1983 Dhilwan bus massacre

Massacre in Punjab, India yes January 2018 January 2018 The 1983 Dhilwan Bus massacre was an uninvestigated,Dhillon Kirpal S. Identity and Survival: Sikh Militancy in India, 1978-1993 2006 Penguin Books London, United Kingdom 9780143100362 https://books.google.com/books?id=3eBuAAAAMAAJ 117–119 Although all segments of the Sikh religio-political spectrum too condemned the misdeed in the strongest possible terms, a section of the media in Jalandhar did not desist from making fairly explicit insinuationsabout the involvement of Sikh militants in the foul deed. A former university teacher and a long-time watcher of the Punjab situation alludes to some very peculiar features of the Dhilwan murders. First, the bus waylaid by the killers was not a scheduled service but diverted from its original route. Second, the six unlucky Hindus belonged to sects and castes not generally found in the area and third, the miscreants just walked away and were never seriously tracked by the police. unsolved, and unclaimedKaur Mallika Faith, Gender, and Activism in the Punjab Conflict: The Wheat Fields Still Whisper 2020 https://books.google.com/books?id=DC_KDwAAQBAJ Springer Nature 978-3-030-24674-7 237–238 Bhindranwale condemned the Dhilwan killings and denied Sikh involvement, but the media apparatus ran amuck, declaring Bhindranwale’s Sikhs had opened hostilities against all Hindus. Allowing no time for investigation into the unclaimed terrorist action, Indira Gandhi swiftly suspended state government in Punjab and President’s Rule was declared. incident on 6 October 1983, in which 6 Hindus were shot dead by "'unidentified' extremists"https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/07/world/indian-government-takes-over-a-state-swept-by-religious-strife.html Indian Government takes over a state swept by religious strife The New York Times 7 October 1983 22 November 2014 29 November 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141129183816/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/07/world/indian-government-takes-over-a-state-swept-by-religious-strife.html live Stevens William K. In the latest trouble, eight people were killed by unidentified "extremists" in two separate incidents. purported by the media to have been Sikh.Indian government orders crackdown on terrorism 59 Lakeland Ledger https://books.google.com/books?id=DbNOAAAAIBAJ&dq=Indian+government+orders+crackdown+on+terrorism.+Lakeland+Ledger&pg=PA59&article_id=5487,3339519Martin Gus https://books.google.com/books?id=ClN2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA544 The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition 2011-06-15 SAGE Publications 978-1-4522-6638-1 544 en In October 1983, six Hindu bus passengers were slaughtered by Sikh militants The victims were taken off a bus going from Dhilwan in Kapurthala district to Jalandhar, in the northern state of Punjab, India. Background In the wake of deteriorating negotiations between Indira Gandhi and various Sikh groups during the Dharam Yudh Morcha, armed incidents flared up in the weeks of September-October 1983, in which 20 people were killed and another 18 were wounded. Incident According to media reports, the perpetrators asked the 20 passengers aboard to declare their religious affiliation, and subsequently lined up 7 Hindu men and shot them. One of them, while shot, pretended to be dead. Two Hindu passengers, a 16 year old teenager and his mother, were spared.Punjab Government Dismissed; Terror Increases 9 Observer-Reporter https://books.google.com/books?id=GHtiAAAAIBAJ&dq=Punjab+Government+Dismissed%3B+Terror+Increases&pg=PA9&article_id=1912,859362 According to former Punjab DGP Kirpal Dhillon, the incident was characterized by several unusual circumstances: the perpetrators had never been seriously tracked, the bus had not been a scheduled service and had deviated from its usual route, and the victims did not belong to sects and castes typical of the area,Dhillon 2006 117 noting the possibility of it being authorized by Congress ministers and managed through the police and central agency.Dhillon 2006 118 Media The entire spectrum of Sikh groups condemned the incident "in the strongest possible terms." Nevertheless, a section of the regional Jalandhar media "ran amuck," persisting in insinuating Sikh militant involvement,Dhillon 2006 117 declaring that "Bhindranwale's Sikhs" had opened hostilities against all Hindus," and that the incident was an attempt to compel Hindus to flee Punjab, according to journalist and Indira Gandhi biographer Inder Malhotra.Malhotra Inder https://books.google.com/books?id=wRxnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT502 Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography 2014-02-01 Hay House, Inc 978-93-84544-16-4 en Despite the incidents never being solved, the media and subsequent public opinion would be convinced of this narrative.Kaur Mallika Faith, Gender, and Activism in the Punjab Conflict: The Wheat Fields Still Whisper 2020 https://books.google.com/books?id=DC_KDwAAQBAJ Springer Nature 978-3-030-24674-7 100 Almost all the murders remained unsolved, but the media and the court of public opinion were convinced: Sikh militants were habitually pulling Hindus from buses to unleash animalistic anger. Bhindranwale would state, "It suits the government to publicize me as an extremist, thus making an excuse to frustrate the just cause and the legitimate demands of the entire Sikh community and Punjab state."Dhillon 2006 109 The spate of incidents in 1983, including Dhilwan, the first of its kind, were widely suspected to be false flags; the political magazine Surya, patronized by the BJP party, substantiated many such suspicions in detailed reports about the role of the Third Agency, detailing the career trajectories of various operatives and plans to replicate the "Punjab model" to other burgeoning conflict zones, including Sri Lanka. Aftermath Following the incident, the Congress led State government of Darbara Singh was finally dismissed by Zail Singh.Dhillon 2006 117 and President's Rule was imposed by Indira Gandhi on 6 October,Dhillon 2006 203 allowing no time for investigation into the unclaimed act. In addition to President's rule, Punjab would also come under the AFSPA in 1983, granting the army unrestrained powers, including to shoot on suspicion with immunity from prosecution. Terrorist incidents resumed even after the consequential massacre. On October 21, a passenger train was derailed, the ensuing collision killed 19 people. On November 18, another bus was hijacked and 4 Hindu passengers were murdered.Jeffrey Robin https://books.google.com/books?id=qQO_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 What's Happening to India?: Punjab, Ethnic Conflict, and the Test for Federalism 2016-07-27 Springer 978-1-349-23410-3 167 en Following President's rule, thousands of suspected Sikh extremists were apprehended by security forces. The operations elicited strong condemnation from the Akali Dal, who drew parallels between the government's actions and the sanguinary history between the Mughals and Sikhs. Reactions Harchand Singh Longowal "was quick" to condemn the incident. He described the incident "as an anti-national and anti-Sikh act".Gupta Shekhar December 15, 1983 Brutal slaying of four Hindu bus travellers takes tension in Punjab to a new high https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19831215-brutal-slaying-of-four-hindu-bus-travellers-takes-tension-in-punjab-to-a-new-high-804481-2014-02-03 2022-05-18 India Today en the incidents prompted open Akali allegations that killings were being done by professionals under the orders of the Third Agency, an intelligence wing formed by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, looking for a pretext to impose President's rule in Punjab.Dhillon 1996 203 Longowal himself repeatedly challenged the Government that he would prove that the Dhilwan shootings were not done by any Sikh or Akali if a judicial enquiry was conducted.Dhillon 1996 203 Bhindranwale, as well as all militant groups, would "squarely and unequivocally" condemn the bus shootings, the 20 October train derailment, and all fatal incidents, demanding a judicial inquiry into the spate of events during the month.Dhillon 2006 117–119 Even radical Sikh groups, which normally did not shy away from claiming responsibility for violence, denied any role in bus killings or desecrations and condemned them, with the Babbar Khalsa denouncing the "killing of any Hindus, robberies, or any religiously provocative acts." According to them, their targets were only either Sant Nirankaris involved in 1978, or police officers who were deemed guilty of "torturing and humiliating" Sikh youth detained during the Dharam Yudh Morcha and harassing their family members.Dhillon 2006 119 Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale made a speech from the Guru Nanak Niwas on October 16 condemning the massacre, but accusing Indira Gandhi of double standards for dismissing Darbara Singh's government in response, questioning why she did not do so on account of the 200 Sikhs who "achieved martyrdom" at the hands of Punjab police during Dharam Yudh Morcha during the period prior.Chima Jugdep S March 3, 2010 The Sikh Separatist Insurgency in India: Political Leadership and Ethnonationalist Movements 1st https://books.google.com/books?id=sxpBDwAAQBAJ&dq=bhindranwale+akal+takht+babbar&pg=PT102 SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd 978-9353881566Sandhu Ranbir Singh August 1, 1999 Struggle for Justice: Speeches and Conversations of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale https://archive.org/details/StruggleForJustice/page/290/mode/2up 291 Sikh Educational & Religious Foundation Dublin, Ohio 978-0967287409 In mid-December, he made statements to the press decrying both this and other attacks on Hindus during the preceding months, suggesting by then that these attacks were false flag operations by the government to secure Hindu votes.Gupta Shekhar December 15, 1983 Brutal slaying of four Hindu bus travellers takes tension in Punjab to a new high https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19831215-brutal-slaying-of-four-hindu-bus-travellers-takes-tension-in-punjab-to-a-new-high-804481-2014-02-03 2022-05-18 India Today en Shortly afterwards, responding to a dispute with Babbar Khalsa, he moved with his followers into rooms near the Akal Takht, heading off the possibility of a government raid in the midst of the increasing tensions.Martin Gus https://books.google.com/books?id=ClN2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA544 The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition 2011-06-15 SAGE Publications 978-1-4522-6638-1 544 en In October 1983, six Hindu bus passengers were slaughtered by Sikh militants Following national public outrage, the government pressured Longowal and other moderate factions of the Sikh leadership to issue a religious edict condemning violence. The extremist faction raised objections, questioning whether security forces would abide by similar principles; negotiations subsequently fell through as Longowal and the moderates succumbed to internal dissent. Judgep S. Chima cites this dereliction as evidence of the extremist faction within the Sikh leadership gaining more influence by the fall of 1983. See also 1987 Lalru bus massacre 1987 Fatehabad bus killings Insurgency in Punjab, India Khalistan Movement List of bus killings during Punjab insurgency References Sources Dhillon Gurdarshan Singh Truth about Punjab: SGPC White Paper 1996 Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Amritsar, Punjab 978-0836456547 https://archive.org/details/TruthAboutPunjab/mode/2up 25 March 2020 Category:Massacres in 1983 Category:October 1983 in Asia Category:1983 crimes Category:October 1983 Category:Mass shootings in India Category:Insurgency in Punjab, India Dhilwan bus massacre, 1983 Category:Terrorism in Punjab, India Dhilwan bus massacre, 1983 Category:Terrorist incidents on buses in Asia Category:Sikh terrorism in India Category:Khalistan movement Category:Kapurthala district Category:1983 mass shootings in Asia Category:1983 murders in India