Word: gandhis
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...many street corners, ready to quell any new outbreak of violence. The revered Golden Temple remained intact, but surrounding buildings lay in ruins or were seriously damaged. The destruction was a testament to the bloody battle that raged there for 36 hours earlier this month, after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the army to attack more than 1,000 heavily armed Sikh extremists barricaded inside the temple grounds...
...Gandhi insisted her decision to storm the temple complex was the right and only one. She had failed in her attempts to negotiate with the Sikhs' Akali Dal Party over demands for increased water and territorial rights, social and linguistic concessions and exclusive control of the Punjabi capital, Chandigarh, all of which had sparked the violence. By early this year, it was apparent to her that Bhindranwale had become so popular he had usurped the Akali's authority, leaving the party impotent in negotiations and fearful of his violent fanaticism. No matter how long she talked...
...giving in totally to Sikh demands, Mrs. Gandhi believed, would have encouraged other Indian communal groups to extremism...
...helped the militants finance their arms buildup through the transport and sale of heroin, hashish, and stolen gold, silver and jewels. Furthermore, reports claimed, the smugglers took Sikh extremists into secret camps in Pakistan and in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, where they received military training. Mrs. Gandhi has not accused the Pakistani government of complicity in the Sikh extremist movement, which the Pakistanis have denied anyway...
...ordering the assault on the temple, Mrs. Gandhi has placated critics who accused her of dangerous inaction on Sikh terrorism. But she has seriously harmed her standing with moderate Sikhs who did not support Bhindranwale's fanaticism although they revered the Golden Temple as a shrine of peace. "I don't understand why Mrs. Gandhi gave the order," said Historian Singh. "We had been given assurances that there would never be an armed intervention, but they have gone back on their word. No serious Sikh can entertain thoughts of talking to Mrs. Gandhi now." Only through cautious maneuvering...