The Punjab chief minister, Mr. Surjit Singh Barnala’s decision not to have anything to do with the rival Akali Dal headed by Mr. Parkash Singh Badal must be warmly welcomed by all those who have the interests of the Sikh community and Punjab at heart. The issue has been clinched … Read More
The police officer in Amritsar who refused to release suspected terrorists under a minister’s pressure deserves to be honoured. He symbolizes the hope that at least a part of the Punjab police can be depended upon to do its duty even in the face of heavy odds. By the same … Read More
As so often in the past, an attempt is once again being made to conjure up the spectre of a Hindu revivalist backlash. The spectre has not materialised in the past and it is not likely to materialise now. But that does not matter. Hardly any leading intellectual or commentator … Read More
A great deal has been written about the limited nature of the challenge Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Mr. Gundu Rao and their supporters can pose to the Congress and Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s leadership of the party. We generally agree with this assessment. This assessment is naturally based on the general appreciation … Read More
In recent weeks it has become a commonplace that the Rajiv-Longowal accord is dead. Even the Sikh academicians who drafted it believe this is to be the case. So at least it has been reported. We were perhaps the first newspaper in the country to proclaim on June 22 that … Read More
The report on the interrogations of 173 Sikh youth elsewhere in this issue cannot leave the smallest scope for doubt regarding Pakistan’s involvement in the secessionist-terrorist campaign in Punjab. The interrogations on which the report is based are too detailed to have been cooked up by an intelligence agency; an … Read More
So another independence day is upon us. So once again our leaders will remind us of the heroic freedom struggle and urge us to rededicate ourselves to the commonweal. So also once again we shall be told of the perils the nation faces. The perils are a fact. But so … Read More
Some well-meaning Sikh intellectuals have finally begun to wonder what has hit their community (see Dr Gopal Singh’s article “Hindu-Sikh Fraternity”, July 14 and Mr SS Gill’s article, “Wail of a Stricken Sikh”, August 4 in this newspaper). This is rather surprising. For the answer lies there for anyone to … Read More
The authorities in Delhi have gone to the extent of arresting Mr. Tohra and Mr. Badal in order to prevent them from visiting the recently riot-affected areas in west Delhi. Apparently the authorities feared that the visit would, or at least could, create a law and order problem for them. … Read More
It is a crying shame for the Indian state that one of its former army chiefs of staff should have been gunned down by terrorists. It would have been a different matter if General Vaidya was not on the hit list and/or if he had not received threatening letters recently. … Read More
