Word: sikhs
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...Sikh deaths fit the sad pattern of a troubled land...
...gold-domed temple proper, which sits in the center of the complex, was unmarked by the battle. Government spokesmen stressed that the army had gone to great efforts to preserve the sanctuary, even taking more casualties than would have been normal in order to preserve it. Many Sikhs, however, were unimpressed. "It is the same as telling a Catholic," said one Sikh at the temple, "that St. Peter's remains, but the Sistine Chapel is gone...
When the government-imposed curfew was finally lifted in some parts of Punjab, Sikhs emerged profoundly shaken, yet more strongly united by a sense of alienation. In eight separate incidents, young Sikh army recruits mutinied and deserted in protest. Some raided army arsenals or attacked non-Sikh troops. By week's end, 3,097 Sikhs had been arrested as deserters and another 55 killed in shootouts with loyal army units...
...giving in totally to Sikh demands, Mrs. Gandhi believed, would have encouraged other Indian communal groups to extremism...
Intelligence sources also showed that the temple had become a haven for smugglers who had 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...