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Turmoil In Punjab: Before and After Blue Star: An Insider's Story
Punjab went through a politically turbulent period between 1978 and 1994, triggered by the rift between Sikhs and Nirankaris, and fueled by the operations Blue Star, Woodrose and Black Thunder I and II.
Narrated as an eyewitness account by Ramesh Inder Singh, then the district magistrate of Amritsar, and later the chief secretary of Punjab, this book affords an insider's view of the events that ignited the strife and created the socio-political fault lines that divided Punjab in those years.
It also describes the terrorist violence in Punjab, the state response to the military operations, the death of thousands of innocent citizens, the shocking assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the subsequent lynching of close to 3,000 Sikhs in the national capital of Delhi, which set in motion a devastating ethno-national movement in Punjab.
Based on extensive research and first-hand accounts of those who lived through those volcanic years, Turmoil in Punjab: Before and After Blue Star is an eye-opening narrative of the genesis of the Punjab conflict, the rise of radicalism and the Khalistanis, and the elimination of militancy from the state.
Narrated as an eyewitness account by Ramesh Inder Singh, then the district magistrate of Amritsar, and later the chief secretary of Punjab, this book affords an insider's view of the events that ignited the strife and created the socio-political fault lines that divided Punjab in those years.
It also describes the terrorist violence in Punjab, the state response to the military operations, the death of thousands of innocent citizens, the shocking assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the subsequent lynching of close to 3,000 Sikhs in the national capital of Delhi, which set in motion a devastating ethno-national movement in Punjab.
Based on extensive research and first-hand accounts of those who lived through those volcanic years, Turmoil in Punjab: Before and After Blue Star is an eye-opening narrative of the genesis of the Punjab conflict, the rise of radicalism and the Khalistanis, and the elimination of militancy from the state.
- GenresIndiaNonfiction
704 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 14, 2022
History is a story of opinions. Who was right, who was wrong, it all changes basis who narrates the story and how the world and its views change with time. Operation Blue Star, one of the most infamous events of independent India, is one such historical tale (though it occurred just 40 years ago and by no stretch of the imagination can be called an old tale) when the then Prime Minister of India decided to allow the army to invade a holy place in Amritsar, a city in the state of Punjab, to flush out “militants” who had setup their base in the temple premise. The objective was achieved though at a huge cost, resulting eventually even in the assassination of the Prime Minister - Indira Gandhi. The author of this book was the District Magistrate at the time of the operation and has subsequently held various important positions as a civil servant in Punjab. He therefore qualifies as someone who can narrate his opinion as to what went wrong at Amritsar - even before and after Operation Blue Star.
The foremost thing that clicks about the book is the quality of the writing, right from Chapter One. Not too many Indian authors can find the right English words to describe emotions and situations such that the reader may feel part of the story, but Ramesh Inder Singh has done an excellent job in this respect right until the last page of the book. His words took me to the Punjab of the 80s, familiarised me with the politics and the religious sentiments that kept shifting and mixing with each other, introduced me to the leaders and the followers who were to lay the pieces for what was to follow in 1984. The book is well-researched and well-planned out in terms of its narrative, building up well upto the events of ‘84 before dwelling in detail in the militancy that followed Operation Blue Star. It is well-balanced too in its narrative by being critical of all elements that were at play without being biased towards any single party or individual. When so many innocents died in what was essentially a problem within the boundaries of the country itself, no one can take the high ground here. There were indeed failures throughout the system. The criticism is mature and not scathing; it aims to make you reflect and not hate; it provides facts along with the author’s opinions but the latter are not imposing and can be ignored if you disagree with them. The book is honest though, written by someone who has been there and seen the destruction caused by miscalculated moves. This story is part of the country’s history that should be known to a wider audience and this book is a good beginning. The tale of 1984 hopefully acts as a lesson - for the Government, for the people, for religious leaders - as to how tolerance and dialogue are more effective tools than violence. Such basic understanding is unfortunately forgotten too soon and hence we need books like these to come out on a periodic basis to remind everyone about some mistakes that should never be repeated.
The foremost thing that clicks about the book is the quality of the writing, right from Chapter One. Not too many Indian authors can find the right English words to describe emotions and situations such that the reader may feel part of the story, but Ramesh Inder Singh has done an excellent job in this respect right until the last page of the book. His words took me to the Punjab of the 80s, familiarised me with the politics and the religious sentiments that kept shifting and mixing with each other, introduced me to the leaders and the followers who were to lay the pieces for what was to follow in 1984. The book is well-researched and well-planned out in terms of its narrative, building up well upto the events of ‘84 before dwelling in detail in the militancy that followed Operation Blue Star. It is well-balanced too in its narrative by being critical of all elements that were at play without being biased towards any single party or individual. When so many innocents died in what was essentially a problem within the boundaries of the country itself, no one can take the high ground here. There were indeed failures throughout the system. The criticism is mature and not scathing; it aims to make you reflect and not hate; it provides facts along with the author’s opinions but the latter are not imposing and can be ignored if you disagree with them. The book is honest though, written by someone who has been there and seen the destruction caused by miscalculated moves. This story is part of the country’s history that should be known to a wider audience and this book is a good beginning. The tale of 1984 hopefully acts as a lesson - for the Government, for the people, for religious leaders - as to how tolerance and dialogue are more effective tools than violence. Such basic understanding is unfortunately forgotten too soon and hence we need books like these to come out on a periodic basis to remind everyone about some mistakes that should never be repeated.
October 29, 2025
I finish my journey of reading punjab (for the time being obviously), with this magnum opus of a book written by Ramesh Imder Singh, who was the deputy commissioner of amritsar during it's Mos important time. Ramesh ji joined his post on the 3rd of June, merely two days before operation bluestar. The author has given detailed eye witness descriptions on how punjab became a battleground centred around the Harmandir Shahib. Another very important facet which this book has is the journey of punjab post operation bluestar. It was the time of much tumultuous indira's assassination, drugs, terrorism, war cops everything was happening in punjab. He gives descriptions of the other two very important operation black thunders which flushed out more terrorist from the golden temple than bluestar. If you want to read punjab through it's most tough times read this book.
November 25, 2025
Many a book has been written on what has come to be known as the 'Punjab problem'. There have been far more books and journals still in which the Punjab problem has appeared otherwise in varying contexts, be they historical, political, about economic history or studies in religious jingoism and politicking in South Asia and beyond.
However, dare I say, this former Indian Administrative Service officer has written the best account so far of the Punjab problem, from its genesis to its prognosis, its eventual petering out and to its farcical resurgence in the present day to which an informed reader can doubtlessly connect the dots.
The author is a former civil servant, so his account is presumably at least a little biased towards the establishment of which he was - and perhaps still is - a part. And yet! The sort of blood curdling details one finds in the pages, such as the battering of the Akaal Takht by tanks of the Indian army, to the details of soldiers going rogue and looting civilians during operation Blue Star, the examples are enlightening. If this is what a government servant is willing to admit and put to paper, heaven knows what the true extent of excesses of the Indian state would have been!
Some points of clarification: The author relies heavily on his memory (or notes or memoirs or some personal cache of details), and on maybe 5 other books, written by other former higher-ups who were privy to the events that unfolded in Punjab over the decade-and-a-half from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. This is both a blessing and a drawback, as it makes the account authentic, first-hand, but at the same time deprives it of intellectual rigor one might expect of a well researched tome. No matter. After all, the events of those dark days will forever remain shrouded in mystery as an honest and thorough inquest into a past which all stakeholders of this want to remain shrouded can never be fully completed.
Secondly, the author is teleological in approach, and so inclined draws a straight line from the Nirankari killings of 1978 to what transpired over the coming decade-and-a-half. He is not wrong, but from this armchair historian's point of view, one should not ascribe to mere events the power to shift timelines. Yes, if the Nirankari killings had not happened, perhaps the Punjab problem would not have surfaced in the way it did, but the seeds of conflict would always be there, waiting to germinate at the slightest shower, which would have come sooner or later. Perhaps Bhindranwale would not have become the juggernaut that he did, but then there may have been some other, or others. After all, there were, and have always been, simmering embers, waiting for the right rake to turn them and the optimum gust of wind to carry the sparks to an equally ready pile of hay- which was the Punjab, has been the Punjab and is the Punjab we know.
Regardless, a must read. An enlightening piece of work.
However, dare I say, this former Indian Administrative Service officer has written the best account so far of the Punjab problem, from its genesis to its prognosis, its eventual petering out and to its farcical resurgence in the present day to which an informed reader can doubtlessly connect the dots.
The author is a former civil servant, so his account is presumably at least a little biased towards the establishment of which he was - and perhaps still is - a part. And yet! The sort of blood curdling details one finds in the pages, such as the battering of the Akaal Takht by tanks of the Indian army, to the details of soldiers going rogue and looting civilians during operation Blue Star, the examples are enlightening. If this is what a government servant is willing to admit and put to paper, heaven knows what the true extent of excesses of the Indian state would have been!
Some points of clarification: The author relies heavily on his memory (or notes or memoirs or some personal cache of details), and on maybe 5 other books, written by other former higher-ups who were privy to the events that unfolded in Punjab over the decade-and-a-half from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. This is both a blessing and a drawback, as it makes the account authentic, first-hand, but at the same time deprives it of intellectual rigor one might expect of a well researched tome. No matter. After all, the events of those dark days will forever remain shrouded in mystery as an honest and thorough inquest into a past which all stakeholders of this want to remain shrouded can never be fully completed.
Secondly, the author is teleological in approach, and so inclined draws a straight line from the Nirankari killings of 1978 to what transpired over the coming decade-and-a-half. He is not wrong, but from this armchair historian's point of view, one should not ascribe to mere events the power to shift timelines. Yes, if the Nirankari killings had not happened, perhaps the Punjab problem would not have surfaced in the way it did, but the seeds of conflict would always be there, waiting to germinate at the slightest shower, which would have come sooner or later. Perhaps Bhindranwale would not have become the juggernaut that he did, but then there may have been some other, or others. After all, there were, and have always been, simmering embers, waiting for the right rake to turn them and the optimum gust of wind to carry the sparks to an equally ready pile of hay- which was the Punjab, has been the Punjab and is the Punjab we know.
Regardless, a must read. An enlightening piece of work.
October 2, 2022
The author has given a lucid and a 360-degree view of what transpired throughout the planning, implementations and aftermath of Operation Bluestar which was an attempt to drain out the terrorists holed up in the Golden temple.
Adding on, this book is a first-hand eyewitness record of the District Magistrate of Punjab who happens to be the author himself. This aspect adds immense credibility to the ground level truth which actually transpired. As a first-hand narration, the author left no stone unturned to pen down what he had experienced, felt and witnessed during the tumultuous decades of Punjab.
As a reader, I have always found myself intrigued towards political drama and its consequences which shapes our national discourse and history. The writing style of this book did not disappoint me as the author took me through the political climate during 1974-94 and gave me the context which led to the infamous Operation Bluestar due to declining social fabric of Sikhs, Nirankaris and Khalistanis.
More than historical documentation, the author gave us lucid 'behind the scenes' details which the larger public might not be aware of.
All in all, I found this book to be very interesting, informative and factual which I would recommend to all the readers for the sake of knowing and understanding our rich and intriguing political history that shaped the geo-socio-political landscape today.
Adding on, this book is a first-hand eyewitness record of the District Magistrate of Punjab who happens to be the author himself. This aspect adds immense credibility to the ground level truth which actually transpired. As a first-hand narration, the author left no stone unturned to pen down what he had experienced, felt and witnessed during the tumultuous decades of Punjab.
As a reader, I have always found myself intrigued towards political drama and its consequences which shapes our national discourse and history. The writing style of this book did not disappoint me as the author took me through the political climate during 1974-94 and gave me the context which led to the infamous Operation Bluestar due to declining social fabric of Sikhs, Nirankaris and Khalistanis.
More than historical documentation, the author gave us lucid 'behind the scenes' details which the larger public might not be aware of.
All in all, I found this book to be very interesting, informative and factual which I would recommend to all the readers for the sake of knowing and understanding our rich and intriguing political history that shaped the geo-socio-political landscape today.
February 10, 2023
~ Punjab and Pandemonium ~
Last year, I saw Jogi. A brilliant movie based on the Anti-Sikh riots that happened in Delhi, 1984. Living in Delhi for major part of life I knew about them and the broader reasons and domestic politics that led to the carnage but I wanted to know more. That is when I came across this book.
Turmoil in Punjab is a detailed account of the tumultuous period in Punjab (1978-1994) written by Ramesh I. Singh who was a ranking bureaucrat in the time an saw everything up close and unfiltered. Which is exactly how the book feels like when read.
Starting from 1978, Nirankari Clash, the book is fairly an encompassing chronicle of the ethno-national movement, militancy, violence that ensued, the state of public administration to our politicians' stance; following the military operation - Blue Star, Wood Rose, Black Thunder I & II leading to eventual fall of militancy.
Singh's pen spares no one in the book - be it politicians, administrators, military, militants, journalists, SGPC… at times, not even himself. It presents the reader - the good, the bad, the ugly. And we are left to think. I'll reserve my two cents on the Blue Star operation, but urge you to read this and form your own. It is a very meticulous first-hand account.
In words of the author, it was the lack of good governance, with its attendant shoddy policing and an indifferent criminal justice system, that led to the denouement of Bluestar and its aftermath. What Punjabis need, is an effective and decisive administration, but also one with a well-honed sense of fairness.
I say, since ages people in people in power/place of influence use public emotions and faith to their advantage. We all know who suffers by the end of it.
It took a long span of time to get through the book as each chapter lead to a separate chain of google searches and long discussions with my father. I believe books like these are best consumed that way. If you are interested in domestic politics of India, Turmoil in Punjab should make it to the must read list
Last year, I saw Jogi. A brilliant movie based on the Anti-Sikh riots that happened in Delhi, 1984. Living in Delhi for major part of life I knew about them and the broader reasons and domestic politics that led to the carnage but I wanted to know more. That is when I came across this book.
Turmoil in Punjab is a detailed account of the tumultuous period in Punjab (1978-1994) written by Ramesh I. Singh who was a ranking bureaucrat in the time an saw everything up close and unfiltered. Which is exactly how the book feels like when read.
Starting from 1978, Nirankari Clash, the book is fairly an encompassing chronicle of the ethno-national movement, militancy, violence that ensued, the state of public administration to our politicians' stance; following the military operation - Blue Star, Wood Rose, Black Thunder I & II leading to eventual fall of militancy.
Singh's pen spares no one in the book - be it politicians, administrators, military, militants, journalists, SGPC… at times, not even himself. It presents the reader - the good, the bad, the ugly. And we are left to think. I'll reserve my two cents on the Blue Star operation, but urge you to read this and form your own. It is a very meticulous first-hand account.
In words of the author, it was the lack of good governance, with its attendant shoddy policing and an indifferent criminal justice system, that led to the denouement of Bluestar and its aftermath. What Punjabis need, is an effective and decisive administration, but also one with a well-honed sense of fairness.
I say, since ages people in people in power/place of influence use public emotions and faith to their advantage. We all know who suffers by the end of it.
It took a long span of time to get through the book as each chapter lead to a separate chain of google searches and long discussions with my father. I believe books like these are best consumed that way. If you are interested in domestic politics of India, Turmoil in Punjab should make it to the must read list
August 14, 2022
A detailed account of the turbulent times of Punjab and how the different institutions used and abused them.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews