India: Possible Peace: Settlement with the Sikhs

For Rajiv Gandhi it was a moment of triumph. Following his election last December, India's Prime Minister had given the "highest priority" to resolving the crisis caused by Sikh demands for greater autonomy. Against heavy odds, Gandhi arrived at a settlement last week with moderate Sikh leaders after 33 hours of intense negotiations.

That Gandhi had managed to persuade the Sikhs to come to New Delhi for talks was in itself a considerable achievement. That an agreement was reached so quickly on a problem that has over the past three years claimed thousands of lives, threatened the unity of the country and led to the assassination last October of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi seemed little short of a miracle. Reflecting the overwhelming acclaim with which the accord was greeted, New Delhi's independent daily Statesman said in an editorial, "This is truly a tremendous achievement for a young and relatively inexperienced Prime Minister."

Gandhi went before Parliament to deliver the news shortly after signing the agreement with Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, the moderate president of the Akali Dal, the Sikh political party. The settlement, said Gandhi, "brings to an end a very critical period in the history of our country. Now we begin a new phase of working together to preserve the unity and integrity of the country." When he finished reading details of the agreement, the M.P.s gave him a standing ovation. Outside the Parliament, Longowal expressed his delight. "We are fully satisfied with the package," he said.

Although radical Sikhs denounced the settlement, the accord goes a long way toward meeting several of the Sikhs' demands. The government's main concession concerns the city of Chandigarh, which has served as the common capital for the states of Punjab and Haryana since 1966, when Haryana was created from Hindi-speaking territory in Punjab. Chandigarh will become part of Punjab and serve as its capital alone. A new capital will be built for Haryana, and a tribunal will select Hindi-speaking areas in Punjab that will be incorporated into Haryana. The exchange virtually ensures that Sikhs will enjoy more political and economic power in Punjab, where they make up 61% of the population. (In India as a whole, Sikhs account for only 2%.)

The government also agreed to pay compensation to the families of all those who have been killed in Sikh-related disturbances since August 1982. Gandhi promised to "withdraw" the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Punjab, which permits search and arrest without warrant. A dispute between Punjab and Haryana on sharing interstate river waters will be referred to a tribunal for arbitration.

Longowal must now sell the agreement to Sikhs in Punjab. Many seem weary of the bloodshed and violence. Fears that the cause has been overtaken by extremists were fueled anew by the crash in June of an Air-India jetliner, which some believe may have been caused by Sikh terrorists. The radicals have made clear they will settle only for an independent state they call Khalistan. Last week they derided the agreement as a "complete sellout" and called Longowal a traitor. Soon after, a police officer was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Amritsar, and Indian intelligence officials said that terrorists had planned to attack Longowal.