Operation Black Thunder : An Eyewitness Account of Terrorism in Punjab
Author:
Sarab Jit Singh
ISBN:
076199596X
Date Added:
December 17th 2009
Description:
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002), 359 pages; softcover; list price: $44.95. This book is a first-hand account of the storming in 1988 of the Sikh's Golden Temple in Amritsar, by India's National Security Guard Commandos, in a mission code named Operation Black Thunder. Sarab Singh, a retired official in the Indian Administrative Service, served as Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar from 1987 to 1992, and played a key role during the operation. In the book, he provides a first hand, balanced, authoritative and critical discussion of these events, which resulted in dislodging the Sikh militants who had occupied this holiest of Sikh places of worship. While succeeding in quelling the Sikh uprising at the time, the operation also resulted in the assassination by a Sikh bodyguard of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in revenge. This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in understanding the Punjab/Sikh component in contemporary Indian politics and security. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword; Preface; Chapter 1. The Golden Temple: In the Eye of the Storm; Chapter 2. The Sikh Heritage and the Punjab Problem; Chapter 3. The Rajiv-Longowal Accord: The `Secret' Healing Touch; Chapter 4. S S Barnala's Government: The Healing Touch Impaired; Chapter 5. Governor Ray's Tenure; Chapter 6. The Politics of the Clergy; Chapter 7. January - March 1988: The Killings Increase; Chapter 8. April - May 1988: Measures to End the Killing; Chapter 9. Operation Black Thunder; Chapter 10. The Militants Surrender; Chapter 11. Trial at Midnight; Chapter 12. Restoring the Maryada; Chapter 13. Demoralisation Versus a Gun Battle; Chapter 14. The SGPC's Dilemma; Chapter 15. Jasbir Singh Rode's Dismissal; Chapter 16. The Corridor Plan; Chapter 17. Jasbir Singh Rode Resurrected; Chapter 18. Panchayat Elections Postponed: Missed Opportunities; Chapter 19. The Militants and the Police: Between the Two Terrors; Chapter 20. The National Games; Chapter 21. A New Government at the Centre; Chapter 22. The `Civil Face' of Governor Mukherjee's Administration; Chapter 23. Governor Varma's Tenure; Chapter 24. 1990: The Killings Continue; Chapter 25. Governor Malhotra Takes Charge; Chapter 26. Attempts to Restore Democracy; Chapter 27. Delhi's Inconsistent Punjab Policy; Chapter 28. Elections by February 1992; Chapter 29. From President's Rule to an Elected Government: The Return of Democracy; Chapter 30. In Retrospect; Glossary; Index; About the Author.