Operation Blue Star: News reports
Operation Blue Star was the codename for the attack on the Akal Takhat and the Golden Temple complex during the period June 1 to 6, 1984. The Indian army invaded the Harmandir Sahib complex on the orders of the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. At the time of the operation, close to 100,000 army troops had been deployed throughout Punjab. A group of Sikhs, led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (the charismatic leader of the Damdami Taksal) had, after being expelled from one of the Niwas (guest houses) moved into the Akal Takhat.
This events has been in the news ever since. Below are some of the important news articles concerning this event:
Unveiling the Truth of Operation Bluestar
by Dilpreet Singh of worldsikhnews.com 18 June, 2008
FREMONT: Though 24 years have gone by, Sikhs have not forgotten the ignominy hurled at them by the Indian state in the name of Operation Bluestar. Far and wide, Sikhs assemble in Gurdwaras during this week and revisit the truth of the events which has brutally affected the psyche of the Sikhs. Far from Punjab, reiterating the spirit of not to forget, the Executive director of the Sikh Research Institute, Harinder Singh painstakingsly scrutinized the details of the tragic event and narrated that the Indian state did not want to merely arrest some individuals but to break the backbone of the Sikhs. That it was unable to do is a reflection of the commitment and determination of the Sikhs who fought valiantly and laid down their lives.
He said that the propaganda of the government was nothing but a bunch of lies and he dispelled the entire falsehood of the Indian propaganda machinery by resorting to facts and figures in a well prepared and executed presentation at the Gurdwara Fremont here.
Harinder Singh’s opening remarks were quiet telling. He pointed out that the operation was to subvert and suppress a peaceful Sikh-led civil disobedience movement. Of the 38 wanted “terrorists,” 22 were out of the country and the Darbar Sahib was attacked on one the busiest days of the year, the martydom day of Guru Arjan Sahib. A total of nine infantry divisions were utilized, between 70,000 to 150,000 troops, and both chemical poisoning and tanks were used to arrest 38 people? It is unheard of to need any sort of infantry or tanks to arrest anyone. Similarly suspicious is that Punjab was cordoned for five days, meaning no one could enter or leave the state and electricity was turned off.
Harinder Singh also nailed the lie being perpetuated worldwide that it was an off-the-cuff operation. He explained in depth how meticulous preparations by the Indian government were carried out at Chakrata, near Dehradun for 18 months and also that the government had set up what it euphemistically called, the Third Agency to spread misinformation enabling the government to garner the majority Hindu vote.
The fact that the Akal Takht, the Sikh reference library, and 37 other shrines were attacked or burned down only makes one question the government’s true intentions. Operation Blue star’s aftermath was fishy as well; in fact, casualty numbers were reported to be less than 493 by the government whereas the Citizens for Democracy reported 8,000 deaths. According to the Christian Science Monitor, medical workers were threatened to be killed by soldiers if they were found giving any sort of assistance to Sikhs. Harinder identified many officers within the army who found themselves in dissent with the operation and either retired early, returned their medals, or criticized it publicly.
Harinder Singh emphasized the need to observe the commemoration every year and paid tributes to Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale.
Harinder Singh provided solid evidence from independent sources, avoiding propaganda totally. Operation Bluestar was ultimately, according to Harinder, not a singular event but rather the culmination of a rehearsed and calculated process to suppress Sikh religion and confidence. Joyce Pettigrew has stated that the army’s intentions were to “attack their [Sikhs] heart, to strike a blow at their spirit, and self confidence.” Nevertheless, Harinder urged the Sikh community, especially in Diaspora, to attempt to understand the dynamics between the Sikh population and the Indian state. He suggested that it was imperative to channelize Sikh anger and one such way was to build a monument to Sikh martyrs and continue our struggle for justice.
Sikh organisations to mark 25 years of Operation Bluestar
The Times of India 24 May 2009
AMRITSAR: Sikh organisations, including some radical ones, are all set to evoke the painful memories of the Indian Army's storming of the Golden Temple complex in June 1984 to evict heavily armed Sikh extremists.
The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikh religion, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) and Sikh radicals are already planning events at the temple complex, where the holiest of Sikh shrines Harmandar Sahib (popularly called Golden Temple) is located, here in the first week of June to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Operation Bluestar, the army's codename for the operation.
Indian Army units had used heavy artillery against the terrorist militia, led by the separatist preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, holed up inside the shrine complex. Hundreds of people inside the shrine, including Bhindranwale and his armed supporters, and army and police personnel lost their lives in the battle.
The main function, on June 6, will be held at the Akal Takht. The building, which faces the Harmandar Sahib, was heavily damaged in Operation Bluestar.
Despite the passage of 25 years, Operation Bluestar remains etched in the minds of Sikhs as the darkest chapter in the recent history of the community.
Then prime minister Indira Gandhi, whose government in New Delhi gave the order for the army to use all means to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple complex, was killed by her Sikh bodyguards at her residence on Oct 31, 1984 in a reprisal crime.
The army had faced stiff resistance from the terrorists inside the complex.
The SGPC, the mini-parliament of the Sikh religion that manages Sikh shrines in Punjab, will hold its main function at the Manji Sahib hall of the temple complex.
"We are making preparations for the event this time. We will add more events this year. The main function will be on June 6. We want the function to be held well and go off peacefully," SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said.
Asked if radical leaders would be allowed to take centrestage and raise separatist slogans, as has happened before, Makkar said: "We have seen that such elements raise Khalistan slogans at the end of the function. Though our volunteers are there to prevent them, sometimes they manage to do this."
Makkar said he did not have confirmation whether or not Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Akali Dal President and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal would attend the function.
Getting more hardline, the SGPC had recently brought out its annual calendar with the photograph of the Akal Takht being shown badly damaged in the June 1984 attack.
The use of the photograph by the generally moderate SGPC, which is dominated by Punjab's ruling Akali Dal, was a clear sign that the organisation was looking at cosying up to radical elements in the community in the run-up to the recent parliamentary elections.
"We are trying to ensure that the SGPC involves all Sikh organisations in the events being held. Sikh bodies will be holding their individual events at the Golden Temple complex and other places in the first week of June," radical Sikh body Dal Khalsa's leader Kanwarpal Singh said.
The Khalsa Action Committee (KAC), a committee of various radical organisations, recently held various events to make people aware of its version of what led to Operation Bluestar and how it left the Sikh community scarred.
Organisations like Dal Khalsa and Damdami Taksal are upset with the SGPC, saying it is doing nothing to set up a memorial to those who lost their lives inside the shrine complex during Operation Bluestar.
"The SGPC has already passed a resolution to have a memorial inside the Golden Temple complex. It only needs to implement that. But it is under pressure from the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party, alliance partner of the Akali Dal in Punjab) not to do it. We cannot make it outside as it will not justify the sacrifice of the martyrs. Inside the shrine complex, the SGPC has control," Kanwarpal Singh said.
There are plans to bring out a directory of names of all those who were killed inside the shrine during Operation Bluestar. Many innocent civilians, who were stranded inside the shrine on June 2 when the army moved in, were also killed during the operation.
Every year, the first week of June is observed as 'ghallughara" (genocide) week.
Though terrorism in Punjab (1981-1995) ended many years ago, the anniversary of the Golden Temple attack is observed by radical Sikh organisations every year.
More News links
See also
- Operation Blue Star
- Operation Blue Star: Detailed account
- Operation Blue Star: The untold story
- Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
External links
- Wikipedia - Operation Blue Star
- BBC - After Blue Star
- sikh-history.com
- searchsikhism.com
- sikhlionz.com
- saintsoldiers.net
- neverforget84.com
- Eye witness accounts of the Army action
- Eye witness accounts of the Army action - Download file
- Operation Bluestar
- Sri Akal Takht Sahib
Pictures
Videos
- Eyewitness Account - Operation Bluestar (1 of 3)
- Eyewitness Account - Operation Bluestar (2 of 3)
- Eyewitness Account - Operation Bluestar (3 of 3)
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