Tragic Memory Of ‘operation Blue Star’

[lsingh]

Tragic memory of ‘Operation Blue Star’

Sajjad Shaukat

The writer is author of the book: US vs. Islamic

militants, invisible balance of power: Dangerous

shift in international relations

http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=165138

June 5 and June 6 are reminders of the ‘Operation

Blue Star’ when Indian military, led by General

Kuldip Singh Brar, launched attack on the Golden

Temple, the holiest shrine of Sikhs in 1984, to

arrest Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the only

leader who had been boldly fighting for the

rights of Sikhs. The Indian Army supported by

troops and armoured vehicles broke all records of

the state terrorism and extra-judicial killings

through that barbaric operation.

It is notable that at that time, there were only

251 Sikhs inside the complex to protect the

Golden Temple, resisting well-trained Indian

army, equipped with sophisticated weaponry. In

those days, majority of the Sikhs were coming to

Golden Temple to celebrate Martyr Day of Guru Arjan Dev Ji.

Then the Indian regime used tanks and destroyed

the Akaal Takhat Sahib, which is right in front

of the Golden Temple. On June 6, when all Sikh

fighters were martyred along with Jarnail Singh

Bhindranwale, Indian troops entered the temple

with their shoes by even deliberately ignoring

the holiness of the place, showing utter

indecency. When the Indian Army felt that only

251 men had prevented them from entering the

temple for so many days, they started killing

innocent Sikhs who had come there to visit the

Temple. The only purpose was to hide their humiliation.

In connection with that incident of state

terrorism, Ramnarain Kumar and George Sieberer in

their book, The Sikh struggle, write: “The army

killed every Sikh who could be found inside the

temple complex. They were hauled out of rooms,

brought to corridors on the circumference of the

temple and with their hands tied behind their

back, were shot in cold blood. Among the victims

were many old men, women and children.” However,

all visitors were locked up in rooms for two days

without any food, water, or electricity and were

starved to death. Besides, the Golden Temple

remained under the army control for many months.

The brutality of the ‘Operation Blue Star’ was

not confined to the Golden Temple. Indian armed

forces simultaneously attacked 40 other

historical gurdwaras all over East Punjab. When

Sikhs in other states came to know about the

desecration of the Golden Temple and massacre of

their brethren, they quickly left for Punjab. New

Delhi turned its attention to Sikh military and

tried to stop them before they could reach

Punjab. Many Sikhs were assassinated on the way and many others were

arrested.

According to an estimate, about 50,000 Sikhs were

killed within a few days. The whole Amritsar city

was sealed and was burnt. A number of tourists

either were murdered or arrested. Shops belonging

to Sikhs were looted and their houses were set

ablaze by Hindu mobs. In most of the cases, Sikh

women were molested and some persons of their community were also burnt

alive.

Another tragic dimension of the military

operation is that historical Sikh artifacts ­ all

the literature written by the gurus was taken

away by the army and was also set ablaze. In this

regard, New Delhi claimed that it was burnt while bombing the Temple.

In November of the same year, two dedicated Sikhs

named Beant Singh and Satwant Singh who were

posted at Premier Indira Gandhi’s residence in

New Delhi, assassinated her. Then Hindu riots

erupted in the capital and other cities in which

more then 15,000 Sikhs were killed in broad

daylight by the supporters of Indira Gandhi while

police watched silently so as to provide the

Hindus with free hand to massacre Sikhs. The

attack on the Golden Temple and genocide of Sikhs

only accelerated the liberation movement for

Khalistan as Bhindrenwale became a folk hero.

Meanwhile, after ‘Operation Blue Star’ and the

Sikh genocide, Sikhs’ struggle for independence

continued, but the Indian government made every

effort to crush the same with the state

machinery. To maintain their control over the

Golden Temple, another attack was launched on the

Temple in 1987, called ‘Operation Black Thunder’.

This time only Sikh resistance was the main

target. In that respect, quite a number of people

of their community were killed and dead bodies

lay inside the sacred place for many days.

According to a report, many trucks were loaded

with dead bodies and all were burned with

kerosene oil. Afterwards, ‘Operation Woodrose’

and ‘Operation Black Thunder-II’ were conducted

against the Sikh community, which also assassinated them

extra-judicially.

After these barbaric operations, Sikhs organised

themselves into an armed power in order to fight

the Indian state terrorism. Many Sikhs left India

to escape religious persecution. Sikhs have

spread out all over the world to keep the

movement of Khalistan alive. In this connection,

their struggle is still going on.

A renowned scholar, Dr. Sangat Singh remarks in

his book, The Sikhs in history, “The Indian

government has killed over 1 million to 1.2

million Sikhs. During last 18 years Indian

government has also killed 50,000 Christians and

100,000 Muslims since 1947. The only way to stop

this state terrorism is to create a Khalistan

state, where Sikhs and other religious people can enjoy their freedom”.

It is of particular attention that the Indian

government dominated by politicians from the

Hindi heartland uses force ruthlessly against any

move to free Assam, Kashmir, Khalistan, Mizoram,

Nagaland, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.

Consequently, ‘Operation Blue Star’ was one of

the most inflammatory actions ever taken by the

Indian government. Still, coupled with

intermittent massacre of Muslims, Christians,

including that of the lower caste communities

tends to expose the real face of New Delhi.

Ground realities display that India is a

fundamentalist state under the mask of

secularism. And the tragedy of ‘Operation Blue

Star’ and its drastic aftermath has, without any doubt, endorsed this

fact.

The writer is author of the book: US vs. Islamic

militants, invisible balance of power: Dangerous

shift in international relations

http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=165138

Indira bypassed Army Chief: Gen Jamwal

Sant Longowal, Tohra were saved on ‘personal request’

Varinder Walia/Ashok Sethi

Tribune Reporters

Amritsar, June 5

Major- General J.S.Jamwal , then GOC, 15 Infantry Division, who was instrumental in rescuing Sant Harchand Singh Longowal and Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra , then presidents of the Shiromani Akali Dal and the SGPC, respectively, on their “personal request” amidst Operation Bluestar has alleged the Army operation was not only “ill-advised” but “ill-conceived” by the powers that be.

Giving an account of the Army operation ; opposition by some saner Army officers ,who had perceived better alternative by avoiding collateral damage to Akal Takht and its ramifications, Gen Jamwal today claimed here the former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi had bypassed the then army chief and called the Western Army Commander Gen Sundarji to direct him to take immediate steps to clear the holy shrine of the militants hiding there.

Gen Jamwal said Akali leaders late Jathedar Tohra and late Sant Longowal were taken to cantonment here through heavy security cordon inspite of firing from militants. They were given proper accommodation in the cantonment before they were shifted to jail.

Gen Jamwal said he was the Garrison Commander at Amritsar at that time but his views were also not sought and added there were other better alternatives, including cutting of water, power and food supply to flush out Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his firebrand followers who had taken refuge in the building of Akal Takht. Such visionary step could have saved many precious lives besides saving the sanctity of the holy shrine. He said Army commanders supervising the operations got panicky due to initial heavy casualties of commandos in the Golden Temple complex.

He said the entire tactical planning was fraught with dangerous repercussions which were aimed at dividing the countrymen. The nation paid a very heavy price and has yet to recover from trauma.

Making a revelation the General said Pakistan was queering the pitch during the fateful operation and was trying to make noises on radio sets and television about “fake movement of troops” in a bid to frighten the Indian Army which was waging a war against the holed up militants. He said he was in charge of the security of the borders and said they were prepared to meet any eventuality (attack) from across the border.

The General said he played a key role in restoring the glory of Harmandar Sahib and revealed two senior Army officers paid a heavy price for stealing some precious items from the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple. He said he ordered all those items taken away by the troops of a particular battalion as souvenirs were returned to the SGPC management and at least two senior officers were chargesheeted for such misdeeds.

(To be concluded)