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Cautionary tale
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Operation Black Thunder is a dismal story of political irresponsibility and administrative arrogance, says MARK TULLY.
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Punjab ... when political advantage was more important than people's welfare.
IF there is anyone who knows the inside story of terrorism in Punjab it is Sarabjit Singh. A Sikh with a deep religious faith, he understands what came to be called the Sikh psyche, and was Commissioner of Amritsar for five years which included the second occupation of the Golden Temple by Sikh militants and took him almost up to the end of the violence. This is a dismal story of political irresponsibility and administrative arrogance combined with incompetence, which prolonged the State's agony. Sarabjit Singh pulls no punches in revealing the manoeuvres of the politicians and the interference by the Central Government ignoring the advice of the State Government. This is a timely tale too because these failings could well lead to the opportunity thrown up by the elections in Kashmir being squandered.
Sarabjit Singh accepts the widely held view that the trouble in Punjab originated in the Congress party's strategy to promote Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a rival to the Akalis. So, from the very start, political advantage outweighed considerations of the welfare of Punjab and indeed of India, not to mention faithfulness to the Congress party's secular principles. Coming to the period when he had a ringside view, Sarabjit maintains that dismissing the Barnala Government and abandoning the Punjab accord were calculated to boost support for the Congress party in the elections in predominantly Hindu Haryana in 1987. The ploy failed because the Congress(I) was roundly defeated by Devi Lal. Sarabjit goes on to record other examples of what he saw were politically motivated actions by the Congress(I) under Rajiv Gandhi which worsened the situation in Punjab. In 1990 the Congress(I), by then out of. power, opposed holding elections in Punjab for political reasons and so did Pakistan's bidding. As Sarabjit Singh writes, "It is somewhat strange that Congress saw a danger to the country's integrity if elections were to be held in Punjab while Pakistan feared the doom of terrorism if democracy were to be restored." Sarabjit Singh also believes that Narasimha Rao postponed elections in Punjab when he came to power for political reasons. The former District Commissioner of Amritsar is rightly harsh on Congress(I), but perhaps he lets the Akalis off too lightly.
Punjab was also plagued by advisers, officials and politicians, in Delhi who were not just back-seat drivers but wanted to take over the steering wheel themselves. One example of Delhi's arrogance was their insistence on releasing Bhindranwale's nephew Jasbir Singh Rode and supporting his claim to be the Jathedar of the Akal Takht. Sarabjit Singh, being on the spot, understood that Rode would have no influence over the militants and realised that his release would be grist to the mill of those peddling rumours about the government being in cahoots with those militants. Sarabjit Singh also believes the success of Operation Black Thunder was belittled because, "It did not have its origins in the corridors of North Block. It was locally conceived and devised." Whether that was so or not, it was certainly a petty-minded Home Minister, and one all too willing to believe the worst about the State administration, who descended on Sarabjit Singh and K.P.S. Gill in the early hours of the morning to accuse them falsely of mishandling the reopening of the temple.
As an occasional author myself I know how annoying it is when reviewers pick up on small mistakes but no one would believe I'd read Operation Black Thunder if I didn't point out that the name of my colleague in the BBC was Satish Jacob, not Jacob Malik. However that and one or two other slips don't diminish the value of this cautionary tale.
Operation Black Thunder: An Eyewitness Account of Terrorism in Punjab, Sarabjit Singh, Sage Publications.
Mark Tully, a freelance journalist and broadcaster, was the BBC's correspondent in India from 1965-1994. He was also awarded the Padmashree and conferred knighthood.
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