[6] His son Gurbachan Singh succeeded him in 1963,[7] and tensions with the Sikhs escalated as he subsequently proclaimed himself as a godman and incarnation of Guru Nanak,[8] styling himself as bājjāṅwālā (Punjabi for "master of the hawk") an epithet of Guru Gobind Singh,[9] using the names of the Sikh Gurus for his servants,[9] and coming out with publications like the Avtar Bani, which made derogatory references to the Guru Granth Sahib of the Sikhs;[7][8] a story in the Yug Purush narrated that, unlike the prophets of the world's major religions, refused to go back to earth to "spread God’s message", except for Avtar Singh, who decided to do so "only after God agreed that anyone blessed by him would go to heaven irrespective of worldly deeds".

This reported continuous support of the organization by the central government was also evidenced by the fact that, during a very short span, the Sant Nirankaris established 354 branches: 27 abroad and the rest in India, with large amounts of property.

[8] On 13 April 1978, the day to celebrate the birth of Khalsa, a Sant Nirankari convention headed by their leader Gurbachan Singh was organized in Amritsar, with permission from the Akali-led State Government of Punjab.

While the original Nirankaris, founded in the nineteenth century with a focus on mysticism, coexisted peacefully with mainstream Sikh tradition despite its differences,[13] the practices of the "Sant Nirankaris" subsect were considered heretical by the orthodox Sikhism expounded by Bhindranwale, as they had begun to revere their new founder and successors as gurus and added their own scriptures to the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book which is considered as the eternal guru,[13] with Gurbachan Singh comparing himself to Guru Gobind Singh, saying that he would create the "sat sitārās" (seven stars) to complement the Panj Piare.

[14] The government's approval of the new sect's convention in Amritsar in 1978 was particularly galling to orthodox Sikhs, as it fell on 13 April, the founding day of the Khalsa; some felt that the entire Sant Nirankari episode had been provoked on purpose by the central government to destabilize and disunify Sikhs, given its sudden rapid growth in the 1960s,[13] and the unusual composition of converts to the sect, with a preponderance of either gazetted officers and deputy commissioners that could allot land, and the extremely poor as followers they attracted with their wealth, meant that the breakaway sect was being manipulated to undercut the power of Sikhism in the state by the central government at the time, part of what was believed to be constant attempts to "divide and destroy"[14] Sikhism.

[19] According to eyewitness accounts, the group, mostly men and joined by women who had refused the advice to stay back, headed out of the Darbar Sahib after an ardas and commitment to nonviolence.

The police would return with armed Sant Nirankaris directly behind them, and in the ensuing melee, the police fired selectively at the Sikh protesters, killing several unarmed men as well as hitting Fauja Singh,[2] who according to KPS Gill (who was not present) attempted to behead Sant Nirankari guru Gurbachan Singh with his sword but was shot dead by Gurbachan's bodyguard.

[17] In the ensuing violence, several people were killed: two of Bhindranwale's followers, eleven members of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and two Sant Nirankaris.

[3][27][8] The SGPC and the Akali Dal further called for a ban on Sant Nirankari religious books and the Punjab government outlawed Gurbachan Singh's entry in the state, an order later annulled by the Supreme Court of India in January 1979.

[29] The Sant Nirankaris had firmly supported Emergency rule, and developed close links with many Congress politicians and bureaucrats, creating a strong foothold in Delhi political circles; this gave rise to opposition from the Akalis and the Damdami Taksal during the same period.

[30] The case was heard in the neighbouring Haryana state, and all the accused were acquitted on grounds of self-defence[20] on 4 January 1980, two days before the Lok Sabha poll.

[35] The chief proponents of this attitude were the Babbar Khalsa founded by the widow, Bibi Amarjit Kaur of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, whose husband Fauja Singh had been at the head of the march in Amritsar; the Damdami Taksal led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who had also been in Amritsar on the day of the outrage; the Dal Khalsa, formed with the object of demanding a sovereign Sikh state; and the All India Sikh Students Federation.

[40] The police crackdown in the state resulted in an average of 50 youths detained and 6 six killed per week, prompting a wider acceptance of Bhindranwale's claim that the government was out to destroy the Sikhs.

[41] The People's Union for Civil Liberties, an Indian human rights group, accused the Punjab Police of behaving like a "barbarian force.

[51] Satpal Baghi of Ferozepur in the Indian Express, notes:[52] The genesis of the real trouble between the Nirankaris and Akalis goes back to the years when Mrs. Indira Gandhi headed the Union Government.

"In pursuit of this policy of divide and rule, Mrs. Gandhi personally gave clearance for a diplomatic passport to be issued to the Nirankari Chief and the Indian High Commissioners and Ambassadors abroad were instructed to show him respect and regard.

The Nirankaris also received patronage from Delhi that made Sikh organizations like Bhindranwale's and the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, headed then by Bibi Amarjit Kaur's husband, Fauja Singh, hate them even more.

"Khushwant Singh wrote: "Terrorist activity preceded the morcha [("movement")] by more than six months and was born out of encounters faked by the Punjab police and the armed conflict between the Nirankaris and Sant Bhindranwale beginning April 13, 1978".