Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal Accord

Also called: Punjab Accord · Topic: Regional Aspirations: J&K, Punjab, the North-East and Accommodation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"; Class 12, Ch 7 "Regional Aspirations"

Meaning

The Rajiv Gandhi–Longowal Accord (also called the Punjab Accord) was signed on 24 July 1985 by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Akali Dal president Harchand Singh Longowal. It aimed to bring peace to Punjab after the violence of 1984. In it, the Union government agreed to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab, set up a commission on the Punjab–Haryana border, and set up a tribunal to share the Ravi–Beas waters.

It shows the accommodation model: the government talks with moderate regional leaders and brings them back into normal constitutional politics. It also shows a limit of that model. Many of the accord's main promises are still not carried out, and some of them caused new quarrels between states.

Explanation

Background: why an accord was needed

• Militancy in the 1980s: the demand for "Khalistan" (a separate Sikh country) turned into an armed insurgency, which means a violent revolt against the state.
• Operation Blue Star (June 1984):
• The Indian Army cleared militants out of the Golden Temple, Amritsar.
• The Akal Takht was destroyed [2].

• Many Sikhs felt deeply hurt, so militancy grew stronger instead of ending [2].

• 31 October 1984: two of Indira Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards assassinated her.

• The anti-Sikh riots that followed killed 2,146 people in Delhi and 586 elsewhere in India, according to the Nanavati Commission [3].

• Rajiv Gandhi's approach: he chose talks over force and opened negotiations with the moderate Akalis.

The main terms of the accord

Term	What it promised
Chandigarh	Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab
Border dispute	A commission would settle the Punjab–Haryana border
River waters	A tribunal would decide how Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan share the Ravi–Beas waters
Victims	Compensation and better treatment for people hurt by militancy
AFSPA	The Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act, 1983 would be withdrawn from Punjab. AFSPA gives the armed forces special powers to search, arrest and fire in "disturbed areas".

What happened to each term

• Chandigarh: not transferred.
• It is still a Union Territory, an area the Centre runs directly.

• It is also still the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana.

• Border commission: the dispute is still unresolved.

• Water tribunal: set up.
• The Eradi Tribunal was formed in 1986 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.

• That Act was made under Article 262.

• Compensation: only partly given.

Limits: why the accord did not bring quick peace

• Longowal was assassinated on 20 August 1985, within weeks of signing. The accord lost its main Sikh supporter.
• Violence went on for nearly ten years:
• militants kept killing people;
• police committed excesses and human-rights violations;

• the Akali Dal split into factions.

• Zero-sum issues: on Chandigarh, the border and water, whatever Punjab gains, Haryana and Rajasthan lose. Settling one state's complaint therefore created new complaints next door. NCERT Exercise Q3 asks about this.

In the Constitution and practice

• Nature of the accord: it was a political agreement, not an amendment to the Constitution. Its terms needed laws or government action to take effect.
• Article 262 and the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956: these were used to set up the Eradi Tribunal (1986) on the Ravi–Beas waters.
• The SYL canal dispute, an unsettled part of the water question:
• 31 December 1981: Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan signed an agreement to share the water and build the Satluj–Yamuna Link (SYL) canal [4].
• 2004: Punjab passed the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 to cancel these agreements and get around court-ordered sharing [4].
• Article 143: the President sent a presidential reference to the Supreme Court about whether this Act was valid. A presidential reference is the President's power to ask the Supreme Court for its advice [4].
• 2016: the Supreme Court held that the 2004 Act was unconstitutional.
• 2016: Punjab passed the Punjab SYL Canal Land (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Act, 2016 to give the canal land back to its owners. Haryana asked the Court to suspend it [4].

• The SYL canal is still unfinished.

• Article 356: President's rule was imposed in Punjab after the accord, and elections were put off. Under President's rule, the Union government takes over a state's government when the Governor reports that it cannot be run according to the Constitution.

• Operation Black Thunder II (May 1988): the NSG (National Security Guard) cleared the Golden Temple again. It used a siege and cut off supplies instead of an army assault.
• Outcome and lasting effect:
• 1992 election: only 24% of voters turned out, which showed how alienated people were.
• By the mid-1990s: security forces had ended militancy. Chief Minister Beant Singh was assassinated in 1995.
• 1997: the Akali Dal (Badal)–BJP alliance won the first normal election after militancy, and politics moved back to secular issues and development.

Don't confuse with

• Eradi Tribunal vs SYL agreement: the Eradi Tribunal (1986) was set up because of the 1985 accord to share the Ravi–Beas waters. The SYL agreement (31 December 1981) was signed before the accord by three states [4].
• Operation Blue Star vs Operation Black Thunder II: Blue Star came before the accord, in June 1984. It was an Army assault that used tanks. Black Thunder II came after the accord, in May 1988. It was an NSG siege with no army assault.
• Punjab Accord vs Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004: the accord was a Centre–Akali political settlement. The 2004 Act was a Punjab state law that tried to cancel water agreements between states. It reached the Supreme Court through Article 143 [4].
• Promised transfer vs actual status of Chandigarh: the accord promised Chandigarh to Punjab. In fact, Chandigarh is still a Union Territory and the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana.

Prelims Hooks

• The accord: signed on 24 July 1985 by Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal. Longowal was assassinated on 20 August 1985.
• Eradi Tribunal (1986): set up to share the Ravi–Beas waters under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, which was made under Article 262.
• SYL agreement: signed on 31 December 1981 by Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan [4].
• Trap: the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004 reached the Supreme Court through a presidential reference under Article 143, not through a petition from Haryana [4].
• Which promise was carried out? Only the water tribunal was set up. Chandigarh was not transferred, and the border dispute is not resolved.
• Operation Black Thunder II (May 1988): carried out by the NSG, not the Army.

Mains Points

• Accords need follow-through (GS-II, federalism):
• The promises on Chandigarh, the border and water are still not carried out, so Punjab's grievance stays alive.
• Punjab's 2004 Act shows that a state law can try to undo agreements between states [4].

• Reform ideas: make stronger use of the Inter-State Council (Article 263) and have tribunals give their awards within fixed time limits.

• Settling one grievance can create another (GS-I):

• Chandigarh, the border and river water are zero-sum issues: Punjab's gain is Haryana's and Rajasthan's loss.

• Any regional settlement should involve the neighbouring states from the start.

• Democracy absorbed the conflict (GS-I, accommodation model):

• Talks with moderates did not end violence at once. The 1992 turnout was only 24%, and militancy went on until the mid-1990s.
• Still, the 1997 Akali–BJP win brought the regional party back into constitutional politics.
• The lesson is that force can defeat an insurgency, but lasting peace comes through elections and accommodation.

Related concepts

• Khalistan movement
• Operation Blue Star
• Anti-Sikh riots of 1984
• Nanavati Commission
• Operation Black Thunder

Read more

• Punjab II: Operation Blue Star, 1984 and the road to peace