Broken Shield

1. Introduction

For decades, the global perception of South Asian military balance was shaped by India’s dominant victory in 1971. The surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers to a Sikh general, Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, symbolized not only India’s strategic superiority but also the historic contribution of the Sikh community to India’s defense (Singh, 2010).
The events of 1984, however, shattered this equilibrium. India’s attack on the Golden Temple and the pogroms that followed broke the psychological contract that had bound Sikhs to the Indian State.

The consequences of this rupture became fully visible during the 2025 India–Pakistan crisis, the most severe conflict since Kargil. This chapter argues that India’s diminishing military confidence in 2025 cannot be understood without acknowledging the political alienation of Sikhs and the erosion of Punjab’s role as India’s defensive shield.

2. The 1971 War and the Sikh Military Tradition

India’s victory in 1971 was decisive, strategic, and global in impact. The image of Pakistan’s commanders surrendering to Lt. Gen. Aurora became an enduring symbol of Indian military capability (Raghavan, 2016).
Sikh soldiers, disproportionately represented in elite infantry, armored, and cavalry units, were central to the war’s success. Punjab’s martial culture, border geography, and regimental traditions made Sikhs the primary defenders of India’s western frontier (Cohen, 2001).

This created a tacit but powerful expectation inside Delhi:

India’s strategic superiority was inseparable from Sikh military participation.

Yet, this foundation rested on trust — not coercion.

3. 1984 and the Collapse of Trust

The twin events of Operation Blue Star and the anti-Sikh pogroms of November 1984 fundamentally transformed Sikh identity vis-à-vis the Indian State.

3.1 Operation Blue Star

The Indian Army’s assault on the Harmandir Sahib complex in June 1984 caused immense devastation and trauma (Tully & Jacob, 1985).
Thousands of Sikh soldiers resigned in protest. Recruitment from Punjab fell sharply. A community that had once supplied the most loyal units now felt betrayed by the very State whose battles it had fought.

3.2 November 1984 Pogroms

The State-enabled killings of Sikhs in Delhi and other cities destroyed the last remnants of trust (Pettigrew, 1995).
The lack of justice even decades later reinforced the perception that Sikhs were politically expendable.

This rupture has never been repaired.

 

4. Long-Term Alienation and Anti-Punjab Policies

The period from the late 1980s to 2020s saw systematic policies that deepened alienation:

• Federal dilution and central interference in Punjab
• Large-scale diversion of Punjab’s river waters (Dhillon, 2020)
• Suppression of Punjabi language in neighboring states
• State control over Sikh institutions and appointments
• Human-rights abuses during the 1980s–1990s counterinsurgency (Ensaaf, 2007)
• Criminalization of Sikh political demands, including even peaceful advocacy
• Transnational oppression

Recruitment numbers from Sikh-majority districts never recovered to pre-1984 levels.
Diaspora Sikhs — especially in Canada, the UK, and the U.S. — became increasingly vocal in challenging India’s human-rights record (Fair, 2018).

 

5. The 2025 India–Pakistan Crisis: A Watershed Moment

5.1 Background

In late April 2025, India and Pakistan became embroiled in their most serious military confrontation since 1999. What began as retaliatory strikes quickly escalated into a four-to-five-day exchange of aerial, missile, and artillery attacks, raising fears of a wider war (CSIS, 2025).

5.2 India’s Strategic Frustration

India’s military actions in 2025 did not achieve decisive superiority.
Pakistan responded proportionately, demonstrating significant operational readiness.
International diplomatic pressure — particularly from the United States — was essential in forcing de-escalation (Security Council Report, 2025).

5.3 Why This Matters

For the first time since 1971, the Indian State confronted a new reality:

India no longer possesses unquestioned military dominance over Pakistan.

This recognition shook national confidence. But it also exposed a deeper structural truth:

India cannot wage a successful western-front war without the historical military strength of Sikhs and Punjab.

 

6. The Sikh Dimension of the 2025 Crisis

Although the 2025 conflict was short, it revealed key shifts:

A. Declining Sikh Military Participation

The psychological blow of 1984, combined with decades of marginalization, resulted in substantial decline in Sikh enlistment.
Many Sikh families now discourage military service — a profound change from earlier generations.

B. Sikh Sentiment: “This Is Not Our War”

Large segments of Sikhs in Punjab and the diaspora expressed the view that India’s confrontation with Pakistan was not linked to Sikh interests, and that Sikh lives should not be sacrificed for Delhi’s geopolitical ambitions.

This sentiment — unheard of before 1984 — demonstrates the extraordinary level of alienation.

C. State Cannot Fight Without Loyalty

Morale, cohesion, and trust are essential components of effective military capacity.
A community that feels targeted, misrepresented, or culturally oppressed cannot be expected to serve as the backbone of national defense.

India, by its own actions, has weakened the very community that once guaranteed its security.

 

7. Strategic Analysis: India’s Self-Inflicted Weakness

The 2025 crisis did not emerge in a vacuum. It is the culmination of decades of political shortsightedness.

Three strategic lessons stand out:

1. Repression Breaks the Social Contract

A State that attacks a community’s religious institutions and fails to deliver justice cannot expect loyalty in future conflicts.

2. Military Power Requires Moral Authority

India’s moral standing in Punjab declined sharply after 1984.
This has corroded the foundation of military unity.

3. Ignoring Federal Rights Weakens National Security

Punjab’s grievances — on water, agriculture, language, and identity — directly affect recruitment, morale, and civilian support in wartime.

India’s strategic weakness in 2025 is, therefore, not merely military but political.

 

8. Implications for Sikh Nationalism

The events of 1971, 1984, and 2025 form a clear historical arc:

• Sikhs were India’s strongest military asset.
• India shattered that relationship through repression.
• Punjab’s strategic value remains immense, yet India continues anti-Punjab policies.
• The 2025 crisis demonstrated that India cannot sustain major conflicts without Sikh support.

This strengthens the argument that Sikhs must preserve their political distinctiveness, autonomy, and national aspirations.
The survival of Sikh culture, religion, and language increasingly appears tied to self-determination, not integration into a centralised national framework.

 

9. Conclusion

The 2025 India–Pakistan confrontation serves as a stark reminder that the fabric of India’s national security is fraying from within.
The State’s own actions — from 1984 to the present — have alienated the very community that historically secured its borders.
Unless Delhi confronts this truth and commits to justice, respect, and genuine federalism, its long-term military stability will remain compromised.

The lesson is clear:

Nations do not fall from external threat; they fall when they betray those who defend them.

References

Cohen, S. (2001). The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

CSIS (2025). What Led to the Recent Crisis Between India and Pakistan? Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Dhillon, K. (2020). Punjab’s River Waters and Federal Rights. Chandigarh: Punjab Studies Institute.

Ensaaf (2007). Twenty Years of Impunity: Punjab Police Executions in the 1980s and 1990s. Ensaaf & Human Rights Watch.

Fair, C. (2018). In Their Own Words: Understanding Lahore and the Pakistani View of India. New Delhi: HarperCollins.

Pettigrew, J. (1995). The Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of State Terror. London: Zed Books.

Raghavan, S. (2016). 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. Harvard University Press.

Security Council Report (2025). India–Pakistan: Emergency Consultations and De-escalation Dynamics. New York: UN Security Council Research Group.

Singh, G. (2010). General Aurora and India’s Military Transformation. Chandigarh: Institute of Defence Studies.

Tully, M. & Jacob, S. (1985). Amritsar: Mrs. Gandhi’s Last Battle. London: Pan Books.