Political context

After the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, the Akali Dal finally had a state that was predominantly Punjabi-speaking and Sikh-majority. Yet, coming to power did not solve their deeper political problems. The Akalis formed coalition governments in 1967 and again in 1977, but both times their rule was cut short by the central government dismissing the state government mid-term. This pattern made one thing clear: winning an election in Punjab did not guarantee the Akalis a stable hold on power.

Three specific weaknesses kept the Akali position precarious. First, the central government dismissed their ministry before its full term ended — a blunt reminder that the state government was not truly master of its own fate. Second, the Akalis could not count on the support of Hindu voters in Punjab. The Sikh community itself was the third and most complex problem. Like every religious community in India, Sikhs were divided along caste and class lines. The Congress party, not the Akali Dal, drew more support from Dalit voters — whether those Dalits were Hindu or Sikh. Master Tara Singh, the towering Sikh religious and political leader who had led the Akali movement and the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), had championed the idea of a separate Punjab. But even after that goal was achieved, the Akali base remained narrow.

It was against this backdrop that a section of Akali leaders began, in the 1970s, to demand political autonomy for the region. Their most famous expression of this demand came in the form of a resolution passed at a party conference in Anandpur Sahib in 1973. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution had three key thrusts:

• It asserted regional autonomy for Punjab.
• It called for a fundamental redefinition of the centre-state relationship in India — essentially a plea for stronger federalism.
• It spoke of the aspirations of the Sikh qaum (community or nation) and declared the goal of attaining the bolbala (dominance or hegemony) of the Sikhs. …