Amritpal Singh has been styling himself on the lines of terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed during Operation Blue Star in 1984, by copying his attire, mannerisms, carrying an arrow, keeping a battery of armed bodyguards and taking the shield of religion.
Hundreds of Sikh youths, led by the Dal Khalsa, were carrying Khalistani flags and photographs of damaged Akal Takht.
Virk on Saturday said the state police should have been more prepared to deal with such a situation.
Donning a flowing white chola' and a navy blue turban and often escorted by armed supporters, radical preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh has been quite active in Punjab for some time.
Radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who is on the run following a police crackdown, has been maintaining close links with Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and some terrorist groups based abroad, official sources said on Saturday.
I telephoned Chief Minister Darbara Singh and asked him why this carefully thought-out plan had suddenly been aborted. The Chief Minister sounded very agitated and all he said was that this was not his decision, but the orders had come directly from Home Minister Zail Singh. A fascinating excerpt from retired IAS officer Ravi Sawhney's book, Living A Life.
The two leaders discussed the law and order issue. Mann told Shah about the circumstances leading to the Ajnala incident, sources said.
This is a challenge India's political establishment will have to face unitedly, without looking for electoral benefit, warns Vir Sanghvi.
Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by supporters of radical Sikh outfits as well as that of Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar at the Golden Temple on the 38th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
Rode, the place chosen for the dastarbandi (turban-tying) event on September 29, 2022, happens to be the ancestral village of slain terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to "lay down any yardstick" for granting reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs.
'The Centre and state need to take a unified approach and take concerted action before this matter assumes menacing proportions because unemployment, the drug trade and the levels of frustration among the youth make them vulnerable to any maverick who promises something better.'
Most political leaders in Punjab have come out in the open to oppose him, unlike the early 1980s when political leaders were scared of speaking against Bhindranwale, observes Sudhir Bisht.
'The politics that is now being played in Punjab doesn't contribute towards peace and tranquillity.'
'Many times when Khalistan slogans are raised, it is from those who feel alienated, not because they want a separate state.'
A senior officer said that after the Red Fort incident, intelligence agencies were on their toes in Punjab to keep a close watch on Khalistan forces trying to revive their movement.
How could a President, seen as a political time-server, have manoeuvred things to a stage where he could strike fear into the heart of a prime minister who, only two-and-a-half years before, had been elected with the largest majority in history?
The Akali Dal is convinced that Waris Punjab De and Amritpal Singh are part of a bigger plan to create a law and order problem in the state, leading to the imposition of central rule and even the exclusion of Punjab from the Lok Sabha polls as was done in 1991.
'It is funny that he's on CCTV all the time, but the Punjab police can't find him.'
He was a part of the 1960 Rome Olympics squad but didn't get a game but was an integral part of the 1962 Asiad gold winning team in Jakarta.
'...only if we sort it out with Pakistan.'
'Will never support anything anti-India'
A controversy erupted after a video of Kiran Bedi purportedly cracking a joke on Sikhs at the launch of her book was widely shared on social media.
As the farmers prepare to leave their protest sites on Delhi's borders on Saturday after the government repealed the farm laws and acceded to their other demands, many say they will reinstall their tents in their villages as a symbol of their long, arduous struggle.
'Mr Badal wanted to talk to a member of the Gandhi family to bring about some sort of rapprochement between the Akalis and the Congress which were the two major parties at that time.'
'This incident is likely to embolden the radicals as also the sleeper cells of terrorists and their masters hiding abroad, including Pakistan.'
'Khalistanis can be divided into three categories: Firstly, hardcore ideological people. They are microscopic, not even 1%.' 'Secondly, those who consider Khalistan a business.' 'The third category that has built the narrative of Khalistan are those who gain from polarisation.'
'Khalistan would have been in existence today, but for the army.'
Aam Aadmi Party's Tilak Nagar legislator Jarnail Singh has been booked by the police for allegedly assaulting a Municipal Corporation of Delhi engineer and preventing him from carrying out his duty when the latter and his team had gone to demolish an illegal construction in west Delhi.
'The Khalistanis get bulk of the money from abroad.' 'Where did Amritpal's Mercedes come from, which costs well over Rs 60 lakhs?' 'Where does his fleet of vehicles come from?' 'Local Punjabis can certainly not contribute this kind of money.'
Lamba claimed after the walkout, "I got a message from the CM to tender my resignation. I'm ready to do so".
Tulsidas Balaram, who passed into the ages last week, was a member of the Indian football team which reached the semis at the Olympics and won an Asian Games gold medal.
Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar's Simranjit Singh Mann on Sunday won the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat after defeating his nearest rival, Aam Aadmi Party's Gurmail Singh, by a margin of 5,822 votes.
Party MLAs, including Madan Lal, Jarnail Singh, were seen lunging at Mishra and dragging him as he raised a poster.
The 20 MLAs told the high court that they would move fresh petitions against the taking away of their assembly seats as their pleas had become infructuous after President Ram Nath Kovind put a stamp of approval on the EC's recommendation.
'I'm now living under threat, but life has to go on because as a soldier, you can't run away from it.'
The October 28 decision of the President rejecting the plea is based on an opinion rendered by the Election Commission, the poll panel said.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that decision to challenge the grant of bail by the Allahabad high court to Ashish Mishra is pending consideration before the relevant authorities.
There was heavy police deployment at most of the crossings in the district, around 150 km from Uttar Pradesh's capital city, Lucknow.
Ranbir Kapoor's larger-than-life daku depiction in and as Shamshera is old school at its spectacular best. While we wait to watch the actor in one of the most raw, rough and rustic outings of his career, here's Sukanya Verma's list of 25 daku roles we love, ranked in an ascending order.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances