2 min readMay 18, 2026 06:53 AM IST
First published on: May 18, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST
The Punjab chief minister, Surjit Singh Bamala, presented himself before the Akal Takht to explain the police entry into the Golden Temple complex. He was ordered by the five Sikh head priests to undertake five “services” to atone for his government’s actions. Though the order of the head priests read out by Kirpal Singh, Jathedar of the Akal Takht, used the expression “services” for the atonement, Sahib Singh, head granthi, the Golden Temple, said in the ardas (prayer) that Barnala had been awarded “tankhah” for the police action.
India stands by Namibia
The prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, and the Tanzanian president, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, called for the imposition of mandatory economic sanctions against the Pretoria government for effectively dealing with its intransigence. Both leaders, in their banquet speeches in Dar es Salaam, urged that the international community must intensify its support to the oppressed people of South Africa. They also demanded the “unconditional grant of independence to Namibia”. President Mwinyi commended India for its “moral and material assistance” to the liberation movements in southern Africa.
MGR apprised of Lankan talks
The Tamil Nadu chief minister, M G Ramachandran, who was apprised by the central leaders of the latest formulations that the Sri Lankan government had put forth to resolve the island’s ethnic issue, is understood to have offered his cooperation in thc efforts. The CM was informed that the Indian government was awaiting some more proposals as there were several gaps in the formulations that had been presented to the Indian team, headed by the Union Minister of State for Personnel and Administrative Reforms, P Chidambaram, that had visited Colombo earlier this month.
