Operation Blue Star

Operation Blue Star
The aftermath of Operation Blue Star on the Akal Takht
Date 3–6 June 1984 Location Golden Temple in Amritsar, India Result Sikh Militants evicted from the temple complex, Akal Takht severely damaged, high civilian casualties
Belligerents
Indian Army Central Reserve Police Force Border Security Force Punjab Police	Sikh militia
Commanders and leaders
Major General Kuldip Singh Brar	Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Shabeg Singh
Strength
10,000 army troops. of 9th Battalion, Parachute Regiment and Artillery units 700 jawans of CRPF 4th Battallion and BSF 7th Battallion 150 Jawans of Punjab Armed Police and officers from Harmandir Police Station.[citation needed]	250[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
83 soldiers killed and 248 injured (officially). Possibly more than 300.	492-800 killed (including civilians and Sikh pilgrims)

Operation Blue Star (Punjabi: ਬਲੂ ਸਟਾਰ, Hindi: ब्ल्यू स्टार (blyū sṭār)) 3–6 June 1984 was an Indian military operation, ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, to remove Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Sikh separatists, led by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, were accused of amassing weapons in the Sikh temple.

The operation was carried out by Indian army troops with tanks and armoured vehicles. Militarily successful, the operation aroused immense controversy, and the government's justification for the timing and style of the attack are highly debated. Operation Blue Star was included in the Top 10 Political Disgraces by India Today magazine.

Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83 and the number of civilian deaths at 492, though some independent estimates run as high as 1500. In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artifacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down.

The military action led to an uproar amongst Sikhs worldwide and the increased tension following the action led to assaults on members of the Sikh community within India. Some Sikh soldiers in the Indian army mutinied, many Sikhs resigned from armed and civil administrative office and a few returned awards and honors they had received from the Indian government. Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Following her assassination, more than 5000 Sikhs were killed in anti-Sikh pogroms. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance and is often compared to what Sikhs call 'the great massacre', the 1761 slaughter of Sikhs by the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Sikh billboard, Michigan, USA

The Operation

The Indian Army used seven Vijayanta Tanks during the operation

Indira Gandhi first asked Lt. Gen. S. K. Sinha, then Vice-Chief of Indian Army and who was to succeed as the Army chief, to prepare a position paper for assault on the Golden Temple. Lt. Gen. Sinha advised against any such move, given its sacrilegious nature according to Sikh tradition. He suggested the government adopt an alternative solution. A controversial decision was made to replace him with General Arun Shridhar Vaidya as the Chief of the Indian army. General Vaidya, assisted by Lt. Gen. K Sundarji as Vice-Chief, planned and coordinated Operation Blue Star.

On 3 June, a 36-hour curfew was imposed on the state of Punjab with all methods of communication and public travel suspended. Electricity supplies were also interrupted, creating a total blackout and cutting off the state from the rest of India and the world. Complete censorship was enforced on the news media.

The Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple on the night of 5 June under the command of Kuldip Singh Brar. The forces had full control of the Golden Temple by the morning of 7 June. There were casualties among the army, civilians, and militants. Sikh leaders Bhindranwale and Shabeg Singh were killed in the operation.

Operation Blue Star coincided with a Sikh annual festival. Pilgrims, including the elderly and children, were trapped inside the temple when the operation began and many were wounded and killed as a result.

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the Golden Temple

Throughout his career Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale remained in contact with Indira Gandhi. Bhindranwale had earlier "taken refuge in"^{[citation needed]} or "taken over"^{[citation needed]} the Golden temple and made it his headquarters in April 1980, when he was behind the in the assassination of Nirankari Gurbachan Singh. The Nirankari Baba, also known as Baba Gurbachan, had been the target of an attack by followers of Jarnail, outside the Golden Temple. On 13 April 1978, Nirankari's Baba Gurbachan is alleged to have ridiculed 10th Guru Gobind Singh in a Nirankari Convention held in Amritsar. This prompted Akhand Kirtani Jatha to lead a protest against the offensive actions by Baba Gurbachan. Police responded to the sikhs protest by opening fire on them. Amritsar police used guns to fire at the protesters. In the ensuing violence, several people were killed: two of Bhindranwale's followers, eleven members of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha (13 Sikhs Total)and three Nirankaris.

In 1982, Bhindranwale and approximately 200 armed followers moved into a guest-house called the Guru Nanak Niwas, in the precinct of the Golden Temple. From here he met and was interviewed by international television crews.

On 23 April 1983, the Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General A. S. Atwal was shot dead as he left the Golden Temple compound. The following day, after the murder, Harchand Singh Longowal (then president of Shiromani Akali Dal) hinted at the involvement of Bhindrawala in the murder.

On 15 December 1983, Bhindranwale was forced to move out of Guru Nanak Niwas house by members of the Babbar Khalsa who acted with Harcharan Singh Longowal's support Longowal by now feared for his own safety. By 1983, the Golden Temple became a fort for a large number of militants.

The Golden Temple compound and some of the surrounding houses were fortified. The Statesman reported on 4 July that light machine-guns and semi-automatic rifles were known to have been brought into the compound. Faced with imminent army action and with the foremost Sikh political organisation, Shiromani Akali Dal (headed by Harchand Singh Longowal), abandoning him, Bhindranwale declared "This bird is alone. There are many hunters after it".

Time magazine reported (about Amritsar) that:

These days it more closely resembles a city of death. Inside the temple compound, violent Sikh fanatics wield submachine guns, resisting arrest by government security forces. Outside, the security men keep a nervous vigil, all too aware that the bodies of murdered comrades often turn up in the warren of tiny streets around the shrine.

Overview

Operation Blue Star was launched to eliminate Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers who had sought cover in the Amritsar Golden Temple Complex. The Sikh militants within the Harminder Sahib were led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and former Maj. Gen.Shabeg Singh. Maj. Gen. Kuldip Singh Brar had command of the action, operating under Gen. Sunderji.

2000–2200 hrs

The first element was the destruction of Shabeg Singh's outer defences. Much of this had been completed in the preliminary shelling. Major-General Brar had hoped to force Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale into surrendering, which did not occur. The destroyed defenses included seventeen houses which the police believed Bhindranwale's followers occupied in the alleys surrounding the Golden Temple. Nearby was the Brahmbuta Akhara, a large building housing the headquarters of a Sikh sect. Then there were three main towers which had been fortified to create positions from which Bhindranwale's men could defend. Because the towers rose well above surrounding buildings, they were excellent observation positions for tracking the movement of Indian troops in the narrow alleys surrounding the temple. The tops of these towers were destroyed in the preliminary artillery fire

2200–2330 hrs

Between 10:00 and 10:30 on 5 June, commandos from 1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, were ordered to run down the steps under the clock tower on to the parikarma ("pavement"), and move quickly around the edge of the sacred pool to the Akal Takht. As the paratroopers entered the main gateway to the Temple they were gunned down by light machine-gun fire from both sides of the steps. The few commandos who did get down the steps were driven back by a barrage of fire from the building on the south side of the sacred pool. In the control room, a house on the opposite side of the clock-tower, Major-General Brar was waiting with two supporting officers to hear confirmation that the commandos had established positions inside the complex.

The few commandos left regrouped in the square outside and reported back to Maj. Gen. Brar. He ordered them to make another attempt. The commandos were then to be followed by the 10th Battalion of the Guards, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Israr Khan. This second commando attack managed to neutralize the machine-gun posts on both sides of the steps and get down on to the parikarma. They were followed by the Guards who came under heavy fire and were not able to make any progress. They radioed for permission to fire back at the buildings on the other side of the tank. That would have meant that the Golden Temple itself, which is in the middle of the pool, would have been in the line of fire. Brar initially refused, but started to receive reports of heavy casualties from the commander of the Guards.

2330–0100 hrs

Brar again requested tanks after an APC was destroyed by a rocket fired by a Sikh militant. His request was granted and seven tanks rolled into the Golden Temple complex. They cleared the ramparts and later assaulted the Akal Takht in order to neutralize the militants remaining in the structure. The shelling achieved its objective and the primary target of removing militants from the Akal Takht was achieved by 01 h. However, the secondary objective of removing militants from other neighboring structures went on for a further 24 hours.

Casualties

The Army placed total casualties at:

• Military: 83 killed (4 officers, 4 Junior Commissioned Officers and 75 other ranks) and 249 wounded (13 officers, 16 JCOs and 220 other ranks)
• Civilians: 492 dead
• Militants: 433 out of the 1592 people apprehended were segregated as militants

Some of the estimates include:

Authors/Officials	Casualties
Indian Government white paper category civilian/terrorist	493
AP, Reuter and New York Times (11 June 1984)	1,000
Author Mark Tully's (Amritsar, Mrs. Gandhi's last battle)	2,093
Amritsar crematorium worker	3,300
Author Chand Joshi (Bhindranwale: Myth and Reality)	5,000
Eyewitnesses	8,000

Combatants killed

Source	Casualties
Government White Paper 200, 35 bodies in Akal Takht	200
A.I.S.S.F. Member – 100 fighters 5 June	100
S.S. Bhagowalia, V.P. Association for Democratic Rights	140-150

Indian Government White Paper

Government source	casualties
Own troops killed	83
Own troops wounded	249
Innocent killed	493
injured	86
Civilians/Sikh's apprehended	1,592

According to some journalists, several Sikh youths were also killed in crossfire from militants. Unofficial casualty figures were much higher.

Aftermath

Main articles: Indira Gandhi assassination and 1984 anti-Sikh riots

An unspecified number of Sikh soldiers resigned from positions across India in protest, with some reports of large-scale pitched battles being fought to bring mutineers under control.

The operation also led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards, triggering the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The widespread killing of Sikhs, principally in the national capital Delhi but also in other major cities in North India, led to major divisions between the Sikh community and the Indian Government. The army withdrew from the Golden Temple later in 1984 under pressure from Sikh demands.

General A S Vaidya, the Chief of Army Staff at the time of Operation Blue Star, was assassinated in 1986 in Pune by two Sikhs, Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha. Both were sentenced to death, and hanged on 7 October 1992.

Sikh militants continued to use and occupy the temple compound and on 1 May 1986, Indian paramilitary police entered the temple and arrested 200 militants that had occupied the Golden Temple for more than three months. On 2 May 1986 the paramilitary police undertook a 12-hour operation to take control of the Golden Temple at Amritsar from several hundred militants, but almost all the major radical leaders managed to escape.

In June 1990, the Indian government ordered the area surrounding the temple to be vacated by local residents in order to prevent militant activity around the temple.

Criticisms

The use of artillery in the congested inner city of Amritsar proved deadly to many civilian bystanders living near the Golden Temple. The media blackout throughout the Punjab resulted in widespread doubt regarding the official stories and aided the promotion of hearsay and rumour. The operation is criticised on four main grounds, the choice of time of attack by Government, heavy casualty, loss of property, and allegation of human rights violations by Army personnel.

"Last resort"

The attack on Golden Temple was in plans before the armed Sikh militants fortified it. Then GOC of the Indian Army, S. K. Sinha, who was sacked at the last moment had criticized the Government's claim that the attack represented a "last resort", stating that the arrest was planned a year and a half prior to the actual day of attack. SK Sinha and Mark Tully report that the army had been rehearsing the arrest in a replica of the Golden Temple at a secret location near Chakrata Cantonment in the Doon Valley. In October 1983, the Indian Army selected 600 men from different units and sent them to rehearse the assault on a replica of the Golden temple at a secret training camp in the Chakrata Hills about 150 miles north of Delhi: 2 officers of the RAW, the Indian secret service, were sent to London to seek expertise from the SAS.

Timing

The timing of Operation Blue Star coincided with a Sikh religious day, the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, the founder of the Golden Temple. Sikhs from all over the world visit the temple on this day. In 1736 the Golden Temple was attacked by the Mughal army, resulting in heavy casualties of civilian Sikhs. The attack of Ahmad Shah Abdali on the Golden Temple (Darbar Sahib) also came on Baisakhi day, when Sikhs gather in large numbers in Amritsar. Many Sikhs view the timing and attack by the Indian Army as an attempt to inflict maximum casualties on Sikhs and demoralize them, and the government is in turn blamed for the inflated number of civilian dead for choosing to attack on this day.

The Sikh community's anger and suffering was further increased by comments from leading newspaper editors, such as Ramnath Goenka, terming the operation as "A greater victory than the win over Bangladesh, this is the greatest victory of Mrs. Gandhi".

Media Blackout

Brahma Chellaney was the only foreign reporter in Amritsar during the media blackout.

Before the attack by army a media blackout was imposed in Punjab. The Times reporter Michael Hamlyn reported that journalists were picked up from their hotels at 5 a.m. in a military bus, taken to the adjoining border of the state of Haryana and "were abandoned there". The main towns in Punjab were put under curfew, transportation was banned, news blackout was imposed and Punjab was "cut off from the outside world". A group of journalists who later tried to drive into Punjab were stopped at the road block at Punjab border and were threatened to be shot if they proceeded. The Indian nationals who worked with the foreign media were also banned. The press criticized these actions by Government as an "obvious attempt to attack the temple without the eyes of foreign press on them". Associated Press reporter Brahma Chellaney, who managed to report on the operation, later faced police intimidation.

Human rights

Brahma Chellaney, who was then the South Asia correspondent of the Associated Press, was the only foreign reporter who managed to stay on in Amritsar despite the media blackout. His dispatches, filed by telex, provided the first non-governmental news reports on the bloody operation in Amritsar. His first dispatch, front-paged by the New York Times, The Times of London and The Guardian, reported a death toll about twice of what authorities had admitted. According to the dispatch, about 780 militants and civilians and 400 troops had perished in fierce gunbattles. The high casualty rates among security forces were attributed to “the presence of such sophisticated weapons as medium machine guns and rockets in the terrorists' arsenal.” Mr. Chellaney also reported that “several” suspected Sikh militants had been shot with their hands tied. The dispatch, after its first paragraph reference to “several” such deaths, specified later that “eight to 10” men had been shot in that fashion. In that dispatch, Mr. Chellaney interviewed a doctor who said he was picked up by the army and forced to conduct postmortems despite the fact he had never done any postmortem examination before. The number of casualties reported by Mr. Chellaney were far more than government reports, and the Indian government, which disputed his casualty figures accused him of inflammatory reporting. The Associated Press stood by the reports and figures, the accuracy of which was also "supported by Indian and other press accounts" according to Associated Press; and reports in The Times and The New York Times.

C. K. C. Reddy, an Indian journalist writes that the

Whole of Punjab and especially the Golden Temple Complex was turned into a murderous mouse trap from where people could neither escape nor could they seek succor of any kind. The way the dead bodies were disposed off adds to the suspicions regarding the number and nature of the casualties. The bodies of the victims of military operation in Punjab were unceremoniously destroyed without any attempt to identify them and hand them over to their relatives. The government, after the operation, on the other hand, did every thing in its power to cover up the excesses of the army action. The most disturbing thing about the entire operation was that a whole mass of men, women, and children were ordered to be killed merely on the suspicion that some terrorists were operating from the Golden Temple and other Gurdwaras.

Similar accusations of high handedness on part of Indian Army and allegations of human rights violation by security forces in Operation Blue Star and subsequent military operations in Punjab have been leveled by Justice V. M. Tarkunde, Mary Anne Weaver, human rights lawyer Ram Narayan Kumar, and anthropologists Dr. Cynthia Mahmood and Joyce Pettigrew.

The Indian Army responded to such criticism by simply stating that they "answered the call of duty as disciplined, loyal and dedicated members of the Armed Forces of India...our loyalties are to the nation, the armed forces to which we belong, the uniforms we wear and to the troops we command"

It was later pointed out that as the blockade approach taken by Rajiv Gandhi five years later in Operation Black Thunder, when Sikh militants had again taken over the temple complex, was highly successful as they managed to resolve the stand-off peacefully and in hindsight, Operation Blue Star could have been averted by using similar blockade tactics. The army responded by stating that "no comparison is possible between the two situations, as "there was no cult figure like Bhindranwale to idolise, and professional military general like Shahbeg Singh to provide for military leadership" and "confidence of militants having been shattered by Operation Blue Star". Furthermore, it is pointed out that the militants in the temple were armed with machine guns, anti tank missiles and rocket launchers, and that they strongly resisted the army's attempts to dislodge them from the shrine, appearing to have planned for a long stand-off, having arranged for water to be supplied from wells within the temple compound and had stocked food provisions that could have lasted months.

Punjab Crisis 1970s and 1980s

Struggle of Sikhs for Punajbi Suba (Punjabi state)

Sikhs had to struggle for ten long years (1956–1966) to get the Punjabi Suba. They quite rightly feel that what is granted to other Indians as a right, Sikhs have to fight for it. When their magnificent contribution in the 1965 Indo-Pak War could not be ignored, Punjabi Suba was at last formed in 1966. But even that was not done in a straight forward manner. Chandigarh, the capital, became a Union Territory. The head-works and hydroelectric power stations were taken over by the Central Government and some Punjabi speaking districts were excluded from Punjabi Suba. Once again Sikhs had to start the struggle. Behind to-day's tragedy lies the bitter story of the last thirty years.

Mentality of Congress: (Congress steps to weaken akali dal and get the power which cause crisis)

The mentality of Congress governmet is thanda karake khana (Cool it and eat it). Let the problems drag on. Vasantrao Naik, former Congress Chief Minister of Maharashtra once said openly, "How do I solve the problems? I just do nothing. The problem is bound to go away" i.e., people are bound to get fed up with agitation or get used to putting up with difficulties. On three separate occasions when agreement with the Akalis was in sight, Mrs. Gandhi withdrew at the last moment. When the Akalis saw that prolonged peaceful struggle yielded no results, talks with Indira Gandhi lead to nowhere, government assurances were never fulfilled, a sense of frustration, helplessness and bitterness must have set in. The extremists were bound to take over and the moderates had to shift to extremism in order to maintain their position and remain as leaders.

Many well known persons like V M Tarkunde former Judge of Bombay High Court, have remarked - If Bhindranwale is arrested Longowal, Badal and Tohra can influence the moderate opinion and negotiations can be peacefully concluded. But this would strengthen the Akali Dal and that is precisely what Indira Gandhi would not allow. No matter what the consequences for India.

Encoragement to Bindrawale by Punjab's congress goverment

The politics of the Congress (I) was aimed at weakening the Akalis. Zail Singh was the Chief Minister of Punjab during 1972–77. Unlike the previous chief ministers, he came from Ramgaria (artisan) caste and not the majority Jat caste. In order to widen his power base and weaken the Akalis, he encouraged the activities of Bhindranwale and his ultra-orthodox intolerant followers. Akali-Janata coalition was in power during 1978–1980. In order to create a rift in the Akali Dal, a new faction called Dal Khalsa led by Bhindranwale was started with blessings of Zail Singh, Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi on 13 April 1978. In the year following, some policemen in Punjab went on strike and were dismissed. During the elections of 1980, Zail Singh promised to take them back if Congres (I) returned to power that promise was fulfilled. We can imagine what kind of police force Punjab had.

With his masters Zail Singh (then Union Home Minister) and Indira Gandhi firmly back in power, Bhindranwale openly attacked his opponents – the Nirankaris. Their leader Baba Gurubachan Singh and his aide were shot dead in Delhi on 25 April 1980. The killer, carpenter Ranjit Singh, escaped. All the 20 persons against whom warrants were issued, either belonged to the Jatha of Bhindranwale or were his relatives or associates and were hiding under his protection. Organised political murders were now appearing on the scene.

One year after this event, a well known journalist wrote – "Though the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has solved the murder case, it is almost certain that the killers will never be arrested because they are alleged to be in the protection of Bhindranwale. Besides, the State police is not prepared to involve itself in the case by arresting the culprits. Repeated pleas by the Governor of Delhi to the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Darbara Singh and the letters written by the directors of CBI to the Punjab Government for help have been of no avail. The director of CBI wrote to State Government about ten days ago urging it to help the CBI by arresting the culprits and taking away their arms. But the State Government has not even acknowledged the letter. The present Lt Governor of Delhi, Mr. S. L. Khurana has again written to the Punjab Chief Minister pleading for the arrest of the suspects. The CBI has almost completed the investigation and persons who are suspected in this case have been declared as proclaimed offenders. It was on the orders of Indira Gandhi that the murderers were not arrested or disarmed." And exactly 3 years later, she had the audacity to say that she had no alternative to army action.

Dal Khalsa demanded Khalistan

In March/April 1981, on the day of Baishakhi, extremists of Dal Khalsa openly demanded Khalistan. G.S. Dhillon and J.S. Chauhan were present. Imam of Delhi Jama Masjid gave his blessings. (Why was he never arrested?). Indira Gandhi had sought the blessings of the same Imam for her 1980 election campaign.

Bindranwale taking shelter in Golden Temple

Three months after the demand for Khalistan was made by a few fanatics, Bhindranwale comfortably took shelter in the Golden Temple though Indira Gandhi and Zail Singh took no action against him or his men after the murder of Baba Gurubachan Singh in April 1980.

On 9 September 1981, Lala Jagat Narayan was shot dead near Ludhiana. Nachhar Singh was caught. He confessed that one of his associates was Dalbir Singh, proclaimed offender in Baba Gurubachan Singh murder. The other associate was Swaran Singh, a relative of Bhindranwale.

Lala Jagat Narain was an Arya Samaji and still Secretary of Congress Party in Punjab and was one of those leaders, who in 1951, induced Punjabi Hindus to falsely declare that their mother-tongue was Hindi and not Punjabi, and created the problem of the last 30 years.

Lala Jagat Narain had earlier opposed the naming of a road in Anandapur after Guru Govind Singh. He opposed the naming of Delhi-Amritsar Express as the Golden Temple Express and opposed the idea of granting holy city status to Amritsar.

It was the duty of Punjab Government to arrest Bhindranwale. But the Chief Minister Darbara Singh showed great reluctance and allowed Bhindranwale to dictate terms and when he gave himself up on 19 September 1981, 17 Akalis were killed in mob violence. Within days he was released on Indira Gandhi's orders, without any bail or bond.

Bhindranwale had now become a hero. By Indira Gandhi's blessings he was above law. He could literally get away with murder. He visited other provinces to collect funds for his cause and in Delhi even met Zail Singh and Buta Singh. On 29 September 1981, Dal Khalsa members hijacked an Indian Airlines Boeing 757 to Lahore. But as long as they weakened the Akalis, Dal Khalsa had the blessings of Indira Gandhi and Zail Singh.

In December 1981, the new chief of Nirankaris, Baba Hardev wanted to make a deal with the Akalis. Nirankaris would delete the offending passages in their holy books in exchange for peace. But Chief Minister Darbara Singh stepped in and wrecked the deal. Congress (I) were not interested in tranquillity and sanity in Punjab.

Six months later, Congress (I) started raising a force of Punjabi speaking non-Sikhs to malign the Akalis. The men would undergo a crash programme of learning Gurubani and Gurumukhi, growing beard and long hair so as to make them indistinguishable from the Sikhs. After training, these men were sent to Punjab to infiltrate into Gurudwaras, Akali ranks and the Sikh organisations and encourage extremism. They were to incite hatred and create communal tensions, write threatening letters, carry out acts of bank robberies, sabotage, desecrating religious places, invoke strong police retaliation during demonstrations, arson and looting – all dressed up as Sikhs. Congress (I) being in power, they had immunity from prosecution and Sikhs would get the blame.

During Asiad 1982

During the Asiad Games of December 1982, a scare was created by such agent-provocateurs and it was exploited by Congress (I) Government of Haryana. Every Sikh living in Delhi or proceeding to Delhi was humiliated for which there was no need. Most Sikhs would have understood the need for security and agreed to searches and estrictions. But the attitude of Haryana Police was extremely high-handed. Even women and children, old and sick were not spared. Every Sikh was treated, like a suspected terrorist. Some Sikhs had come from America and Canada to show their grandchildren the land of their forefathers. They were sent straight from Delhi Airport to jail. This caused much resentment and bitterness, helped the extremists and hot-heads and made it impossible for the moderates to argue. In fact, every action of Indira Gandhi and her party was calculated to encourage the extremists. What Jagjit Singh Chauhan, Ganga Singh Dhillon and Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale failed to do was achieved by the Haryana Police.

On 25 April 1983, Avtar Singh Atwal, Deputy Inspector General of Punjab Police, was shot dead as he emerged from the Golden Temple at 11:00 a.m. The murder shocked the nation. It was condemned by everybody. The general feeling was running high against the extremists and it was the best time to flush them out. But Indira Gandhi did nothing.

By October, Indira Gandhi changed her tactics. The State Government was dismissed and President's rule was imposed on Punjab. But it brought no change in the situation as the change over was a mere white-wash.

Just three weeks later, Sealdah Express from Calcutta was derailed near Ambala killing 17 people and injuring 133. Sikhs were blamed. In October 1983 and February 1984, some innocent Hindus were gunned down. These senseless killings brought equally senseless reaction by Hindus of Haryana. Between 14 and 21 February 1984, on the Grand Trunk Road from Delhi to Ambala, Sikhs were removed from buses and beaten up. Their Keshas were clipped and their turbans burnt. Even women and children were not spared.

In Haryana, Sikhs were beaten to death, dragged out of Gurudwaras and lynched. Only on the last day, Haryana Government gave 'shoot at sight' order. It is surprising that on 14 February curfew had already been declared in six major cities of Punjab and 'shoot at sight' order issued to police while Haryana Government watch the carnage for seven days.

During March and April 1984, five students of the famous Dnyan-Prabodhini Institute of Pune visited Punjab. Writing in Manoos weekly they say, ". Central Reserve Police Force men surrounded the Golden Temple. Police with helmets and masks are covering every inch of Amritsar, but no Sikh police and where police were not seen, we saw Nihangs. Houses around the Golden Temple have police with mounted machine guns."

On 28 March, Harbans Singh Machanda was shot dead. He was president of the Delhi Gurudwara management committee, and had called for the expulsion of Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple. On 29 March, Dr. V. N. Tiwari was shot dead. He was a learned man and was tipped to be the next Vice Chancellor of the Punjab University. He was among the few top ranking Hindus in Punjab who openly declared Punjabi as their mother tongue and asked other Hindus to do the same. For his academic merit, he was given saropa in the Golden Temple. On the contrary, it is alleged that Punjab University has been dominated by the Arya Samajis for a century and they did not want Dr. Tiwari to be the Vice Chancellor of that University as he would not be their stooge. Moreover, he exposed their mischievous inducement to Punjabi Hindus to deny that Punjabi was their mother tongue.

On 2 April 1984, some 40 minor railway stations in Punjab were blown up. On 9 May, Giani Pratap Singh, aged 85, former head priest of Akal Takt was shot dead in Amritsar. He was outspoken about the anti-social elements who had taken refuge in the Golden Temple. Three days later, Rameshchandra, son of Lala Jagat Narain, was killed in Jullunder. Nevertheless the situation was allowed to drag on for so long because It suited Mrs. Gandhi's election chances. It created an impression that 'there is a serious crisis; situation is very grave; country is facing another partition; we need a strong-minded person. To whom we can turn to only Mrs Gandhi so rally around her.' Even her staunch opponents forgot that the situation was created by herself and said, "Though we do not like her, do not approve of her policies, we are solidly behind her when it comes to Punjab problem. We would support her wholeheartedly, if she were to declare a state of emergency or even martial law." Mrs. Gandhi was very clever indeed in manipulating the situation to her own advantage.

Mrs. Gandhi's action

Between 30 May and 2 June 1984, there was a buildup of army forces in Punjab and what followed took place even without declaring a state of emergency in Punjab, let alone declaring the Martial Law. On 2 June, Punjab was cut off from the rest of India. It was declared ‘a restricted area’ under the Foreigners' (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963, for two months arid was later extended to 2 October 1984, and foreign news reporters were expelled.

3 June was Guru Arjundev's martyrdom day and 4 June was Panchami. Hundreds of Sikhs gather for these few days in the Golden Temple and other Gurudwaras in Amritsar. On 3 June, press restrictions were imposed under Section 2 of Punjab Special Powers (Press) Act of 1956, and extended up to end of September 1984. In the early hours of 5 June, the Indian Army moved in, thus trapping men, women and children.

On 14 June, 84 foreign reporters were allowed in Punjab after seven days of Blue Star. But they were forbidden to take photographs or ask questions to the briefing officers.

Further reading

• K. S. Brar (1993). Operation Blue Star: the true story. UBS Publishers' Distributors. ISBN 978-81-85944-29-6. : presents the version of the Sikh general Kuldip Singh Brar, who led the operation

• Kirapal Singh and Anurag Singh, ed (1999). Giani Kirpal Singh's eye-witness account of Operation Blue Star. B. Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh. ISBN 978-81-7601-318-5. : presents the version of the Giani Kirpal Singh, the Jathedar of the Akal Takht

• Johncy Itty (1985). Operation Bluestar: the political ramifications. 

• Man Singh Deora (1992). Aftermath of Operation Bluestar. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-7041-645-6. 

• Kuldip Nayar; Khushwant Singh (1984). Tragedy of Punjab: Operation Bluestar & after. Vision Books. 

• Satyapal Dang; Ravi M. Bakaya (1 January 2000). Terrorism in Punjab. Gyan Books. ISBN 978-81-212-0659-4. 

External links

• Operation Blue Star Photos
• Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
• SikhMuseum.com Operation Blue Star Exhibit
• Neverforget84.com "Operation Bluestar" page
• "1984 Sikhs' Kristallnacht" - 5-part Youtube video.
• Ensaaf.org "1984 Sikhs' Kristallnacht" PDF - 28 pages
• Sikh.com - Operation Blue Star page
• BBC "Operation Blue Star" page
• Rediff.com "Operation Bluestar 20 years on"
• BBC Reports and timeline
• BBC Flashback
• "Sikh Times" article on press coverage of Operation Blue Star
• Sikhfauj.com "Operation Bluestar and Indira" - link appears dead - 2009 May