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Since the dawn of Indian history, Punjab has always been in turmoil as it was the northern land gateway to the Indo-Gangetic plains and had borne the brunt of the attacks of the invading hordes from the Asian heartlands for many centuries. The twentieth century has witnessed the cataclysmic shrinkage in size of the once sprawling Punjab that extended from river Indus in the west to the outskirts of Delhi before 1947. The present state of Punjab is surrounded by Jammu and Kashmir in the north, Himachal Pradesh in the east, Haryana and Rajasthan in the south and the country of Pakistan in the west. Punjab had seen many a bloodbath, but partition of India in 1947 rocked it with human blood, and the period from 1980 to 1992 saw the specter of terrorism hitting the state. In the name of religion, pacifists turned fanatics and human life became one of the cheapest commodities. The author has felt harrowed by the virulence of communal frenzy and violence as he has worked in Punjab as its Director General of Police during 1980s, and stayed very close to the seat of power. The present book is an indepth study of the land and people of Punjab, freedom movement and bloodbath in Punjab, Sikh religion, Sikh identity, Khalistan movement, Fundamentalism, Operation Blue Star, Terrorism and its failure, Political Opportunism, Assassination of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and its aftermath, etc. etc. The book also discloses many known personalities who fashioned the era, and the policies which spelt disaster. It shows the admixture of religion and politics putting the verdant land of Punjab on fire. The author has suggested that a multi-dimensional effort embracing competence and probability, political sagacity and the ambience of Punjabi culture can heal the outrage Punjab has suffered. About the Author Mr. Birbal Nath joined Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1950 and has served in various capacities in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir—the border states of north-west of India. He took keen interest in studying the problems of insurgency and terrorism not only in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir but also on Thailand`s borders with Burma, Combodia and Malaysia. During his tenure as first Director General of Police (1980-82) Punjab, Pakistan`s sponsored Sikh fundamentalists had resorted to violence against Nirankaris only (a sect which came out of Sikhism) and raised faint ritualistic noises for a separate Sikh state but were ready to make negotiated resolution of their demands. Mr. Birbal Nath had, however, developed differences with Punjab Government on the methods of dealing with the Sikh problem. In view of these differences with Punjab govt., he was transferred to New Delhi as Director General, Border Security Force (BSF) in October, 1982. He had the privilege of enjoying the confidence of the Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, who consulted him occasionally on Punjab and other border matters. He had the courage to caution her against storming Golden Temple, Amritsar. She accepted this advice for almost two years but pressures started to mount upon her for decisive action against separatist forces in view of interminable chain of murder of innocent Sikhs and Hindus by the extremists. She felt let down by para-military forces and intelligence agencies that she had assiduously raised and provided almost unlimited resources. It was in a mood of frustration that she allowed hawks to prevail with the results that are now before us all. Mr. Birbal Nath retired from Indian Police Service on 30th September, 1984. However, he was recalled into service in the ministry of home affairs to deal with brutal and inhuman anti-sikh riots, in the wake of the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. During his one year tenure in the ministry, he not only helped to reorganize Delhi Police but also had new outfits created to fight the menace of terrorism and criminalization of India Polity.
ISBN - 9788170493235
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