From People’s War to Political Fragmentation

Dr. Gurinder Singh Grewal

February 7,2026

From People’s War to Political Fragmentation

Reassessing Arjan Dass Malik’s An Indian Guerilla War considering Eighteenth-Century Sikh Resistance and the Punjab Insurgency of the 1980s

Introduction

Arjan Dass Malik’s An Indian Guerilla War: The Sikh People’s War, 1699–1768 (1975) was among the first to interpret eighteenth-century Sikh resistance using modern guerrilla warfare theory. Writing during the twentieth-century decolonization, Malik saw the Sikh struggle as more than a religious revival or regional rebellion; he viewed it as a sustained “people’s war” grounded in moral legitimacy, broad participation, and adaptable institutions.

This article revisits Malik’s thesis by explicitly comparing the eighteenth-century Sikh struggle against Mughal and Afghan authority to the Punjab insurgency of the 1980s and early 1990s. Through this comparative approach, the study argues that Malik’s framework is best understood as an analytical tool for assessing legitimacy, institutional coherence, and community support, rather than as a uniform model for all forms of armed struggle. The article clarifies that where these specific conditions—legitimacy, coherence, and community backing—prevailed in both periods, Sikh resistance endured; where these conditions weakened, fragmentation and decline occurred.

Malik’s Conceptual Framework: The Sikh Struggle as “People’s War”

Malik’s core claim is that the Sikh resistance between 1699 and 1768 conforms to the structural characteristics of a “people’s war.” ² the formation of the Khalsa in 1699 provided ideological cohesion, discipline, and collective identity. The execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716 did not extinguish resistance; instead, it catalyzed a shift from territorial rebellion to mobile, decentralized guerrilla warfare.

Malik emphasizes three pillars:

  1. Moral Legitimacy – The Sikh cause was perceived by its adherents as just, rooted in the defense of faith and community. ³
  2. Popular Support Networks – Rural populations provided shelter, intelligence, and logistical assistance. ⁴
  3. Adaptive Organization – The movement oscillated between decentralized jathas for survival and periodic central coordination through institutions such as the Sarbat Khalsa.⁵.

This triad of legitimacy, support, and adaptability formed the structural foundation of Sikh endurance.

Eighteenth-Century Sikh Resistance: Structure and Survival

Following 1716, Mughal repression intensified. Large Sikh concentrations were impossible; mobility became a survival strategy. Small bands dispersed across Punjab’s forests and semi-rural zones, regrouping when conditions allowed. ⁶ Afghan invasions under Ahmad Shah Durrani further destabilized Mughal authority, inadvertently opening space for Sikh consolidation. ⁷

Malik sees this phase as classic insurgency: state repression without compromises hardened resistance. The Sikh movement survived by maintaining moral credibility among rural populations. The Rakhi system, in which Sikhs offered protection in exchange for revenue, marked early governance rather than simple raiding.

The misl confederacy that appeared mid-century embodied decentralized unity. No leader was permanent, yet collective action was possible when needed. This flexible structure later allowed Ranjit Singh to centralize power in 1799.

The key insight: institutional coherence preceded sovereignty. The Sikh polity did not arise from spontaneous militancy; it emerged from sustained organizational discipline and shared legitimacy.

The Punjab Insurgency of the 1980s: A Comparative Case

The Punjab insurgency (circa 1981–1995) differed fundamentally in context yet invites comparison. The period was marked by political grievances, including the Anandpur Sahib Resolution debates, center-state tensions, and the perceived erosion of federal autonomy.¹⁰ The escalation culminated in Operation Blue Star (June 1984), the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, anti-Sikh violence in Delhi and elsewhere, and a prolonged cycle of militancy and counterinsurgency.¹¹

Points of Structural Similarity

  1. Moral Shock as Catalyst

Just as eighteenth-century repression galvanized Sikh resistance, Operation Blue Star profoundly shocked Sikh consciousness worldwide. ¹² Religious sanctity and collective dignity became central themes of mobilization.

  1. Rural Base

Much as earlier guerrilla formations did, segments of the insurgency drew support from rural youth networks. ¹³ the countryside again served as operational terrain.

  1. Decentralization

Multiple armed groups operated simultaneously—Babbar Khalsa, Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan Liberation Force, among others—reflecting decentralized militancy rather than centralized command. ¹⁴

Critical Differences Between 1699–1768 and the 1980s

Despite apparent similarities noted in structural features, the analysis emphasizes that decisive differences distinguish the Sikh resistance from 1699–1768 and the 1980s insurgency. The discussion that follows identifies and clarifies these key structural contrasts, establishing a clear basis for comparison.

  1. Legitimacy Spectrum

Eighteenth-century Sikh resistance enjoyed broad moral legitimacy across large sections of the Sikh peasantry, forged through persecution and shared grievance. ¹⁵ By contrast, the 1980s insurgency did not sustain a uniform community consensus. Support fluctuated and was contested internally. ¹⁶

Movements dependent on coercion against civilian’s risk losing moral capital. Evidence from this period indicates that violence against Sikh civilians eroded public sympathy and widened internal divides. Malik’s model suggests that once popular trust fractures, insurgencies weaken structurally.

  1. Institutional Depth

The eighteenth-century Khalsa maintained integrative mechanisms (Sarbat Khalsa assemblies) that symbolized collective decision-making. ¹⁸ In the 1980s, fragmentation among militant factions limited coordinated political strategy. ¹⁹

  1. International Environment

The eighteenth century unfolded amid imperial fragmentation. Mughal decline and Afghan incursions created a structural vacuum. The 1980s unfolded within a consolidated modern nation-state possessing extensive intelligence and counterinsurgency capacity. ²⁰

State capability alters the calculations of insurgency. The modern Indian state deployed paramilitary forces, legal measures, and intelligence networks that differed fundamentally from eighteenth-century imperial limitations.

Counterinsurgency and State Response

Malik’s theoretical insight that repression without legitimacy can intensify insurgency warrants comparative evaluation. ²¹ Operation Blue Star and subsequent actions initially deepened alienation. ²² However, over time, combined security measures and political recalibration reduced militant capacity.

The case of the 1980s demonstrates that insurgencies with a narrower base of support are more vulnerable to public isolation when widespread exhaustion with violence prevails. By clarifying this contrast, it becomes evident that the modern state’s sustained counterinsurgency efforts, unlike in the eighteenth century, effectively weakened rural sanctuary networks, a factor critical to the earlier survival of Sikh resistance.

Lessons from Comparative Analysis

  1. Moral Authority Is Strategic Capital

Malik’s emphasis on legitimacy remains paramount. Movements endure when they are perceived as protectors rather than predators. Despite harsh repression, eighteenth-century Sikhs cultivated an identity as defenders of the community. When segments of 1980s militancy targeted civilians, that moral claim weakened.

For contemporary Punjab, legitimacy derives from governance performance, anti-corruption credibility, and protection of civil rights—not militancy.

  1. Institution-Building Precedes Power

The misl system and Sarbat Khalsa assemblies exemplify structured coordination. Durable political power emerges from institutional depth. Fragmentation in the 1980s underscores that decentralized militancy without integrative governance cannot produce a sustainable political order.

  1. Unity with Accountability

Adaptive decentralization allowed eighteenth-century Sikhs to survive. However, in the 1980s, decentralized violence, lacking accountability, produced factionalism. Institutional oversight mechanisms are essential.

  1. The Battlefield Has Changed

The eighteenth-century struggle was territorial and military. Today’s challenges are socioeconomic: agrarian debt, drug addiction, environmental degradation, and youth unemployment. ²⁴ The relevant “people’s war” is against structural stagnation, not against state sovereignty.

Contemporary Punjab: Applying Malik Without Romanticization

Punjab today faces structural strain. Reports and policy analyses indicate ongoing struggles with substance abuse and fiscal stress, ²⁵ the agrarian economy confronts declining margins and ecological pressures. ²⁶

Malik’s framework suggests three non-violent applications:

  1. Community Legitimacy through Service – Religious and civic bodies must rebuild trust via education, addiction recovery programs, and economic cooperation.
  2. Institutional Coordination – Fragmented political and religious leadership undermines collective bargaining power.
  3. Adaptive Governance – Flexibility in strategy—cooperating with state institutions while advocating federal rights—reflects historical Sikh pragmatism.

Conclusion

Arjan Dass Malik’s An Indian Guerrilla War remains a provocative reinterpretation of Sikh history. Its analytical vocabulary, legitimacy, popular support, adaptive organization—provides a comparative lens for evaluating both eighteenth-century resistance and the 1980s Punjab insurgency.

The historical record, when examined through this comparative lens, indicates that movements anchored in broad moral legitimacy and disciplined institutions endure across different periods. Conversely, movements marked by coercion and internal division decline. The Sikh experience between 1699 and 1768 demonstrates the power of organized community resilience, while the 1980s insurgency reveals how legitimacy fractures within a modern state context undermine movement sustainability.

For contemporary Punjab, the enduring lesson is institutional renewal rather than militancy. The Khalsa’s survival was ultimately institutional and moral, not merely military. The challenges facing Punjab today—economic reform, youth opportunity, and governance and credibility—require precisely those qualities.

The language of “people’s war” may describe the past, but the future of Punjab depends upon the people’s reconstruction.

Notes

  1. Arjan Dass Malik, An Indian Guerilla War: The Sikh People’s War, 1699–1768 (New Delhi: Wiley Eastern, 1975).
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Ibid.
  6. J. S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 79–95.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Malik, An Indian Guerrilla War.
  9. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab, 102–108.
  10. Ram Narayan Kumar, Reduced to Ashes (New Delhi: South Asia Forum for Human Rights, 2003).
  11. Christophe Jaffrelot, “The Punjab Crisis,” in India Since 1950 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011).
  12. Ibid.
  13. Cynthia Keppley Mahmood, Fighting for Faith and Nation (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996).
  14. Ibid.
  15. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab.
  16. Mahmood, Fighting for Faith and Nation.
  17. Kumar, Reduced to Ashes.
  18. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab.
  19. Mahmood, Fighting for Faith and Nation.
  20. Jaffrelot, India, since 1950.
  21. Malik, An Indian Guerrilla War.
  22. Jaffrelot, India, since 1950.
  23. Mahmood, Fighting for Faith and Nation.
  24. PRS Legislative Research, Punjab Budget Analysis 2025–26.
  25. Ibid.
  26. Agricultural policy analyses Punjab’s post-Green Revolution economy.

Bibliography

Grewal, J. S. The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Jaffrelot, Christophe. India Since 1950. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Kumar, Ram Narayan. Reduced to Ashes. New Delhi: South Asia Forum for Human Rights, 2003.

Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley. Fighting for Faith and Nation. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.

Malik, Arjan Dass. An Indian Guerilla War: The Sikh People’s War, 1699–1768. New Delhi: Wiley Eastern, 1975.

PRS Legislative Research. Punjab Budget Analysis 2025–26. New Delhi: PRS, 2025.