of modern
SikhismSikhism, founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and ten successive Sikh Gurus in fifteenth century Punjab, is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat or the Sikh Dharma...
."
Vir SanghviVir Sanghvi is a Indian print and television journalist, columnists and talk show host. Currently, he is Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times, and Advisory Editor of HT Media Ltd, for which he writes the Counterpoint and Rude Food columns.At 23, he was the founder-editor of Bombay magazine,...
, one of India's leading political commentators said, "[Bhindranwale] remains a
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
in the eyes of many Sikhs. " Bhindranwale is also criticised as being directly responsible for the instigation of Operation Blue Star after he intentionally turned the
Akal TakhtThe Akal Takht literally means The Seat of the Timeless One or Seat of God. It is one of the five seats of temporal physical religious authority of the Sikhs. Akal means The Timeless One - another term for God. Takht means 'seat' or 'throne' in Persian...
into a fortress.
Cynthia Keppley Mahmood wrote in
Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues With Sikh Militants that Bhindranwale never learned English but mastered
PunjabiPunjabi or Panjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region ....
. He was adept at television, radio and press interviews. Keppley further stated that "those who knew him personally uniformly report his general likability and ready humour as well his dedication to
SikhismSikhism, founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and ten successive Sikh Gurus in fifteenth century Punjab, is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat or the Sikh Dharma...
". The author further states that "Largely responsible for launching Sikh militancy, he is valorized by millitants and demonised by enemies and the accounts from the two divergent sources seem to refer to two completely different persons."
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