Prologue continues.....

Yet, although Gandhi was brought back to power by the people within two years of her defeat, it appeared that she could not regain her elan.

Terrorism in Punjab sponsored by supporters of Khalistan was becoming

a serious problem and the Government was not fully prepared politically and administratively to deal with it. The law-and-order machinery just buckled under the onslaught of terrorists. Punjab had become a killing field. The terrorists could now also operate in Delhi, the national capital, with a sense of impunity.

The frequency of killings in Delhi increased as the days passed by. The most disturbing thing about these killings was that people belonging to the Hindu religion were specially targeted. The purpose obviously was to disrupt the traditional brotherly relationship between Hindus and Sikhs.

The Government did not act decisively at the initial stages because of the restraint it imposed upon itself in consideration

of the sensitivity of the Sikh community in general. The Government was not sure how the Sikhs would react to this situation as the Punjab terrorists were all Sikhs. This presented a really difficult situation before the Government The entry of the army in the Golden Temple at Amritsar – the most

sacred place of worship of the Sikhs, which was fully occupied by the terrorists and which was converted into an armed fortress – and the killing of all terrorists holed up therein is a part of history.

Although the nation heaved a sigh of relief at the liquidation of terrorists and their mastermind, the Sikh mind was deeply hurt by the entry of the army into their most sacred place of worship. After a brief interregnum, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two security men, who were guarding the gate of her house, by pumping thirty-six bullets into her frail body. Both the security men, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, were Sikhs.

To be continued......