India: Information from 1990 to the present on the treatment of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members and supporters in Punjab, especially during the February 1992 election campaign; and on the current situation and status of the BJP in Punjab
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND22869.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Information from 1990 to the present on the treatment of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members and supporters in Punjab, especially during the February 1992 election campaign; and on the current situation and status of the BJP in Punjab, 1 February 1996, IND22869.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aafb90.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Reuters attachment of 11 February 1992 refers to the shooting of five BJP members in Amritsar by Sikh militants in an attempt to disrupt the polls. Please consult the 29 February 1992 India Today attachment for general information on the BJP during the February 1992 campaign.
In the February 1992 elections, the BJP won only six out of 117 Assembly seats (India Abroad 28 Feb. 1992, 6; Keesing's Feb. 1992, 38762).
For information on the BJP's standing in Punjab's municipal elections, please consult the 8 September 1992 Xinhua attachment.
According to Asia Watch, on 19 April 1991 Kidar Nath Mahajan, the district BJP president, was killed by unidentified gunmen in his shop in Mansa Mandi in Bhatinda district, Punjab (August 1991, 199). Another party member was injured in the same attack (ibid.).
The Financial Times and La Presse attachments, both of 24 January 1992, refer to a Sikh attack on the advanced party of the BJP unity tour travelling through Punjab to Srinigar.
According to the 15 August 1994 India Today attachment, Prakash Singh Badal, the president of the Akali Dal (Badal), announced that he would "forge a joint front with opposition parties, including the BJP, to dislodge the Congress (I)" (21). This statement was made after Badal's party won the Ajnala Assembly by-election "comfortably" (ibid.).
Further information on the BJP in Punjab could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Asia Watch. August 1991. Human Rights in India: Punjab in Crisis. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. February 1992. Vol. 38, No. 2. "India: Elections in Punjab."
India Abroad [Toronto]. 28 February 1992. "Assembly Results" [chart].
India Today [Delhi]. 15 August 1994. Vol. 19, No. 15. R. Vinayak. "Prakash Singh Badal: The Spirited Survivor."
Attachments
Financial Times [London]. 24 Janaury 1992. K.K. Sharma. "Three Killed as Hindu 'Unity Tour' Enters Punjab." (NEXIS)
India Today [Delhi]. 15 August 1994. Vol. 19, No. 15. R. Vinayak. "Prakash Singh Badal: The Spirited Survivor," p. 21.
_____. 29 February 1992. Ramesh Vinayak. "Punjab Elections: Crippled by Fear," pp. 98-100.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. February 1992. Vol. 38, No. 2. "India: Elections in Punjab," p. 38762.
La Presse [Montréal]. 24 January 1992. "Des Sikhs tirent sur des militants hindous: 5 morts et 16 blessés."
Reuters. 11 February 1992. AM Cycle. Prabhjot Singh. "Sikh Leaders Held, Militants Kill Party Workers." (NEXIS)
The Xinhua General News Service. 8 September 1992. "Indian Congress Gets Majority In Punjab Elections." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International (AI). October 1995. India: Determining the Fate of the 'Disappeared' in Punjab. (AI Index: ASA 20/28/95)
_____. August 1995. India: Deaths in Custody in 1994. (AI Index: ASA 20/18/95)
_____. May 1995. India: Punjab Police: Beyond the Bounds of the Law. (AI Index: ASA 20/08/95)
_____. June 1994. India: Deaths in Custody in 1993. (AI Index: ASA 20/02/94)
_____. 15 December 1993. India: 'An Unnatural Fate': 'Disappearances' and Impunity in the Indian States of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
Amnesty International Report. Yearly. 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995.
Asia Watch. August 1991. Human Rights in India: Punjab in Crisis.
Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. January 1990 to present.
Conference Call with Navkiran Singh, B.A., L.L.B. 1 September 1995.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995.
Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995.
Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly. December 1989 to present.
Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board, Ottawa. March 1995. India: Chronology of Events, February 1991-November 1994.
DIRB "Amnesty International: India" country file. January 1990 to present.
DIRB Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. December 1991 to June 1992, July 1994 to present.
DIRB "India" country file. June 1990 to present.
Foreign Report [Surrey]. Weekly. June 1995 to present.
Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. Yearly. 1993, 1995.
Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook. Yearly. 1992, 1994, 1995.
Human Rights Watch (HRW). April 1995. Playing the 'Communal' Card: Communal Violence and Human Rights.
Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996.
India Abroad [Toronto]. Weekly. July 1995 to present.
India Today [Delhi]. Fortnightly. March 1993 to present.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. January 1990 to October 1995.
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Human Rights Newsletter [Delhi]. Monthly. May to July 1995.
ODR-Bulletin d'information [Berne]. November 1990. "Inde."
Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States. February 1995. India: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.
Refugees, Immigration and Asylum Section (RIAS), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. June 1994. Country Profile: India.
Stokke, Hugo. 1991. "India," Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook 1991.
On-line search of media sources.