AvijitDas2003 at 18:42, 29 July 2023

2023-07-29T18:42:06Z

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{{Short description|Sikh militants of the Punjab insurgency of the 1980's and 1990's}}
{{Sikhism sidebar}}

'''Kharku''' (Punjabi: ਖਾੜਕੂ {{Small|([[Gurmukhi]])}}, {{Nastaliq|کھاڑکو}} {{Small|([[Shahmukhi]])}}; ''khāṛakū, khaarakoo''; literally meaning courageous, bold, brave, dreaded, feared, or domineering; alternatively spelt as '''Kharaku''')<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shabdkosh.com |title=ਖਾੜਕੂ - Meaning in English - ਖਾੜਕੂ Translation in English |url=https://www.shabdkosh.com/dictionary/punjabi-english/ਖਾੜਕੂ/ਖਾੜਕੂ-meaning-in-english |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=SHABDKOSH |language=en}}</ref> is a [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] term used as a self-designation by [[Sikhs|Sikh]] militants of the [[Punjab insurgency]] who were followers of the [[Khalistan movement]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stepan |first=Alfred C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/793202946 |title=Crafting State-Nations : India and other multinational democracies |date=2011 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |others=Yogendra Yadav, Juan J. Linz |isbn=978-0-8018-9942-3 |location=Baltimore |pages=97 |oclc=793202946}}</ref>

== History ==
During the later years of [[British Raj|British India]] and early decades following [[History of India (1947–present)|Indian independence]], some slogans were coined during those times which invoked the word Kharku to serve a political message, an example being ''"[[Khanda (sword)|Khanda]] Kharku, Nehru Bhajju"'', meaning: "when Sikh swords begin to clatter, [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]] shall flee".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Narang |first=Gokul Chand |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/221848030 |title=Transformation of Sikhism |date=1960 |publisher=Kalyani Publishers |isbn=81-7096-330-3 |edition=5th ed., rev. & enl |location=New Delhi |pages=203 |oclc=221848030}}</ref> The Kharkus fought an insurgency primarily between the years of 1978–1993, sparked by the [[1978 Sikh–Nirankari clash|1978 Sikh-Nirankari clash]], which led to the deaths of 13 orthodox Sikhs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Singh |first=Birinder Pal |date=September 2016 |title=Sikh militants' terms of discourse: Religion, Khalistan/nation and violence |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17448727.2017.1289679 |journal=Sikh Formations |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2–3 |pages=191–206 |doi=10.1080/17448727.2017.1289679 |s2cid=151568594 |issn=1744-8727}}</ref>

Their ultimate goal was the establishment of a sovereign Sikh state (''Khalsa Raj'') based upon political justice.<ref name=":0" /> The movement gained further strength in the 1980's after [[Operation Blue Star]], [[Operation Woodrose]], and [[Operation Black Thunder]], and fallout from the [[assassination of Indira Gandhi]], which sparked country-wide [[1984 anti-Sikh riots|anti-Sikh pogroms]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grewal |first1=Inderpal |last2=Sabherwal |first2=Sasha |date=2019-10-02 |title=Slow violence in post-1984 Punjab: Remembering, forgetting and refusals |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17448727.2019.1703079 |journal=Sikh Formations |language=en |volume=15 |issue=3–4 |pages=343–360 |doi=10.1080/17448727.2019.1703079 |s2cid=214001941 |issn=1744-8727}}</ref> The Kharkus of the 1980's and 1990's were associated with [[Martyrdom in Sikhism|martyrdom]] and respected as ''[[Shaheed]]s'' (martyrs for a religious cause).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/944382499 |title=Migration, mobility and multiple affiliations : Punjabis in a transnational world |date=2015 |others=S. Irudaya Rajan, V. J. Varghese, A. K. Nanda |isbn=978-1-316-33795-0 |location=Cambridge |pages=143 |oclc=944382499}}</ref> The Kharku movement was especially strong in rural areas of Punjab.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://punjab.global.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/sitefiles/4-Sekhon%20%26%20Singh%20FINAL%2022.1.pdf |title=Rise, Dynamics, and Decline of Violence in Punjab: A Critical Reassessment of Existing Explanations |publisher=Guru Nanak Dev University |others=Jagrup Singh Sekhon & Nirmal Singh |year=2021 |series=Sekhon & Singh: Violence in Punjab |location=Amritsar |pages=61 }}</ref> The ranks of militants drew primarily from the [[Majha]] region from those belonging to a lower socio-economic status and [[Jat Sikh|Jat]] background.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sandhu |first=Harmeet Singh |url=https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=sociology_masrp |title=Beyond the Land of Five Rivers: Social Inequality and Class Consciousness in the Canadian Sikh Diaspora |publisher=Sociology Department of the University of Western Ontario |year=2016 |series=MA Research Paper. 9. |location=London, Ontario, Canada |pages=37 |format=PDF |quote=Whereas Bhindranwale originated from the prosperous province of Malwa, Telford (1992: 976) maintains that his band of armed militants predominantly came from large, and relatively impoverished, Jat families in the Majha region.}}</ref>

They were generally supported by the Sikh masses, especially during the beginning of the insurgency. Support waned during the latter years until the movement faded, eventually relegated to the underground.<ref name=":1" /> The reasons for their decline are a lack of common vision, lack of a commitment to a worthwhile cause, and losing trust of the common folk.<ref name=":1" /> Hundreds of Kharkus were killed by police and military forces during the insurgency.<ref name=":1" /> Many of those who survive remain in hiding or have [[Sikh diaspora|escaped abroad]].<ref name=":1" />

== Terminology ==

=== Etymology ===
Kharku is etymologically derived from the word ''<nowiki/>'kharag''' (honed), which originally referred to an iron [[scimitar]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Chopra |first=Radhika |title=Commemorating Hurt: Memorializing Operation Bluestar |date=December 2010 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17448727.2010.530509 |journal=Sikh Formations |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=119–152 |doi=10.1080/17448727.2010.530509 |s2cid=144432496 |issn=1744-8727 |quote=Uggarwadi was the official term used freely in government statements and in the English-language media, state television and radio broadcasts. The official term stands in opposition to the more popular term Kharku, or freedom fighter. Both terms refer to masculine bodily styles – ugar or ferocious, kharag – honed; its etymological roots drawn from the weaponry – kharag – an iron scimitar.}}</ref>

=== Other names ===
They were also referred to as ''<nowiki/>'Kharku [[Singh]]s''<nowiki/>' or simply as ''<nowiki/>'Mundey'<nowiki/>'' (boys).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Puri |first=Harish K. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/42780241 |title=Terrorism in Punjab : understanding grassroots reality |date=1999 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |others=Paramjit S. Judge, Jagrup Singh Sekhon |isbn=81-241-0619-3 |location=New Delhi |pages=54 |oclc=42780241}}</ref> Other terms for them were ''<nowiki/>'Jujharu''<nowiki/>' (hardworker), ''<nowiki/>'Jangju Sikhs'<nowiki/>'' (fighter), 'freedom fighters', and even ''<nowiki/>'Khalistani [[mujahideen]]s'<nowiki/>''.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Subramanyam lakshmi |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1113233901 |title=Culture behaviour and personality |date=2001 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=81-7099-815-8 |location=New Delhi |pages=150–151 |oclc=1113233901}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Contemporary Affairs: A Quarterly Journal on Contemporary Issues in India and the Third World in a Global Context, Vol. 2, Issue 1 |publisher=Patriot Publishers |year=1988 |volume=2 |pages=53 }}</ref> Controversially, the term is also used by some to describe Sikh terrorists who indiscriminately massacred local [[Punjabi Hindus|Hindus]] and other innocent civilians.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinhā |first=Mṛdulā |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/314318584 |title=A home at last |date=2001 |publisher=Ocean Books |isbn=81-87100-51-6 |edition=1st |location=New Delhi |pages=14–15 |oclc=314318584}}</ref> Kharkus viewed themselves as revolutionaries rather than as terrorists.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39986167 |title=Punjab in prosperity and violence : administration, politics, and social change, 1947-1997 |date=1998 |publisher=Published for K.K. Publishers for Institute of Punjab Studies, Chandigarh |others=J. S. Grewal, Indu Banga |isbn=81-86912-01-0 |location=New Delhi |pages=142 |oclc=39986167}}</ref> The English-language media outlets and the government referred to the militants as ''<nowiki/>'Uggarwadi''' (ferocious).<ref name=":2" />

=== Titles ===
Kharkus took titles and names quite seriously and it was risky for media outlets to report on individual Kharkus without using their preferred terminology and honorifics.<ref name=":3" /> They were against being labelled as "militants" or "terrorists" ('dehshatpasand', 'dehshatgard, or 'atankawadi') and demanded that [[Sikh titles|Sikh honorifical terms]], such as "Bhai", "[[Sant (religion)|Sant]]", and "[[Sardar]]", be appended as prefixes when reporting their names.<ref name=":3" /> Journalists and editors who dared to not heed these demands put their life in danger.<ref name=":3" />

== See also ==
* [[List of terrorist incidents in Punjab, India]]
* [[Timeline of the Punjab insurgency]]
* [[Khalistani groups]]
* [[Martyrdom in Sikhism]]
* [[Punjabi Suba movement]]
* [[Dharam Yudh Morcha]]
* [[Anandpur Sahib Resolution]]
* [[Sutlej Yamuna link canal]]
* [[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]]
* [[National Security Guard]], commonly known as 'Black Cats'
* [[Khalsa bole]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Mahmood |first=Cynthia Keppley |title=Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with Sikh Militants |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780812200171}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dhillon |first=Kirpal |title=Identity and Survival: Sikh Militancy in India 1978-1993 |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2006 |isbn=9789385890383}}

{{Khalistan movement}}
{{Sikhism}}

[[Category:Khalistan movement| ]]
[[Category:Nationalism in India]]
[[Category:History of Punjab, India (1947–present)]]
[[Category:Sikh politics]]
[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India]]
[[Category:Sikh terrorism]]
[[Category:Pro-Khalistan militant outfits]]

Kharku - Revision history

AvijitDas2003 at 18:42, 29 July 2023