Souravroyjournalist at 19:28, 6 March 2026

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{{Short description|Massacre in Punjab, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2018}}
The '''1983 Dhilwan Bus massacre''' was an uninvestigated,<ref name=ksdhillon>{{cite book |last1=Dhillon |first1=Kirpal S. |title=Identity and Survival: Sikh Militancy in India, 1978-1993 |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=9780143100362 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3eBuAAAAMAAJ|pages=117–119 |quote=Although all segments of the Sikh religio-political spectrum too condemned the misdeed in the strongest possible terms, a section of the media in Jalandhar did not desist from making fairly explicit insinuationsabout the involvement of Sikh militants in the foul deed. A former university teacher and a long-time watcher of the Punjab situation alludes to some very peculiar features of the Dhilwan murders. First, the bus waylaid by the killers was not a scheduled service but diverted from its original route. Second, the six unlucky Hindus belonged to sects and castes not generally found in the area and third, the miscreants just walked away and were never seriously tracked by the police.}}</ref> unsolved, and unclaimed<ref name=kaur>{{cite book |last1=Kaur |first1=Mallika |title=Faith, Gender, and Activism in the Punjab Conflict: The Wheat Fields Still Whisper |date=2020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DC_KDwAAQBAJ|publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-24674-7 |pages=237–238 |quote=Bhindranwale condemned the Dhilwan killings and denied Sikh involvement, but the media apparatus ran amuck, declaring Bhindranwale’s Sikhs had opened hostilities against all Hindus. Allowing no time for investigation into the unclaimed terrorist action, Indira Gandhi swiftly suspended state government in Punjab and President’s Rule was declared.}}</ref> incident on 6 October 1983, in which 6 [[Hinduism|Hindus]] were shot dead by "'unidentified' extremists"<ref name="NYT1983">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/07/world/indian-government-takes-over-a-state-swept-by-religious-strife.html|title=Indian Government takes over a state swept by religious strife|work=The New York Times |date=7 October 1983|access-date=22 November 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129183816/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/07/world/indian-government-takes-over-a-state-swept-by-religious-strife.html|url-status=live |last1=Stevens |first1=William K. |quote=In the latest trouble, eight people were killed by unidentified "extremists" in two separate incidents.}}</ref> purported by the media to have been Sikh.<ref name="Ledger">{{Cite news |title=Indian government orders crackdown on terrorism |pages=59 |work=Lakeland Ledger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbNOAAAAIBAJ&dq=Indian+government+orders+crackdown+on+terrorism.+Lakeland+Ledger&pg=PA59&article_id=5487,3339519}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Gus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ClN2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA544 |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition |date=2011-06-15 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-6638-1 |pages=544 |language=en |quote=In October 1983, six Hindu bus passengers were slaughtered by Sikh militants}}</ref> The victims were taken off a bus going from Dhilwan in [[Kapurthala district]] to [[Jalandhar]], in the northern state of [[Punjab, India]].<ref name="NYT1983"/>

== Background==
In the wake of deteriorating negotiations between [[Indira Gandhi]] and various Sikh groups during the [[Dharam Yudh Morcha]], armed incidents flared up in the weeks of September-October 1983, in which 20 people were killed and another 18 were wounded.<ref name="Ledger"/><ref name="Observer"/>

== Incident ==
According to media reports, the perpetrators asked the 20 passengers aboard to declare their religious affiliation, and subsequently lined up 7 Hindu men and shot them. One of them, while shot, pretended to be dead. Two Hindu passengers, a 16 year old teenager and his mother, were spared.<ref name="Observer">{{Cite news |title=Punjab Government Dismissed; Terror Increases |pages=9 |work=Observer-Reporter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHtiAAAAIBAJ&dq=Punjab+Government+Dismissed%3B+Terror+Increases&pg=PA9&article_id=1912,859362}}</ref> According to former Punjab DGP Kirpal Dhillon, the incident was characterized by several unusual circumstances: the perpetrators had never been seriously tracked, the bus had not been a scheduled service and had deviated from its usual route, and the victims did not belong to sects and castes typical of the area,{{sfn|Dhillon|2006|p=117}} noting the possibility of it being authorized by Congress ministers and managed through the police and central agency.{{sfn|Dhillon|2006|p=118}}

=== Media ===
The entire spectrum of Sikh groups condemned the incident "in the strongest possible terms." Nevertheless, a section of the regional Jalandhar media "ran amuck,"<ref name=kaur/> persisting in insinuating Sikh militant involvement,{{sfn|Dhillon|2006|p=117}} declaring that "Bhindranwale's Sikhs" had opened hostilities against all Hindus,"<ref name=kaur/> and that the incident was an attempt to compel Hindus to flee Punjab, according to journalist and Indira Gandhi biographer [[Inder Malhotra]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malhotra |first=Inder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRxnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT502 |title=Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography |date=2014-02-01 |publisher=Hay House, Inc |isbn=978-93-84544-16-4 |language=en}}</ref> Despite the incidents never being solved, the media and subsequent public opinion would be convinced of this narrative.<ref name=kaur100>{{cite book |last1=Kaur |first1=Mallika |title=Faith, Gender, and Activism in the Punjab Conflict: The Wheat Fields Still Whisper |date=2020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DC_KDwAAQBAJ|publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-24674-7 |pages=100 |quote=Almost all the murders remained unsolved, but the media and the court of public opinion were convinced: Sikh militants were habitually pulling Hindus from buses to unleash animalistic anger. }}</ref> Bhindranwale would state, "It suits the government to publicize me as an extremist, thus making an excuse to frustrate the just cause and the legitimate demands of the entire Sikh community and Punjab state."{{sfn|Dhillon|2006|p=109}}

The spate of incidents in 1983, including Dhilwan, the first of its kind,<ref name=ksdhillon/> were widely suspected to be false flags; the political magazine ''Surya'', patronized by the BJP party, substantiated many such suspicions in detailed reports about the role of the Third Agency, detailing the career trajectories of various operatives and plans to replicate the "Punjab model" to other burgeoning conflict zones, including [[Sri Lankan Civil War|Sri Lanka]].<ref name=kaur/>

==Aftermath==
Following the incident, the Congress led State government of Darbara Singh was finally dismissed by [[Zail Singh]].{{sfn|Dhillon|2006|p=117}} and [[President's rule|President's Rule]] was imposed by Indira Gandhi on 6 October,{{sfn|Dhillon|2006|p=203}} allowing no time for investigation into the unclaimed act.<ref name=kaur/> In addition to President's rule, Punjab would also come under the [[Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act|AFSPA]] in 1983, granting the army unrestrained powers, including to shoot on suspicion with immunity from prosecution.<ref name=kaur/> Terrorist incidents resumed even after the consequential massacre. On October 21, a passenger train was derailed, the ensuing collision killed 19 people. On November 18, another bus was hijacked and 4 Hindu passengers were murdered.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jeffrey |first=Robin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQO_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 |title=What's Happening to India?: Punjab, Ethnic Conflict, and the Test for Federalism |date=2016-07-27 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-23410-3 |pages=167 |language=en}}</ref> Following President's rule, thousands of suspected Sikh extremists were apprehended by security forces. The operations elicited strong condemnation from the Akali Dal, who drew parallels between the government's actions and the sanguinary history between the Mughals and Sikhs.<ref name="chima-2010"/>

=== Reactions ===
[[Harchand Singh Longowal]] "was quick" to condemn the incident. He described the incident "as an anti-national and anti-Sikh act".<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Gupta |first=Shekhar |date=December 15, 1983 |title=Brutal slaying of four Hindu bus travellers takes tension in Punjab to a new high |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19831215-brutal-slaying-of-four-hindu-bus-travellers-takes-tension-in-punjab-to-a-new-high-804481-2014-02-03 |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref> the incidents prompted open Akali allegations that killings were being done by professionals under the orders of the Third Agency, an intelligence wing formed by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, looking for a pretext to impose President's rule in Punjab.{{sfn|Dhillon|1996|p=203}} Longowal himself repeatedly challenged the Government that he would prove that the Dhilwan shootings were not done by any Sikh or Akali if a judicial enquiry was conducted.{{sfn|Dhillon|1996|p=203}}

Bhindranwale, as well as all militant groups, would "squarely and unequivocally" condemn the bus shootings, the 20 October train derailment, and all fatal incidents, demanding a judicial inquiry into the spate of events during the month.{{sfn|Dhillon|2006|pp=117–119}} Even radical Sikh groups, which normally did not shy away from claiming responsibility for violence, denied any role in bus killings or desecrations and condemned them, with the Babbar Khalsa denouncing the "killing of any Hindus, robberies, or any religiously provocative acts." According to them, their targets were only either Sant Nirankaris involved in 1978, or police officers who were deemed guilty of "torturing and humiliating" Sikh youth detained during the [[Dharam Yudh Morcha]] and harassing their family members.{{sfn|Dhillon|2006|p=119}}

[[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]] made a speech from the [[Operation Blue Star#Guru Nanak Niwas|Guru Nanak Niwas]] on October 16 condemning the massacre, but accusing Indira Gandhi of double standards for dismissing [[Darbara Singh]]'s government in response, questioning why she did not do so on account of the 200 Sikhs who "achieved martyrdom" at the hands of Punjab police during [[Dharam Yudh Morcha]] during the period prior.<ref name="chima-2010">{{cite book |last=Chima |first=Jugdep S |date=March 3, 2010 |title=The Sikh Separatist Insurgency in India: Political Leadership and Ethnonationalist Movements |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxpBDwAAQBAJ&dq=bhindranwale+akal+takht+babbar&pg=PT102 |publisher=SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd |isbn=978-9353881566}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sandhu |first=Ranbir Singh |date=August 1, 1999 |title=Struggle for Justice: Speeches and Conversations of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale |url=https://archive.org/details/StruggleForJustice/page/290/mode/2up |page=291 |publisher=Sikh Educational & Religious Foundation |location=Dublin, Ohio |isbn=978-0967287409}}</ref> In mid-December, he made statements to the press decrying both this and other attacks on Hindus during the preceding months, suggesting by then that these attacks were [[false flag]] operations by the government to secure Hindu votes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gupta |first=Shekhar |date=December 15, 1983 |title=Brutal slaying of four Hindu bus travellers takes tension in Punjab to a new high |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19831215-brutal-slaying-of-four-hindu-bus-travellers-takes-tension-in-punjab-to-a-new-high-804481-2014-02-03 |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, responding to a dispute with [[Babbar Khalsa]], he moved with his followers into rooms near the [[Akal Takht]], heading off the possibility of a government raid in the midst of the increasing tensions.<ref name="chima-2010"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Gus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ClN2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA544 |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition |date=2011-06-15 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-6638-1 |pages=544 |language=en |quote=In October 1983, six Hindu bus passengers were slaughtered by Sikh militants}}</ref>

Following national public outrage, the government pressured Longowal and other moderate factions of the Sikh leadership to issue a religious edict condemning violence. The extremist faction raised objections, questioning whether security forces would abide by similar principles; negotiations subsequently fell through as Longowal and the moderates succumbed to internal dissent. Judgep S. Chima cites this dereliction as evidence of the extremist faction within the Sikh leadership gaining more influence by the fall of 1983.<ref name="chima-2010"/>

== See also ==
*[[1987 Lalru bus massacre]]
*[[1987 Fatehabad bus killings]]
*[[Insurgency in Punjab, India]]
*[[Khalistan Movement]]
*[[List of bus killings during Punjab insurgency]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Dhillon |first1=Gurdarshan Singh |title=Truth about Punjab: SGPC White Paper |date=1996 |publisher=Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee |location=Amritsar, Punjab |isbn=978-0836456547 |edition= |url=https://archive.org/details/TruthAboutPunjab/mode/2up |access-date=25 March 2020}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhilwan Bus massacre, 1983}}
[[Category:Massacres in 1983]]
[[Category:October 1983 in Asia]]
[[Category:1983 crimes]]
[[Category:October 1983]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in India]]
[[Category:Insurgency in Punjab]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 1983|Dhilwan bus massacre, 1983]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Crime in Punjab, India|Dhilwan bus massacre, 1983]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents on buses in Asia]]
[[Category:Sikh terrorism in India]]
[[Category:Khalistan movement]]
[[Category:Kapurthala district]]
[[Category:1983 mass shootings in Asia]]
[[Category:1983 murders in India]]

1983 Dhilwan bus massacre - Revision history

Souravroyjournalist at 19:28, 6 March 2026