India: Information on any reported cases of Sikhs deserting from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) after the 1984 storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar; and on the consequences for deserting from this force

Information specifically referring to the desertion of Sikhs from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) following Operation Blue Star in June 1984 could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

The following information, however, may be of interest.

In her article "Why Sikhs Fight," Cynthia Keppley Mahmood states that after the June 1984 assault on the Golden Temple by the Indian Army, "there was a rash of desertions from the Indian Armed Forces, in which Sikhs have always served out of all proportions to their numbers" (1994, 6). More detailed information is provided in Country Reports 1984, which states:

In the first weeks after the June Army action, there were several press reports of Sikh troops (enlisted men and some noncommissioned officers) having deserted their units to go to Punjab. It is believed that rumors that their most sacred shrine had been destroyed in the fighting impelled these soldiers to desert. ... The number of deserting troops is unknown, but many estimate it to be 1,500 or more. Regular army units have apparently captured or killed most of them but a few remain at large. The precise whereabouts of those captured is unknown (1985, 1227).

With regard to the punishment handed these deserters, Country Reports 1985 states:

In 1985, courts martial and other judicial procedures have continued to deal with those Sikh military members some 2,733 according to Defense Ministry sources who deserted their units after the June 1984 military action against the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Some Sikhs have argued that these deserters were following their religious dictates and had acted to protect their religious freedom. In some cases these soldiers have been sentenced to up to 14 years imprisonment. The Punjab Accords provide that Sikh soldiers discharged from the army (presumably following their desertion) will be "rehabilitated" (1986, 1224).

Corroborating information on these punishments could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

With regard to the CRPF presence in Punjab, Joyce Pettigrew, in her March 1991 article "Betrayal and Nation-Building Among the Sikhs," states that the CRPF and the Border Security Force (BSF) were "paramilitary organisations whose Punjab links were not deep" (The Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics Mar. 1991, 36). Out of a total of 498 CRPF battalions, only 234 were stationed in Punjab (ibid., 42, footnote #21). The source did not provide any specific dates relating to this information.

For general information on police forces, including the CRPF, please consult the Administrative Change attachment entitled "Policing for Internal Security."

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

        Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1985. 1986. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. United States Government Printing Office.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1984. 1985. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. United States Government Printing Office.

The Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics [London]. March 1991. Vol. 29, No. 1. Joyce Pettigrew. "Betrayal and Nation-Building Among the Sikhs."

Keppley Mahmood, Cynthia. 1991. "Why Sikhs Fight," Anthropological Contributions to Conflict Resolution. Edited by A. Wolfe and H. Yang. University of Georgia Press. (in press).

Attachment

        Administrative Change [Jaipur, India]. July 1991-June 1992. Vol. 19, Nos. 1-2. Krishna Mohan Mathur. "Policing for Internal Security," pp. 82-99.

Additional Sources Consulted

        Amnesty International (AI). October 1995. India: Determining the Fate of the 'Disappeared' in Punjab. (AI Index: ASA 20/28/95)

_____. May 1995. India: Punjab Police: Beyond the Bounds of the Law. (AI Index: ASA 20/08/95)

_____. 15 December 1993. India: 'An Unnatural Fate': 'Disappearances' and Impunity in the Indian States of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

Amnesty International Report. Yearly. 1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995.

Asia Watch. August 1991. Human Rights in India: Punjab in Crisis.

Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. January 1990 to present.

Conference Call with Navkiran Singh, B.A., L.L.B. 1 September 1995. (An Indian human rights lawyer from Punjab)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995.

Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly. December 1989 to present.

Dharam, Santokh Singh. 1984. The Only Option for Sikhs.

DIRB "Amnesty International: India" country file. January 1990 to present.

DIRB Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. December 1991 to June 1992, July 1994 to present.

DIRB "India" country file. June 1990 to present.

Foreign Report [Surrey]. Weekly. June 1995 to present.

Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. Yearly. 1988, 1993, 1995.

Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook. Yearly. 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). April 1995. Playing the 'Communal' Card: Communal Violence and Human Rights.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996.

India Abroad [Toronto]. Weekly. July 1995 to present.

India Today [Delhi]. Fortnightly. March 1993 to present.

INS Resource Center, Washington, DC. April 1992. Information Packet Series: India: The Status of Sikhs.

The Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics [London]. November 1992. Vol. 30, No. 3. Joyce Pettigrew. "Martyrdom and Guerilla Organisation in Punjab."

_____. July 1991. Vol. 29, No. 2. Gurharpal Singh. "The Punjab Problem in the 1990s: A Post-1984 Assessment."

Juergensmeyer, Mark. 1988. "The Logic of Religious Violence," Inside Terrorist Organizations.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. January 1990 to October 1995.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Human Rights Newsletter [Delhi]. Monthly. May to July 1995.

Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States. February 1995. India: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.

Pettigrew, Joyce. 1995. The Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of State and Guerrilla Violence.

Qadri, Syed M. Afzal. 1989. Police and Law: A Socio-Legal Analysis.

Refugees, Immigration and Asylum Section (RIAS), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. June 1994. Country Profile: India.

Wallace, Paul. 1995. "Political Violence and Terrorism in India: The Crisis of Identity," Terrorism in Context.

World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Penal Systems. 1991.

On-line search of media sources.