7.62 1A self loading rifles. These weapons were outmatched by automatic AK-47s. A militant from Babbar Khalsa who had been arrested in the early 1990s had informed Indian authorities about Pakistani ISI plans to use aeroplanes for Kamikaze attacks on Indian installations. The Sikhs however refused to participate in such operations on religious grounds as Sikhism prohibits suicide assassinations. In a hijacking in 1984 a German manufactured pistol was used and during the investigations, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service then confirmed that the weapon was part of a weapon consignment for Pakistani government. The American government had then issued warnings over the incident after which the series of hijackings of Indian aeroplanes had stopped. End of violence Between 1987 and 1991, Punjab was placed under an ineffective President's rule and was governed from Delhi. Elections were eventually held in 1992 but the voter turnout was poor. A new Congress(I) government was formed and it gave the Chief of the Punjab Police (India) K.P.S. Gill a free hand. Under his Command, police had launched multiple intelligence-based operations like Operation Black Thunder to neutralise Sikh militants. Police was also successful in killing multiple High-value terrorists thus suppressing the violence and putting an end to mass killings. By 1993, the Punjab insurgency had petered out, with a last major incident being the Assassination of Chief Minister Beant Singh occurring in 1995. The government began a propaganda campaign in the early 1990s that supported Punjabi folk singers such as Kuldeep Manak, Gurdas Mann, etc. They were made to record songs such as "Apna punjab hove" which were anti-Sikh in nature. Most of the Folk songs promoted caste system and alcohol, designed to cause cultural separation inside Punjab rather than out. 1,714 security personnel, 7,946 militants, and 11,690 non-combatants were killed throughout the conflict. Some sources have stated higher figures for non-combatant deaths. Timeline See also 1984 Anti-Sikh riots 1987 Punjab killings 1991 Punjab killings Khalistan Operation Blue Star References Bibliography Cry, the beloved Punjab: a harvest of tragedy and terrorism, by Darshan Singh Maini. Published by Siddharth Publications, 1987. Genesis of terrorism: an analytical study of Punjab terrorists, by Satyapal Dang. Published by Patriot, 1988. Combating Terrorism in Punjab: Indian Democracy in Crisis, by Manoj Joshi. Published by Research Institute for the Study of Conflict and Terrorism, 1993. Politics of terrorism in India: the case of Punjab, by Sharda Jain. Published by Deep & Deep