Operation Wood Rose
Operation Woodrose was part two in a one-two punch in which "Operation Blue Star" was the first strike. In the attack on the Akal Takht and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his supporters who had armed the Eternal Throne with weapons undreamed of in the days in which its builder, the first Sikh Guru to ever call for any arming of the Sikhs had asked for Miri and Piri - two swords.
Operation Blue Star rapidly expanded spilling over into the entire complex of the Harmandir Sahib and even many surrounding buildings. It is estimated that (the actual amount of the deaths will probably never be known) at least five thousand innocent Sikhs who had gathered at the Mandir for observation of the anniversary of a day held sacred by all Sikhs; the day that the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan, after many days of torture, had dissapeared into the river that surrounded his place of torture) were massacred by th eforce sof the Indian Army.
The amazing thing about the deaths of the innocents, that day and the next, is that the pilgrims had been allowed to enter the area of the Gurdwara at all. The planners of the operation were well aware that one of the most decorated Generals in the Indian Army's history had joined the Sikh occupiers of the Akal Takht and was surely advising the now Sant on his defenses and tactics.
And then there was the history of every attack on Amritsar and its sacred Temple being carried out on days sacred to the Sikhs when large crowds, and large death tolls were assured, Jillianwalla Bagh for one.
Now even as the attack was underway and for many months after the Army launched Operation Woodrose. The main purpose of this Operation was to detain all Amritdhari Sikhs, especially young boys, from the villages of Punjab. Labeled a mopping up operation the Army indiscriminately picked up young Sikh boys, who were keeping their Kesh with a flowing beard rather than one neatly pinned up. Even older Singhs with long beards, or a Gatra (a small dagger) one of the five symbols prescribed Guru Gobind Sing, worn so it could be seen.
Bat Cheets, the Talking Points
It is preposterous that the Army branded in their official publications "Bat Cheet" (talking points) all Amritdhari Sikhs as extremists and that the Indian government then led by Indira Gandhi had endorsed this grave disinformation spread by the blinded Commanders of the Army. Instead of asking the Army to keep their hands off innocent Amritdhari Sikhs, the Indian government framed draconian laws to facilitate the indiscriminate arrests of the Sikhs, young and old, alike. The state of Punjab and Chandigarh were declare "disturbed areas" and to accord Woodrose legal sanctity the Punjab Chandigarh Disturbed Areas Act was passed by the government. Not only that, to enable the Army to round up any Sikh they wished to without impunity the government passed another Act called the Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Act. To provide sharp teeth to the courts, the Terrorists Affected Areas (Special Courts) Act was also passed to deal sternly with the arrested Sikhs. And to arm the police and the paramilitary forces with unbridled powers the Criminal Procedure Code was amended. The civil administration was virtually subordinated to the military authorities. Thus Punjab was virtually converted into a Military Occupied Area as is done in the case of captured area of an enemy country.
The Army revengefully let loose a rein of terror in every nook and corner of all villages of Punjab. Like hunting hounds they rounded up thousands of Sikhs especially the youths, detained them in military camps, tortured them brutally, and in many cases shot them dead. Many were crippled and maimed permanently. The reckless oppression forced hundreds of those Sikh youths, at whom the Army could not lay hands, to flee their villages. Many of them went under ground and many escaped to Pakistan and other countries to escape ruthless oppression let loose by the Army. The mothers, sisters and wives of those Sikhs who went under ground for fear of arbitrary arrests, were arrested, detained in the military camps. tortured and in many cases molested in order to force their fleeing relatives to surrender. There was none to hear their wails and woes: their was none to give them healing touch. Only wild wolves were let loose to howl and growl at them. The fanatic Hindus slyly smiled and gleefully rejoiced at the pitiable plight of the Sikhs in Punjab.
This monstrous military action against the Sikhs was mischievously code-named as Operation Woodrose because in the blind eyes of the Indian government the young Sikhs were of course roses but "wildly by grown in the woods. With this malice and contempt in their minds the Indian Army weeded out the "roses" from the "Woods'. In this way the land of the roses, the state of Punjab, was ruined beyond repairs.
The ruthless repression of the Sikhs in Punjab surpassed thcJU-iwities committed by Zakarya Khan and Mir Mannu. in the eighteenth Century A.I) under the Mughal rule as well as Ahmed Shah Abdali.
Thus "Operation Blue Star" and "Operation Wood Rose" left a deep and indelible scar in the fare face of the land of the roses, the land of Punjab, Who will heal these wounds; who will remove this scar? None else. One day the Sikhs alone would heal their wounds. Or some day some Messiah may born again to restore confidence in them and elevate them.
See also Operation Woodrose and its link to Sikhlionz and many disturbing photos.
