Dharamyudh (Sikhism)

[3] The first part of the term dharamyudh comes from Punjabi dharm or dharam (ਧਰਮ), which is usually translated as 'religion',[3] although it is said to 'encapsulate a wider understanding of appropriate conduct, moral order, and bodily discipline' than the words 'religion' and 'religious practice' in English do.

The meaning of the term dharamyudh appears to have been somewhat ambiguous in the writings of the early Sikh Gurus, ranging from 'an interior, individual, spiritual struggle' to 'a war to defend one's beliefs', but by the 18th century, it was increasingly interpreted as 'a religiously sanctioned war against Muslims in particular', which scholars attribute to the changing political circumstances that the Sikhs found themselves in, or moved themselves into.

[5] The militarized Sikhs justified armed conflict as self-defence against Mughal oppression,[7] trained themselves to become warriors and nihangs, and organised themselves in jathas.

[14] Extrajudicial killings by police forces of orthodox Sikh youth in rural areas during the summer and winter of 1982 and early 1983 resulted in retaliatory violence.

[15] In June 1984, the movement reached its zenith during Operation Blue Star, when Indian security forces stormed the holiest Sikh site, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where militants had set up their headquarters.