Page 342 - Leadership in the Indian Army

once again, was Lieutenant General Krishna Rao, who was GOC-in-C
Western Command. In mid-1981, Krishna Rao took over as COAS, and
Sinha replaced him as Army Commander in Simla. During his tenure as

Army Commander, Sinha witnessed momentous events that were later to
change the nation’s history. During the Asian games held in Delhi in 1982,
there were reports that Sikh extremists were planning to disrupt the games.
As a precautionary measure, all Sikhs travelling towards Delhi were
subjected to body searches and harassed when passing through Haryana.
Surprisingly, even army officers were subjected to this treatment. Sinha
took up the matter with Army HQ, but did not receive any support.

Shortly after this, Lala Jagat Narain, a prominent editor based in Punjab,
was assassinated. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a militant Sikh leader,
was suspected of being involved in the murder. He was staying in a
gurudwara at Mehta Chowk, between Amritsar and Jullunder. The Punjab
police was reluctant to arrest him and asked the army for help. The army
refused. The Chief Minister of Punjab then spoke to the Prime Minister,

who ordered the army to arrest Bhindranwale. These orders were passed on
to Sinha, who spoke to the Chief, pointing out that it was wrong for the
army to undertake a task that was the responsibility of the police. If the
police failed, then, as provided by law, the army could be called out in aid
of civil power. He also said that he would need more time for
reconnaissance before undertaking the operation. Krishna Rao spoke to the
Prime Minister, and she rescinded the order.

When the police went to arrest Bhindranwale at Mehta Chowk, he told
them that he would come out after 48 hours. The police waited outside the
gurudwara for two days, by which time a sizable crowd had collected.
When Bhindranwale came out, the Nihangs (members of an armed Sikh
sect) attacked the police, who had to open fire, killing several people.
Bhindranwale was taken to Ferozepore, but was released after a few days

due to lack of evidence. His release was celebrated throughout Punjab,
where he was treated like a hero. He moved to Amritsar, where he took
refuge in the Golden Temple. The rest is history.
In January 1983, Sinha was posted to Delhi as Vice Chief of Army Staff.
Since there were just six months left for Krishna Rao to retire, and Sinha
was the senior Army Commander, it was assumed that he would be the next
Chief, and his move to Delhi only served to reinforce this impression. After

he took over as Vice Chief, Krishna Rao indicated that since Sinha would