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==See also==
==See also==


* [[1984 anti-Sikh riots]]
*y [[1984 anti-Sikh riots]]
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== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 02:31, 22 March 2011

Early years

Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal was born 2 January 1932, a couple of modest means living in Gidariani, a village then in the princely state of Patiala, but now a part of Sangrur district of Punjab (India). Under the tutelage of Sant Jodh Singh at the seminary in nearby Maujo, he studied Sikh theology and Sikh texts and practised Sikh music. As his teacher was also a member of the Akali movement, it is likely that young Harcharan Singh also imbibed the spirit of political activism at that time.

Leaving Maujo at the age of twenty-one, Harcharan Singh served as scripture-reader and custodian at the village gurdwara at Kiron Kalan, moving the following year to Longowal, a small town 16 kilometers south-west of Sangrur. There, he raised a gurdwara to the memory of celebrated eighteenth-century scholar and martyr, Bhai Mani Singh. In 1962, Harcharan Singh was named head of the important historical shrine at Damdama Sahib (Talvandi Sabo), but he took with him the suffix “Longowal” which remained with him for the rest of his life. He affectionately known as "Sant Ji"[1]

Beginnings of political activism

Sant Longowal's life of political activism began in June 1964, when he led a demonstration for Sikh rights at the historic site of Paonta Sahib in the present-day state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1965, Harcharan Singh became the president of the Akali organization in Sangrur district and a member of the working committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal. In 1969, he was elected to the Punjabi Legislative Assembly as the Akali candidate, defeating the Congress Party's Babu Brish Bhan, who had been chief minister of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU).

The modest and soft-spoken Sant Longowal was called on in 1975, when he was the acting president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, to lead the Sikh opposition to the martial law regime imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Afterwards, he retired from public life. In the 1977 general elections, Harcharan Singh was given the Akali nomination to run for a constituency in Punjab, but declined the offer, which enhanced his political reputation and stature.[2]

1980s: civil disobedience

In 1980, Sant Longowal was recalled to preside over the Akali party. In this role, he organized large-scale campaigns of civil disobedience to win concessions from India's Central Government on the longstanding grievances of Punjab, and especially the Sikhs of Punjab. Sant Longowal led the Akali side in years of frustrating negotiations with Mrs. Gandhi, talks that served to undermine public faith in the course of peaceful dialogue with the government. This, in turn strengthened the hand of extremists and separatists. [3] During the Central Government's ongoing campaign to discredit the Sikhs and paint them as seditious and bad for the country, Sant Longowal was several times called on to explain his vision of the aspirations of Sikhs in India: “Let me make it clear once and for all that the Sikhs have no designs to get away from India in any manner. What they want simply is that they should be allowed to live in India as Sikhs, free from all direct and indirect interference and tampering with their religious way of life. Undoubtedly the Sikhs have the same nationality as other Indians.” 11/10/82 [4] In July 1982, Sant Longowal invited Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to take up residence at the Golden Temple compound. He called the tough-minded Sant “our stave to beat the government.” [5]

The peaceful campaign to achieve justice from the central Indian government began August 4, 1982 under the leadership of the Akali party president, Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal and six other members of a designated high command, namely Parkash Singh Badal – former Chief Minister of Punjab, Gurcharan Singh Tohra – President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Surjit Singh Barnala – former Union Agriculture Minister, Sukhjinder Singh – former Punjab Minister, and Ravi Inder Singh – former Speaker of the Punjab Legislature. All in all, it endured some twenty-two months and saw the arrest of more than 200,000 demonstrators in Amritsar. [6] The overall campaign was marked by several individual demonstrations. One of the earliest had an unexpected outcome. When Sant Longowal declared that Sikhs would demonstrate against the Central Government's injustices at the opening of the Asian Games scheduled to begin in Delhi on November 19, 1982, the Prime Minister called on her ally, the Chief Minister of Haryana to harass and prevent Sikhs traveling by road or rail from neighbouring Punjab to Delhi. This the Haryana police did with great zeal and in the process humiliated and radicalized many distinguished and highly decorated Sikh civilians and army officers coming to the games. Harbans Singh, The Heritage of the Sikhs, Delhi, Manohar Books, 1983, pp. 356-59. On January 4, 1983 there was a mass stoppage of traffic on the major highways. On June 17, 1983 rail traffic was halted by large-scale protests. A state-wide work stoppage was held on August 29, 1983. On January 26, 1984 article 25(a) of the constitution indicating Sikhs are Hindus was publicly burned. [7] Finally, Sant Longowal announced that as of June 3, 1984 would practice civil disobedience by refusing to pay land revenue, water and electricity bills, and block the flow of grain out of Punjab.[8] The Sikh coalition in opposition to the Central Government held together until September 1983, when the increasing frustrations of negotiating with the Prime Minister began to take its toll in a growing division between hardliners led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Jagdev Singh Talwandi and the moderates led by Harcharan Singh Longowal.[9]

Finally, Sant Longowal announced that as of June 3, 1984 would practice civil disobedience by refusing to pay land revenue, water and electricity bills, and block the flow of grain out of Punjab.[10] The next day, the Indian Army began its long-planned attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Inside, were Longowal, SGPC head Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala and thousands of pilgrims. Longowal and Tohra and the rest of the Akali leadership were arrested and imprisoned. Bhindranwala and most of his followers in the temple were killed. Pilgrims were killed on the site or imprisoned under the martial law conditions.

Punjab Accord

Finally, in March 1985, the leadership of the Akali party began to be released from jail under orders from the new prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. With a view to improving the situation and creating the conditions for a negotiated settlement of Sikh demands, the prime minister's confidente, Arjun Singh, himself a Punjabi, as the Governor of the state, also relaxed the censorship on the Punjabi press, withdrew army control over certain districts, announced his willingness to institute a judicial enquiry into the November 1984 killings, lifted the ban on the All India Sikh Students Federation and agreed to review the cases of thousands of Sikhs imprisoned since the army's arrival in Punjab the previous June. Within a few days, the first 53 were released. A few days later, Rajiv made an effort to address the economic woes of Punjab, with its diminishing acreages and burgeoning unemployment by announcing the establishment of a rail coach factory at Kapurthala, Punjab which would need about 20,000 skilled hands.[11] Then, after weeks of secret negotiations, Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal met the Prime Minister in Delhi and on July 23, 1985 signed an eleven-point memorandum covering all the major issues which had defied resolution since the Akalis had first presented their list of demands.[12] The items agreed upon were: 1) monetary compensation for innocents killed and properties damaged in civil disobedience, army or police actions since August 1, 1982; 2) affirmation that merit shall remain the sole criterion for recruitment into the army; 3) the jurisdiction of the enquiry into the November killings in Delhi to be extended to cover the havoc in Bokaro and Kanpur as well; 4) all those discharged from the army to be rehabilitated and provided gainful employment; 5) the government's consideration of the formulation of a bill to cover the administration of Gurdwaras throughout India; 6) withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Punjab except in cases of waging war and hijacking; 7) transfer of the capital Chandigarh to Punjab and simultaneous transfer of territory in lieu to the state of Haryana on January 26, 1986; 8) submission of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution on Centre-State relations to the Sarkaria Commission for study and evaluation; 9) referral of the claims of Punjab and Haryana regarding their shares of river waters to a Supreme Court judges and a binding decision to be arrived at within six months; 10) Prime Minister to write all Chief Ministers regarding protection of minority interests; 11) the possibility of the Central Government taking some steps to promote usage of the Punjabi language. [13]

Death

Less than a month after signing the Punjab accord, Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal was shot and killed at the gurdwara in village Sherpur, not far from Longowal, Punjab. With his death, the date of the supposed transfer of the capital to Punjab came and went with no effect. Soon, the credibility and goodwill of the agreement lay in ruins. [14]

See also

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References

  1. ^ Kalia, D. R. Sant Harcharan Singh Longowal, 1932-1985: A Martyr for Peace (1985), p.50, New-Age Publishers & Distributors
  2. ^ Sujit Singh Gandhi, “Harcharan Singh Longowal, Sant”, The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, ed. Harbans Singh, Vol. II, Patiala, India, Punjabi University, 1996, p. 226.
  3. ^ Harji Malik, “The Politics of Alienation,” Punjab - The Fatal Miscalculation: Perspectives on Unprincipled Politics, eds. Patwant Singh and Harji Malik, New Delhi, Patwant Singh, 1984, pp. 36, 38-39; Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 355.
  4. ^ A.G. Noorani, “A White Paper on a Black Accord,” The Punjab Crisis: Challenge and Response, Abida Samiuddin, ed., Delhi, K.M. Mittal, 1985, p. 231.
  5. ^ Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 337.
  6. ^ Khushwant Singh, “The Genesis”, The Punjab Crisis: Challenge and Response, Abida Samiuddin, ed., Delhi, K.M. Mittal, 1985, p. 97.
  7. ^ Devdutt, “A Counter Paper on Punjab”, The Punjab Crisis: Challenge and Response, Abida Samiuddin, ed., Delhi, K.M. Mittal, 1985, p. 242.
  8. ^ Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 341.
  9. ^ Kuldeep Kaur, Akali Party in Punjab Politics: Splits and Mergers, New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1999, pp. 81-85, 90; Mark Tully and Satish Jacob, Amritsar: Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle, London, Jonathan Cape, 1985, p. 91.
  10. ^ Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 341.
  11. ^ Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 394.
  12. ^ Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 395.
  13. ^ Kuldeep Kaur, Akali Party in Punjab Politics: Splits and Mergers, New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1999, pp. 168-70.
  14. ^ Patwant Singh, The Sikhs, London, John Murray, 1999, pp. 243-44; Gopal Singh, A History of the Sikh People, New Delhi, World Book Center, 1988, p. 777-78; Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 398-99.

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