Sikh Separatist Movement
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In the, 1970s and 1980s, the Sikh separatist movement emerged as a particularly virulent manifestation of the centuries old struggle of the Sikhs to preserve their distinct culture and religion in the Indian subcontinent. The roots of that struggle, its unequal nature and its course lie deeply embedded in the historical experience of this embattled minority and certain fundamental geographic, economic and demographic realities. During the latter stages of the rule of Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1984, a tragic and violent series of confrontations developed between the Sikhs and the dominant Hindu majority. They resulted from the trauma of the 1947 partition of India, the polarization of political and communal conflict in post-independence India and miscalculations and failures of leadership in both communities. The violence escalated in the period which followed Gandhi's assassination in 1984 to near civil war proportions. The movement was suppressed with great difficulty by the central government over the following decade. The ultimate outcome of that struggle will depend on many factors, the most important of which is whether the modernization and economic and political development of India will facilitate the eventual accommodation of Sikh and Hindu differences. The history of the past 50 years is not encouraging. Until the events of the past 30 years, the Sikh and Hindu communities of north
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(Amritsar 35).
Nehru, who "remained resolutely opposed to the creation of a Punjabi Suba or state," formed in 1953 a States Reorganization Commission to study the demands of various regions that state boundaries be redrawn on a linguistic basis (Tully and Satish Amritsar 35). That Commission created 13 such states out of 15 requested but rejected a Punjabi-speaking state. Akali-led agitation for such a state continued through the 1950s, culminating in Tara's threat to fast to death in 1961, a fast he abandoned after 43 days and which Tully said "ended his political career in ignominy" (Amritsar 41).
Tara was replaced by Sant Fateh Singh, who came from the Jat peasants of East Punjab. Thereafter, Tully and Satish said that "the Akali Dal became first and foremost a party representing the interests of . . . the Jats" (Amritsar 42). Under Fateh's leadership, the Akali Dal increasingly moved in a more radical direction. The movement gained broader support among Sikhs in part because of other Sikh grievances over the policies of the central government on agricultural price supports and the division of the area's waters. The Akali Dal leadership "saw modernism that came with prosperity as a menace to their faith, a threat to th
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3662
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)
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