BLUE STAR OPERATION: THE ASSAULT OF THE GOLDEN

TEMPLE

Submitted by

Prabhnoor Guliani

Division: E PRN: 18010223095 Batch: 2018-2023

Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA

Symbiosis International (Deemed University), PUNE

In

January, 2019

Under the guidance of

Dr. Pooja Kapoor

Designation and official address of the research guide

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 CERTIFICATE

The Project entitled “BLUE STAR OPERATION: THE ASSAULT OF

GOLDEN TEMPLE” submitted to the Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA
for HISTORY OF LAW AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS IN MEDIEVAL AND
MODERN INDIA as part of internal assessment is based on my
original work carried out under the guidance of Dr. Pooja Kapoor
from December, 2018 to January,2019. The research work has not
been submitted elsewhere for award of any degree. The material
borrowed from other sources and incorporated in the research work
has been duly acknowledged. I understand that I myself could be
held responsible and accountable for plagiarism, if any, detected
later on.

Signature of the candidate

Date:

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 INDEX

Serial no. Heading Page no.

1. Abstract 4-6

2. Introduction 6-8

3. Objective of the 9
project

4. Research questions 9-11

5. Research 11-12
Methodology
6. Literature Review 12-13

7. Manuscript Body 13-14

8. Conclusion 14

9. Bibliography 14

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 ABSTRACT

The decade of 1980s experienced major political changes in the state of Punjab.
The social composition of Punjab has been changing, first it was the partition in
1947, then 1966 when Himachal Pradesh and Haryana were carved out of
Punjab and finally after the Punjabi Suba movement led by Akali Dal, majority
of the Sikhs are now living in truncated state of Punjab. After the reorganization
of the Punjab region, the Akalis came to power in 1967 and then again in 1977
and both times the party came to power through coalitions. The Akalis knew
that even after the reorganization of state they did not have a strong political
position. Firstly, their central government dismissed their position in power in
the middle of their term, secondly, they were not enjoying much support from
Hindus and lastly, the Sikhs community like many major communities was
internally differentiated on caste and class lines. The Congress was enjoying
more power in the state and received support from people of all communities.

In the 1970s the Akalis started demanding political autonomy for the region.
This was reflected in the Anandpur Sahib resolution of 1973. This resolution
buzzed a lot of controversy. This resolution basically wanted to redefine centre-
state relations and speak about the aspirations of Sikh qaum and declared its
goal of bolbala (dominance or hegemony of Sikhs). The resolution was pointing
towards the petition to strengthen the federal structure in the country but it
also interpreted a plea for a separate Sikh nation. The resolution did not appeal
much to the Punjabi masses and in 1980, the Akali government was dismissed.
The Akalis then raised a question regarding the distribution of water in Punjab
and its neighboring states. A section of religious leaders raised the question of
autonomous Sikh identity and many extreme elements started propagating the
idea of a separate Sikh nation called ‘Khalistan’.

Soon the leadership of Akalis went from moderates to extremists and took the
form of an armed insurgency. These extremists made their headquarters inside
the holy Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar and turned it into an armed

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fortress. In June 1984, the government then carried out the ‘Operation Blue
Star’ in which the Indian military had to flush out the militants but it also
damaged the important temple and hurt the Sikh sentiments. Most of the Sikhs,
living in India and abroad saw this operation as an attack on their faith, so the
extremists used it more to further their agenda of ‘Khalistan’.

There were some more tragic events for Punjabis to face when Prime Minister,
Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31st October 1984, just outside her
residence and by her Sikh bodyguards who wanted to take revenge for
Operation Blue Star. The entire country was shocked by this act of violence and
in many parts of North India, including Delhi, violence broke out against the
community of Sikhs and gave rise to the Anti-Sikh riots. This violence continued
for almost a week. More than two thousand Sikhs were killed in Delhi and was
seen as the worst affected area along with other parts of India like Chas,
Kanpur and Bokaro where hundreds of Sikhs were killed. Many Sikh families lost
their male members of the family and had to suffer financial losses. Another
government Act that hurt the Sikhs was that it took a long time for Congress to
restore normalcy and law and order in Punjab. Also the perpetuators of this
violence were never punished effectively. It was in 2005, almost twenty years
after the incident, Manmohan Singh in the parliament conveyed his regrets over
the brutal killings and apologized to the nation for the Anti-Sikh violence.

After the elections following 1984, Rajiv Gandhi came to power and initiated a
talk with Harchand Singh Longowal, the then Akali leader. This agreement is
called Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal accord or the Punjab accord and it was a big step
to bring peace and order back in Punjab. It was agreed that Chandigarh would
be transferred to Punjab and a separate commission would be appointed to
resolve the border dispute of Punjab and Haryana and a tribunal would be set
up for the sharing of river waters between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The
agreement also provided compensation for those who were affected by the
military violence in Punjab and had suffered loss of property or family
members. They also withdrew the application of Armed Forces Special Powers
Act in Punjab.

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However peace and law and order did not come easily or immediately. The cycle
of violence continued for like a decade. Militancy and counter insurgency in
Punjab led to many excesses and malpractices committed by the police and
many cases arose of violation of human rights. Later it also led to the
fragmentation of Akali Dal. The central government had to impose President’s
rule in the state and normal elections were suspended. It was not easy to
restore political atmosphere in an environment of suspicion of violence or
malpractices. Election were finally held in 1992 but only 24% of the voters
turned out on the voting day.

Militancy was however, eventually eradicated by the security forces, but he

familial and the property loss incurred by the Hindu and Sikh Punjabis was
enormous. Peace came back to Punjab in the middle of 1990s. The alliance of
Akali Dal (Badal Sarkar) and Bhartiya Janta Party scored a major victory in
1997. After the post-militancy issues and its journey back to normalcy, peace
and law and order, religion and communal identity remained an important
feature of politics. However the politics has gradually moved back to secular
lines.

INTRODUCTION

Blue Star Operation is one of the most tragic and the most depressing thing
that has happened on the Indian soil. Operation Blue Star was a military
operation that was carried out by the Indian military between 1st and 8th of
June, 1984. This operation was ordered by the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi to
do away with the militant religious leader, Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale and his
armed supporters from the buildings of Harmandir Sahib Complex (Golden
Temple) in Amritsar, Punjab. This operation was a response to the worsening of
law and order problems in Punjab.

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The roots of the Operation Blue Star can be traced back from the Khalistani
movement. The Khalistani movement was a political undertaking by Sikh
nationalists who wanted to create a separate nation for Sikhs called ‘Khalistan’.
The Khalistan Movement started in the early 1940s and 50s but the movement
gained momentum in the late 1970s and 80s. Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale was
the main leader of Damdami Taksal was an important feature of Operation Blue
Star. Bhindrawale had great influence on the young and old people of Sikh
community during the time of his Taksal. Bhindrawale propagated the true
values of Sikhism and influenced his community to follow the rules and norms
of the religion. Bhindrawale is seen as one of the culprits of Operation Blue Star
in which he and his supporters occupied the Akal Takht complex of the Golden
Temple in Amritsar. The main purpose of this operation was to eliminate Sant
Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale and other Sikh extremists and recover control over
the Golden Temple.

The operation had two important components.

1. Operation Metal: This Operation Metal remained confined to Harimandir

Sahib Complex. It also led Operation Shop which led to capturing of suspects
from the outskirts of Punjab.

2. Operation Woodrose: This second component was launched throughout

Punjab. This operation was carried out by Indian army and many military
weapons like tanks, helicopters and armed vehicles.

This entire operation lasted for ten days. It started on June 1st 1984 and ended
on June 10th 1984. On the first day the Guru Ram Das Langar inside the Golden
Temple was attacked by the Indian army. This resulted in eight to ten
casualties. Later after the horrific first day incident, nearly seven divisions of
army were deployed and the Punjabi media faced a blackout along with a major
setback on the transportation facilities as many people were denied entry into
Punjab region. In many parts of Amritsar, power and water supply was also cut
off. Punjab faced a terrible curfew as the army and para-military forces were
patrolling in the around Harimandar Sahib. Entries and exits were also

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completely sealed. During the days of the operation Ramgarhia Bungas, inside
the Harimandar Sahib Complex was bombarded. Mass weaponry was used to
get back at the Sikh extremists. Gurcharan Singh Tohra, former head of
Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee was appointed to negotiate with
Bhindrawale and his supporters but the negotiations failed. After this incident
the BSF and CRPF attacked the Hotel Temple View and Brahm Boota Akhara on
the South-West borders of the complex. Soon the military used tanks to destroy
Akal Takht. And finally on 10th June the army regained control over the temple.

Punjabi media faced a major blackout during this period. It is alleged that
journalists were put in a military bus and were taken to Punjab-Haryana border
and were abandoned there. Journalists were denied entry back into Punjab and
those who worked for the foreign media were also denied entry. All these
incidents heavily criticized Indira Gandhi’s government.

Three months after the operation, Indira Gandhi was assassinated. She was
shot by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. Thirty
three rounds of gunshots were fired at her, the primary reason being the
operation that was ordered by her. Assassination of Indira Gandhi gave rise to
the Anti-Sikh riots across India which continued for quite some time and
resulted in the death of approximately three thousand Sikhs.

India saw a repetition of Blue Star Operation, this time called the Operation
Black Thunder which took place in 1980s to flush out the remaining Sikh
activists from Golden Temple. This operation aimed at using Black Cat
Commandos to flush out the Sikh extremists who were using Golden Temple as
a base. This operation was held by Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, DGP of Punjab police.
A little damage was inflicted on the Golden Temple but not nearly as much as
the Operation Blue Star and Black Thunder was considered far more successful
than Blue Star.

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 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The main objective of this project is to highlight the problems that the Sikhs in
India had to face after the brutal attack and then a counter attack in the holy
shrine of Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab.

Another objective of this project is to point out how the 1984 incident changed
the political landscape of Indian politics and marked a historical impact on the
life of Sikhs.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Q1. Why was Anandpur Sahib Resolution controversial?

Q2. What happened after the assassination of Indira Gandhi?

Q3. What were the main requirements of the Punjab accord? In what way can
they be the base for further strains between the Punjab and its neighboring
States?

Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a political statement made by the Akali Dal in
order to demand political autonomy. In 1973, the Akalis passed a resolution that
was regarded as their agenda and policy programme of their party. The resolution
proclaimed regional autonomy and wanted to redefine centre-state relations. The
resolution basically spoke about the ambitions of the Sikh qaum or Sikh
community and declared the goal of Bolbala which means power or dominance of
the Sikhs. Lastly the resolution was an appeal for strengthening federalism. One
of the main reasons it buzzed controversy was because it was kind of a hint for
creating a separate theocratic nation for Sikhs called Khalistan. There were also
other reasons why Anandpur Sahib Resolution became highly controversial.
Following were the reasons:

1. After the dismissal of Akali Dal in 1980, the Akalis launched an agitation.
2. The Akalis requested the sharing of waters between Punjab and Haryana.
3. They were asserting for independent Sikh identity

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 4. In order to implement the Anandpur Sahib Resolution Akali Dal and
religious leaders like Bhindrawale launched a Dharam Yudh Morcha in 1982.
5. The document was viewed by the Indira Gandhi government and regarded
Akalis being separatists.
6. It later rose in the wake of Sikh militancy and Sikh extremists who turned
Golden Temple into their headquarters under the leadership of Bhindrawale
making more drastic demands for the creation of a country for Sikhs which
later resulted in the Blue Star Operation.

Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and
Beant Singh on 31st October 1984 as a revenge for ordering Operation Blue Star
and damaging the historic temple and at the same time hurting so many Sikh
sentiments and giving rise to many atrocities in Punjab. After her assassination,
the Anti-Sikh riots gained momentum all across the country from 1st November
1984. Total death toll during these riots was around three thousand Sikhs. The
worst affected areas were mostly Northern India especially Delhi. Mobs made use
of iron knives and inflammable materials like kerosene and petrol. The mob
attacked Sikh neighborhoods and brutally killed any Sikh man or woman. Their
shops and houses were burnt, buses and trains were stopped all around Delhi
and pulled out the Sikh passengers who were drenched in kerosene and burnt
alive. Others were killed by pulling them out of their homes and using bladed
weapons on them. Another result of this riot was bombarding of Air India flight
182. On 23rd June 1985, the flight was operating on Montreal-London-Delhi roue
was blown up at 34000 ft. and the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. A lot of
people were killed including, 268 Canadians, 27 British and 24 Indians. This
attack was considered as a retaliation against India for the Operation Blue Star.
Inderjit Singh Reyat is the only legal convict of the incident so far.

The outcome of Blue Star Operation and assassination of the then Prime Minister,
followed an era of growing havoc and violence, particularly the Sikhs who had
suffered the most because of the events that happened during and after the
operation. Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister in 1985 and initiated
negotiations with the Akali leaders believing that a settlement would help in

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finding a long term solution to Punjab problem. He reached an agreement with
Harchand Singh Longowal, the then President of Akali Dal and hence the
agreement was known as Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal Accord or Punjab Accord.
Following were its provisions:

1. Chandigarh to be transferred back to Punjab.

2. Compensation to be given to those whose family and property was affected
by the violence of military and police.
3. A commission setup for solving the Punjab-Haryana water dispute
4. Setup for a tribunal for sharing of Ravi-Beas waters among Punjab,
Haryana and Rajasthan.
5. Withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Punjab
6. The interests of the minorities to be given adequate attention.

After the signing of the accord Longowal announced that Akalis would participate
in elections and soon after he was assassinated by unidentified Sikh youth. The
Barnala government came into power but the internal factionalism was unable to
control the violence of the Sikh extremists and soon the Barnala government was
dismissed and President’s rule took over Punjab. The accord was criticized by the
other states. Many parties in Haryana including BJP and Janata Party who
considered the provisions in the accord to be vague and protested against it.
Punjab and Haryana have been arguing for many years regarding sharing of river
waters of Ravi and Beas.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

For this research method I have opted for secondary sources of information.
Secondary research involves the depiction and analysis of the already existing
data and is often used to compare the data with primary research. Secondary
research methods offer sources like research journals, articles, textbooks,
internet and other sources. They are basically the resource material that was
not experienced by someone first hand and is relying on the accounts of all
those people who did the primary research and we compile everything to form a

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new kind of account, basically from an outsider’s perspective. For the purposes
of history projects and research papers secondary sources are often borrowed
from scholarly articles and books. Encyclopedias can also prove to be helpful.

LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Kundu, A. (1994). The Indian Armed Forces' Sikh and Non-Sikh Officers'
Opinions of Operation Blue Star. Pacific Affairs, 67(1), 46-69. Doi:
10.2307/2760119

This journal is a very important one because it describes the events of the
Operation Blue Star. It describes the events from 5th June 1984, when the
Indian army entered the Sikhism’s holy shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar
and killed the militant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale along with 500 of his followers.
This article describes that even though Sikhs compose only 3% of the total
population in the country but still the Sikhs accounts as 10-15% of the Indian
military make up. Indian military forces reveal that there are contradictory
views on the subject of Operation Blue Star between Sikhs and Non-Sikhs and
the subsequent mutinies and the ethnic relations with the armed forces. First
this article gives rise to a very important question that after the Blue Star
Operation there would be the end of disproportionate recruitment of Sikh
officers. This article then answers its own question and the answer is no. This is
because the Sikh soldiers and officers are vastly loyal, even during the
operation and continued enlisting Sikh personnel and at the same time making
efforts to strengthen the intra-military ethnic relations.

Bakhshish Singh. (1985). Army Action in Punjab. Economic and Political

Weekly, 20(3), 86-86.

This article is borrowed from a newspaper called Economic and Political Weekly
which describes the claims of Cdr. HM Gori who writes a letter to the Editor of
the newspaper where he claimed that no inhuman act was committed by the
army and no grenades were thrown to damage the temple or to harm innocent

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persons. But Gori does not present any kind of evidence to support his
statements. His statement seemed doubtful and contradictory to the reading of
“Operation Blue Star: The Night of Blood” by Shekhar Gupta. Gupta claims that
the army got into a number of rooms near the parikarma and threw bombs into
the rooms without knowing if they were the terrorists or innocent people
seeking shelter. People were dying on both sides and there was barely any time
to find who were in the room. It was also stated that many of the pilgrims died
of dehydration.

MANUSCRIPT BODY

Operation Blue Star, an operation ordered by Indira Gandhi was a military

insurgency into the holy shrine of Golden Temple in Amritsar to flush out the
Khalistani militants who wanted to create a separate Sikh nation. This operation
was criticized by many because it deeply hurt the Sikh sentiments and the
repercussions and further consequences were also barbaric. This resulted in the
death of the Prime Minister herself and this gave rise to Anti-Sikh riots which
resulted in death of thousands of Sikhs. Many were murdered, looted, raped
and tortured. This incident deeply impacted the politics in our country and
added a devastating chapter in the history of Sikhism in India.

The new government after Indira Gandhi was handled by her son Rajiv Gandhi
who tried his best to restore peace back in Punjab and negotiated with
Longowal, the then President of Akali Dal to meet the demands of the Akalis
and hence the Punjab Accord came into existence. Although normalcy did not
come to Punjab that easily because soon after Longowal announced his
intentions to contest elections as Akali Dal candidate, he was assassinated. The
violence in Punjab increased so much because of the soft policies and the
internal factionalism of the state government that it had to be dismissed and
President’s rule had to be imposed.

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There was also tension for Punjab regarding sharing of river waters with
Haryana and Rajasthan which is being debated to this day. Normalcy and peace
finally came back to Punjab after Operation Black Thunder which flushed out the
remaining Sikh extremists and gained the control of the temple again.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Operation Blue Star is politically and historically one of the

saddest incidents to have happened on the Indian soil. Operation Blue Star has
had different viewpoints between Sikhs and people belonging to other religions.
This incident has changed the political landscape of the country forever because
it is now a lesson for the Indian government that armed forces should only be
used as an option when non-violent means are not working. If the government
had presented negotiations with the Sikh extremists there would have been no
requirement of an armed military to enter the temple.

This incident will remain in the heart of Sikhs forever as their temple of peace
was assaulted by weapons and grenades. The temple was damaged but not the
spirits and teachings of Sikhism.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 www.jstor.org
 journals.sagepub.com

 www.dnaindia.com
 www.indiatoday.in
 www.ndtv.com
 www.sikh-history.com
 www.ncertbooks.prashanthellina.com

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