Organisation
Government of India
The Union executive under the Constitution; its Punjab record runs from the 1966 reorganisation and Blue Star through the 1985 Accord to the farm laws.
What it is: The Government of India, or Union government, is the executive arm of the Republic of India under the Constitution, which came into force on 26 January 1950. Executive power rests with the Union Council of Ministers led by the Prime Minister, answerable to the Lok Sabha. It is distinct from Parliament, which makes the laws (Wikipedia).
Its part in this history: It is the other party to most Panthic political demands since 1947.
- 1950: Sardar Hukam Singh refused to sign the Constitution because the Sikhs' protection as a religious minority was not secured (Encyclopaedia of Sikhism).
- 1966: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi conceded the Punjabi-speaking state on 23 April 1966. The Punjab Reorganization Bill reached the Lok Sabha on 3 September, and on 1 November 1966 the state came into being, with Chandigarh and the river waters unresolved (Encyclopaedia).
- 16 to 17 October 1973: the Akali Dal's working committee adopted the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, asking that the Centre's role be limited to Defence, Foreign Relations, Currency and Communications. The 1978 Ludhiana conference urged recasting Centre-state relations on federal principles (Encyclopaedia).
- 6 October 1983: President's Rule was imposed in Punjab the day after the bus killings of 5 October (Ramachandra Guha, in Scroll). It lasted to 29 September 1985, and a second spell ran from 11 June 1987 to 25 February 1992 (Wikipedia).
- June 1984: Guha writes that the Prime Minister decided, after much reluctance, that the armed Sikhs had to be flushed out of the Harmandir Sahib complex. General Brar was briefed on 31 May and the assault began on the night of 5 June (Scroll).
- 24 July 1985: Rajiv Gandhi and Sant Harchand Singh Longowal signed the Accord, which seemed to promise Chandigarh's transfer, rehabilitation of Sikh Army deserters and compensation. The Tribune says most of the promises were never implemented. Longowal was shot dead on 20 August 1985.
- 2020 to 2021: Parliament passed three farm laws in September 2020. After farmers camped near Delhi for more than a year, both houses repealed them on 29 November 2021 without a debate (Al Jazeera).
Where it stands: It is the sitting Union government. In the latest episode recorded here it repealed the farm laws on 29 November 2021, 14 months after Parliament passed them.
Sources
- Government of India, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
- Hukam Singh, Sardar (1895-1983), The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism (ed. Harbans Singh), Punjabi University, Patiala. eos.learnpunjabi.org
- Punjabi Suba Movement, The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism (ed. Harbans Singh), Punjabi University, Patiala. eos.learnpunjabi.org
- Anandpur Sahib Resolution, The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism (ed. Harbans Singh), Punjabi University, Patiala. eos.learnpunjabi.org
- The Bhindranwale cult: How politics allowed an obscure preacher to challenge Indian democracy (excerpt from India After Gandhi), Scroll.in. scroll.in
- A moderate, signed Rajiv-Longowal accord, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- Indian Parliament votes to repeal farm laws after Modi's U-turn (29 November 2021), Al Jazeera. aljazeera.com
- List of chief ministers of Punjab, India (for the President's Rule dates), Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org