Times change. The verdict in Canada following the destruction of an Air India jumbo jet over the Atlantic in 1985 is a reminder of the extent of Sikh militancy in India at the time. Several thousand people died in nearly 10 years of militancy – and India’s Sikhs effectively became alienated from mainstream society. In a series of events that that shocked the nation, the Congress government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent troops into the Sikhs’ sacred shrine – the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar – to flush out the militants holed up there. Full Story