Punjab saw ethnic violence, marked 25 years of Bluestar (Flashback 2009)
Punjab saw ethnic violence, marked 25 years of Bluestar (Flashback 2009)
2009-12-17
Punjab hogged national headlines due to the violence it saw after an
attack on Sikh leaders of the Dera Sachkhand in faraway Vienna. It
also observed the 25th anniversary of Operation Bluestar at the
Golden Temple. Here are 10 landmark events from the state in 2009:
1. Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Akali Dal president, was made deputy
chief minister of Punjab - the first case of a father-son in India's
political history to be heading the government as number one and two.
He had to resign in July as he failed to get elected to the assembly
within six months. He was elected as legislator finally in August
this year in a by-election from Jalalabad. He was then re-inducted as
deputy chief minister.
2. The first batch of women soldiers recruited into the Border
Security Force (BSF) were posted on the India-Pakistan border for the
first time.
3. Despite not so favourable weather conditions this year, Punjab
crossed a record 150 tonnes of paddy procurement in December.
4. Rockets were fired into Indian territory from the Pakistan side
near the Attari-Wagah border checkpost on the international border
twice in 2009. The incidents took place in July and September this year.
About eight rockets landed on the Indian side near the border. The
BSF suspected that Taliban terrorists could be behind the unprovoked
attack but Pakistan Rangers completely denied that any rockets were fired.
5. The 25th anniversary of Operation Bluestar by the Indian Army on
the holiest of Sikh shrines, Harmandar Sahib (popularly called Golden
Temple), was observed with protests in June.
6. The ruling Akali Dal and opposition Congress legislators indulged
in physical fights inside the Punjab assembly in December. The
turbans of MLAs went flying as they punched and pushed each other.
All this was done to have a debate on the deteriorating law and order
situation in the state.
7. Punjab came to a standstill in May after followers of the
Sachkhand sect of Sikhs went on a rampage in some districts of the
state following an attack on their religious leaders inside a shrine
in Austrian capital Vienna. The army was called in to stop the violence.
8. Migrants set several vehicles on fire in Punjab's industrial hub,
Ludhiana, Dec 4. They were upset at being targeted by looters. This
was followed by another round of violence when Sikhs protesting
against the Nurmahalia sect were stopped by police and one person
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/punjab/28580-punjab-saw-ethnic-violence-marked-25-a.htmlReference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=28580
died in police firing. Curfew was imposed in Ludhiana for over two days.
9. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Harmandar Sahib on Nov 18. He paid obeisance at the famous Sikh shrine.
10. The ruling Akali Dal returned with only four of the 13 Lok Sabha
seats in the May general elections. Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal's daughter-in-law and Sukhbir Badal's wife, Harsimrat Kaur
Badal, won the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat by a big margin. Navjot Sidhu
(BJP) retains the Amritsar seat. Vinod Khanna (BJP) lost the Gurdaspur seat.
11. A blast in the army cantonment in Jalandhar left four soldiers
dead Dec 1. The army instituted a probe.
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