NEW DELHI: Although the Prime Minister Mr Chandra Shekhar established contact with Punjab militants soon after he took over the talks assumed urgency and direction only after the sudden Collapse of the Congress supported government.

The ground situation in the state was also favorable for some breakthrough when Mr Chandra Shekhar assumed charge in November Intelligence reports from Punjab had suggested that some hardened nationalists were desirous of wielding political power through legitimate electoral process Apparently the success of the militants close to Mann at the hustings in 1989 had emboldened them.

In fact sources said if Mr V.P Singh’s government had initiated heart-to-heart talks with non-Mann militant groups the elections to the state legislative assembly could have been possible even at that time.

After Shekhar came to power the first contact with the militants was made in early January this year through P.S Kohli a former adviser to the Punjab Governor and Mohan Guruswamy a senior corporate executive writer and a member of the Janata Dal’s national executive.

From the militants’ side Gurtej Singh Brar a former IAS officer who joined the ranks of the militants after Operation Bluestar was authorized to pave the way for negotiations with Shekhar. Brar is also the convenor of the council of Sikh affairs which has provided an umbrella to the numerous militant outfits operating in Punjab.

Although it was Kohli who first introduced Guruswamy to Brar the two were also known to each other through some common friends in Andhra Pradesh the state from where Guruswamy hails and Brar was attached to as an IAS officer. Sources said on the night of January 11 Guruswamy brought the first group of militants to the PM’s farm house at Bhondsi in Haryana. The group comprised militants Pocthe AISSF (Manjit) the panthic committee headed by Baba Manochahal and some other organisation.

The talks were exploratory in nature. The Prime Minister apparently told the militants that because he was heading a minority government he could not discuss their demand for an independent Sikh state or even an autonomous stare within the Union of India. What was possible Shekhar reportedly said was to negotiating other demands like release of innocent detainees and removal of Temple? In return he asked the militants to help organise elections in the state so that a democratically elected government could look into their other demands.

The meeting dispersed without any concrete assurance from the militants. Guruswamy in the meanwhile prepared a paper on the Punjab problem and its possible solution in the light of the previous talks The intermediaries also worked out the release of the AISSF chief Bhai Manjit Singh as the first step towards building confidence in each other. Mr Singh was released from Sangrur jail on January 14 after the withdrawal of all the cases pending against him.

By the time the two sides could sort Out misunderstandings that had cropped up during the negotiation and could identify some acceptable demands the Shekhar government was plunged into Crisis over the issue of vigilance at Mr Rajiv Ga _‘s residence by two Haryana government policemen.

Sources said the subsequent resignation by Shekhar created panic among the militants as the talks were at a crucial stage. They reportedly felt insecure as during the negotiations they had come in the open.

The collapse of the minority government came asa blessing in disguise for Mr Chandra Shekhar 4s sources said he told the militants that the new government might not be willing to grant even minor demand like removing of barricades from around the Golden Temple. Moreover as long as he was there the chances of holding elections in the state were bright while other parties may not consider it fit to organise elections unless militancy is totally eradicated from the state.

After some persuasion the militants agreed to take part in elections sources said. The government also agreed that all the Sikh detainees against whom there were no serious charges may be released after securing guarantees of the village panchayats concerned; steps will be taken to make entry into Sri Darbar Sahib. Amritsar easier and to ensure unhindered access of the devotees  due care will be taken the innocent people are not harassed by security personnel steps will be taken to complete the list of those who were killed in the Operation Bluestar so that compensation could be fixed.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 3, 1991