Shekhar Will Meet Militants, Sikh Leader Says

Indian Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar has agreed to meet separatist militants to try to find a solution to strife in Punjab state, where they are fighting for an independent homeland, a powerful Sikh leader said Friday.

Simranjit Singh Mann, a former police officer who was accused of plotting the 1984 assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, met Shekhar for nearly 90 minutes and later told reporters, “He has agreed to meet the militants.”

The meeting followed a conference two days ago by three rival Sikh political groups that authorized Mann to meet the prime minister to negotiate self-determination for the wealthy northern state.

The prime minister has ruled out independence for Punjab, but he says he is willing to negotiate constitutional amendments to overcome Sikh grievances.

Mann described the talks with Shekhar as exploratory but said he is happy with the way they went.

Political analysts saw a ray of hope in the fact that the talks were held at all. The last time the Indian government and Sikh leaders met was in the summer of 1985, but an agreement reached then was never implemented.

Unofficial accounts say Sikh militants have killed more than 3,260 people this year. The toll makes 1990 the bloodiest year since the extremists began their campaign to separate from India in 1983.