Operation Blue Star

In India most of us know what is Operation Blue Star and how it led to the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but still for the others I want to shed some light on this topic.

Operation Blue star is a code name of a military operation carried out by Indian forces in the month of June 1984 for 9 days to assassinate Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the Golden temple buildings, a holy place for Sikhs in Amritsar, Punjab.

Bhindranwale was the leader of Sikh religious organization Damdani Taksal. In 1982 he and Akali dal (a Sikh-centric political party) launched a campaign called Dharm yudh Morcha which stated a list of demands to be fulfilled that mainly included demands like return of Chandigarh to Punjab and retaining a larger share of irrigation water. Thousands of people supported Bhindranwale because of these demands and Brindranwale’s idea was to create a autonomous state in India. Gathering more support Brindranwale created a large militant group and moved to Golden Temple complex.

Over the time Brindranwale and his group had been demanding an independent homeland – called Khalistan which is considered to be the main reason behind Operation Blue star. Not to mention Brindranwale was actually supported by Congress in early days to tackle their competitor Akali dal in state elections.

In 1984, the group had emerged as Sikh separatists who would run a parallel government at the height of Sikh militancy in the state. This led to Law and order issue in Central government and decided to remove Brindranwale from Golden temple complex. Operation Blue Star was launched under the direct order of then Prime Minister India Gandhi to Kill Brindranwale and his militant group.

On June 1 1984 the Indian security forces surrounded the temple premises. As per Sikh communities Indian forces started firing at the building premises on June 1 itself into various buildings. It is said that the Indian forces sealed the exits yet continued to allow pilgrims to enter the temple complex.

Day 4, Indian forces played messages through loudspeakers asking pilgrims to leave the temple. However the Sikh community later said that there was no evidence of any such warnings before commencing the assault. Pilgrims also stated that they stayed in the temple fearing they would get arrested by Indian Army.

It is estimated that more than 500 inside the temple were dead irrespective of militants or the pilgrims. and 83 Indian Army soldiers were killed by the militants. Well, these are approximate count, Independent casualties are much higher than stated.

The Indian Army’s June 1984 assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar left the Sikh temple heavily damaged. Hundreds of people lost their lives and even the surviving pilgrims were subjected to interrogations and beatings.

This operation led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards as an act of vengeance which then resulted in anti-Sikh riots which killed more than 3000 Sikhs all over the country. The rage against Sikh community was obvious but recuperation were massive.