Tensions Between Sikhs and Hindus Faring Well 20 Years After Uprisings

March 16, 2005

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3733271.stm

On March 16, 2005 BBC News reported, "Times change. The verdict in Canada following the destruction of an Air India jumbo jet over the Atlantic in 1985 is a reminder of the extent of Sikh militancy in India at the time. Several thousand people died in nearly 10 years of militancy - and India's Sikhs effectively became alienated from mainstream society. In a series of events that that shocked the nation, the Congress government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent troops into the Sikhs' sacred shrine - the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar - to flush out the militants holed up there. A few months later, in October 1984, Mrs Gandhi was gunned down by her Sikh bodyguards. Her death triggered riots in which, according to official figures, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed by rioting mobs. But now, over two decades after it all began, the divide between Sikhs, who make up 3% of India's population, and Hindus has been bridged and the antagonism with the Congress party largely disappeared."