Road to peace

After the 1984 elections, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi took the first major step toward peace by opening a dialogue with moderate leaders of the Akali Dal. In July 1985, he signed an agreement with Harchand Singh Longowal, then President of the Akali Dal. This was called the Rajiv Gandhi–Longowal Accord (or the Punjab Accord).

The Accord had several key provisions:

• Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab.
• A separate commission would be appointed to resolve the border dispute between Punjab and Haryana.
• A tribunal would be set up to decide the sharing of Ravi-Beas river water among Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
• Compensation and better treatment would be provided to those affected by militancy in Punjab.
• The application of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Punjab would be withdrawn.

Despite this agreement, peace did not come easily or immediately. The cycle of violence continued for nearly another decade. Militancy and counter-insurgency operations led to excesses by the police and widespread violations of human rights. Politically, the Akali Dal fragmented into several factions. The central government had to impose President’s rule in the state, suspending normal electoral and political processes. Restoring the political process in an atmosphere of suspicion and violence proved extremely difficult.

When elections were finally held in Punjab in 1992, only 24 per cent of eligible voters turned out to vote. Militancy was eventually eradicated by the security forces, but the losses incurred by the people of Punjab — both Sikhs and Hindus — were enormous.

Peace returned to Punjab only by the middle of the 1990s. In 1997, the first normal elections in the state in the post-militancy era were held. The alliance of the Akali Dal (Badal) and the BJP scored a major victory. Since then, the state has once again been preoccupied with questions of economic development and social change. Though religious identities continue to be important for the people, politics has gradually moved back along secular lines. …