1978 Sikh–Nirankari clash

The Sant Nirankari Mission splintered from the Nirankari sect in the 20th century. Nirankari, a movement within Sikhism, started in the mid-19th century. Their belief in a living guru as opposed to the scriptural guru, Guru Granth Sahib, developing over the decades especially in one branch, A Nirankari hymn-singer, Boota Singh, had been removed from his paid duties due to "personal lapses" considered incongruous in a missionary organization, and in 1929 tried and failed to set up a rival organization in Peshawar, nominating his devotee Avtar Singh, a bakery shop owner, as his successor in 1943. Without having established any significant religious base, Avtar Singh moved to Delhi after partition, getting his group registered as the "Sant Nirankaris" in 1948, which were "much different" from the successors of the original Nirankari movement they splintered from. His son Gurbachan Singh succeeded him in 1963, and tensions with the Sikhs escalated as he subsequently proclaimed himself as a godman and incarnation of Guru Nanak, styling himself as bājjāṅwālā (Punjabi for "master of the hawk"), an epithet of Guru Gobind Singh, using the names of the Sikh Gurus for his servants, and coming out with publications like the Avtar Bani, which made derogatory references to the Guru Granth Sahib, the primary scripture of Sikhism. Sacrilegious versions of Sikh rituals, including administering to his sat sitāre, or seven stars, his version of the Panj Piare of Guru Gobind Singh, "charan amrit", the water used to wash his feet, in place of the amrit, or holy water mixed with sugar by a steel blade, as dictated by Guru Gobind Singh for the Amrit Sanchar. The skirmishes were attributed in significant part to political machinations to maintain a rift between the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Damdami Taksal, using the willing Sant Nirankaris to do so; Bhindranwale was being harassed and provoked by senior Sant Nirankari officials in the Punjab administration. The Akalis claimed that the Sant Nirankaris were supported by the Indian National Congress to divide and undermine the Sikh community, while many Sikhs suspected that the Nirankaris were aided and abetted by the Central Government and the urban Hindu elite in Punjab, who were the base of the Jan Sangh, the Akali Dal's coalition partner, and from whom the Sant Nirankaris received donations from, and hence why the Akalis had permitted the convention. This reported continuous support of the organization by the central government was also evidenced by the fact that, during a very short span, the Sant Nirankaris established 354 branches: 27 abroad and the rest in India, with large amounts of property. The organization created a paramilitary branch called the Seva Dal, with a membership of over 7,000, headed by a commander, called a mukhya shishak (chief teacher). The Akali Dal's Janata Party allies warned the Akalis not to intervene in the growing tensions on the pretext of "religious freedom", against the wishes of a large section of the Sikh community. Gurbachan Singh had met Prime Minister Morarji Desai who gave him assurances; major Sikh leaders, including Jagdev Singh Talwandi and Gurcharan Singh Tohra, responded by telling the press and government not to meddle in the "internal affairs" of the Sikhs by commenting on hukamnamas. ==Incident==

On 13 April 1978, the day to celebrate the birth of Khalsa, a Sant Nirankari convention headed by their leader Gurbachan Singh was organized in Amritsar, with permission from the Akali-led State Government of Punjab. The Nirankari held their precession in the morning and amassed a congregation of 50,000-100,000 people who peacefully passed throughout the city. From the Golden Temple premises, Bhindranwale delivered a sermon in which he declared that he would not allow this convention. Bhindranwale declared "We are going to march there and cut them to pieces!" A procession of about two hundred Sikhs led by Bhindranwale of the Damdami Taksal and Fauja Singh of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha left the Golden Temple, heading towards the Sant Nirankari Convention. The subsequent Akali precession mutilated a shopkeeper on the way to the Sant Nirankari venue, whilst Bhindranwale was shouting inflammatory slogans. According to eyewitness accounts, the group, mostly men and joined by women who had refused the advice to stay back, headed out of the Darbar Sahib after an ardas and commitment to nonviolence. They were walked by Bhindranwale to the gates. The local police assigned to the Sant Nirankaris met the protesters and asked them to wait there, as they would go speak to the Sant Nirankaris about their controversial program. Fauja Singh allegedly attempted to behead Nirankari chief Gurbachan Singh with his sword but was shot dead by Gurbachan's bodyguard subsequently resulting in an armed clash between the two groups. Bhindranwale fled as the clash began. In the ensuing violence, several people were killed: two of Bhindranwale's followers, eleven members of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and two Sant Nirankaris. According to Kirpal Dhillon, former DGP of Punjab, the reported participation of some senior Punjab government officials in the convention also may have emboldened the Sant Nirankaris to initiate the attack; later police investigations revealed that the attack on the Sikhs was led by a man on horseback with armed attackers, taking place some 250-400 yards away from the venue. Fauja Singh died as he was being rushed to the hospital, and the cremation of Fauja Singh and the 12 other Sikhs occurred in a large ceremony attended by tens of thousands; the photos of his maimed body, with a bullet wound in his left eye, spread along with the news of the death quickly. ==Aftermath==

The clash triggered mass demonstrations, some violent, in Punjab and Delhi. The day following the clash, 250 Nihang Sikhs, armed with spears and guns, stormed a human unity Sant Nirankari conference, triggering further clashes, in which 28 people were killed and more than 140 were injured. Immediately following the clash, Sant Nirankari sites and holy places were beleaguered and threats of physical violence were meted out. The Akal Takht later issued a hukamnama expelling the Sant Nirankaris out of the Sikh community and proscribing any interlocution with them. They further directed Sikhs to use "all appropriate means" to prevent the Sant Nirankaris from "grow[ing] and flourish[ing] in society". A criminal case was filed against sixty two Sant Nirankaris, charged with the murder of 13 Sikhs, by the Akali-led government in Punjab. The investigation concluded that the attack on the Sikhs was planned by a number of accused, including Gurbachan Singh, all of whom were taken into custody except for Gurbachan Singh himself, who was arrested later in Delhi only after being permitted a personal audience with the Prime Minister Morarji Desai. The Sant Nirankaris had firmly supported Emergency rule, and developed close links with many Congress politicians and bureaucrats, creating a strong foothold in Delhi political circles; this gave rise to opposition from the Akalis and the Damdami Taksal during the same period. The case was heard in the neighbouring Haryana state, and all the accused were acquitted on grounds of self-defence on 4 January 1980, two days before the Lok Sabha poll. Though the case failed as authorities in Punjab were unable to ensure that the prosecution witness remained uncompromised by interested parties and police in Karnal, the Chief Minister of Punjab Prakash Singh Badal decided not to appeal the decision. The Sant Nirankaris received support from the media, who portrayed the incident as "inter-sect wars" and proof of rising Sikh orthodoxy, The chief proponents of this attitude were the Babbar Khalsa founded by the widow, Bibi Amarjit Kaur of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, whose husband Fauja Singh had been at the head of the march in Amritsar; the Damdami Taksal led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who had also been in Amritsar on the day of the outrage; the Dal Khalsa, formed with the object of demanding a sovereign Sikh state; and the All India Sikh Students Federation. On 24 April 1980, the Sant Nirankari guru, Gurbachan Singh was assassinated. The Babbar Khalsa, who opposed Bhindranwale, claimed responsibility for the killing of Sant Nirankaris. Several of Bhindranwale's associates and relatives were arrested. The FIR named nearly twenty people involved in the murder, claimed to have had ties to Bhindranwale. A member of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Ranjit Singh, surrendered and admitted to the assassination three years later, and was sentenced to serve thirteen years at the Tihar Jail in Delhi. Ranjit Singh later became head of Akal Takht. Ranjit Singh spent 12 years in jail as an under-trial from 1984 to 1996. Several other members of Sant Nirankari Mission were also killed later. The police crackdown in the state resulted in an average of 50 youths detained and 6 six killed per week, prompting a wider acceptance of Bhindranwale's claim that the government was out to destroy the Sikhs. The People's Union for Civil Liberties, an Indian human rights group, accused the Punjab Police of behaving like a "barbarian force". In response, Akali initiatives like Raasta roko ("Block the Roads") and Kamm Roko ("Stop Work" i.e. strike) drew massive popular support in Punjab, and seven other states supported Sikh demands for greater autonomy for Punjab and the decentralization of government power. Later clashes Another clash occurred soon after in Kanpur on September 26, 1978. A frenzied mob of 500 Sikhs armed with guns, swords and spears attacked a Sant Nirankari congregation. According to police reports, the Sikhs had set fire to the tents outside the venue and forcibly entered the meeting hall. In this clash more than a dozen Sikhs were killed in firing by police. In November 1978, another clash occurred in Kanpur after Akali Sikhs, armed with weapons, protested against a three-day Nirankari convention. The police were compelled to disperse the rioters with tear gas and rifle shots after they had attacked the police with swords. == Allegations of Congress involvement ==

According to Apurba Kundu, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's instigations had engendered the clash, yet he was subsequently vindicated by the Congress apparatus, a gesture requited by Bhindranwale's campaigning for Congress candidates in the 1980 general elections. After the clash, Bhindranwale had associated with politicians with ties to Sanjay Gandhi. He was assisted in fielding candidates against the Akali Dal to contest the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections in 1979; his candidates were handily defeated. On the other hand, the Sant Nirankari's had, “...forged close links with many Punjab Congress politicians and bureaucrats.” The Sant Nirankaris were also supporters of the Emergency. ==Legacy==

Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj, Amritsar was raised in the memory of the 13 Sikhs killed in the clash. Satpal Baghi of Ferozepur in the Indian Express, notes: {{blockquote|The genesis of the real trouble between the Nirankaris and Akalis goes back to the years when Mrs. Indira Gandhi headed the Union Government. She wanted to weaken the Shiromani Akali Dal, but found that Akalis could not be brought to heel. She thought of an elaborate plan to strengthen the Nirankari sect not only in Punjab but throughout the country and abroad. Official patronage was extended to the Nirankaris, much to the chagrin of Akalis who have always considered the Nirankaris as heretics." "In pursuit of this policy of divide and rule, Mrs. Gandhi personally gave clearance for a diplomatic passport to be issued to the Nirankari Chief and the Indian High Commissioners and Ambassadors abroad were instructed to show him respect and regard. This was meant to help the sect to improve its image and increase its following abroad. During Mrs. Gandhi's regime, the Nirankaris were known to be receiving financial help from secret Government funds, not open to audit or scrutiny by Parliament." "During Emergency the recalcitrant attitude of the Akalis further annoyed Mrs. Gandhi and Mr. Sanjay Gandhi. Efforts for building a parallel organisation among the Sikhs of Punjab as a counterblast to the Akalis were intensified. At the insistence of Mrs. Gandhi, the Congress regime began giving great official patronage to the Nirankari sect. Mr. H.S. Chhina. Indian Administrative Service Tavleen Singh wrote: Khushwant Singh wrote: ==Bibliography==