Lt Gen KS Brar, who led Op Blue Star, attacked in London

[KhalistaniGunMan]

i dont think there is a conspiracy...i think everyone is over analyzing it..most likely case is four random singhs saw brar...pulled out their blunt kirpans..thought they have a go...then realized their blunt shastar couldnt do the job...then nerves over came them and they retreated before the mameh came...

[JasSinghKhalsa]

Serious points to be analysed are -

a). This man has Z-security in India, at what time his Z-security was released and he travelled to UK, Indian Airports? Was MEA not aware of his? SM Krishna saying he should have informed IHC he is in UK ...

b). His whereabouts in India are unknown, his presence in UK was unknown (atleast to Sikh JatheBandis, else there would had been call for peaceful protests on Sikh media), only known to Indian officials or his security personnal who knew he is now off to UK?

c). There is a lot of Sikh/Indian staff who work at Heathrow airport, his arrival was still unknown, was he was hidden and taken away, which means he had security in London? If he had security, how can he be attacked?

After Mr. Baird (Canada), I am sensing this as a similar operation by Hindutva foces to put a ban on Sikh Media in UK, trying to portray it as spreading seperatism, and this act as a result of all the discussions on Sikh media ... Just an opinion.

[Mehtab Singh]

For some reason, I feel that even though this could have been an insignificant random act of mugging, the media is going to highlight the "long beards" fact (even though those beards could have been fake) and turn an attempted robbery incident into an assassination attempt. He says his wife was not attacked and that nothing was stolen, thus trying to push across the fact that the guys were only there to kill him and only him.

[Hazoor]

Nihal on the BBC is discussing 'if all Sikhs should condemn the attack on brar' starting at 1pm

[singh211]

The story is being discussed by Nihal on the BBC Asian Network this afternoon

The interview by Kanwarpal Sandhu of Day and Night News with Brar shown on Sangat TV yesterday evening appeared to suggest Brar may be a frequent visitor to the UK and also the US where he said his sons live. I think the question we have to pose to the Home Office is why he was given a visa to visit here when clearly he poses a threat to law and order and security in our country given his controversial role in the 84 attack?

As to the alleged attack on Brar, more information willl I guess come out in due course but Brar is clearly linking it to Sikhs in his interview on NDTV even going so far as referring to the June 84 rally in London. There is clearly an ulterior motive behind his words to discredit the 50,000 and growing cross section of Sikhs in this country who attend the rally to hightlight in part the atrocities committed by the army led by him. SFUK/FSO rally organisers need to counteract this with our govenement authorities and in the national media.

[zoltansingh]

Serious points to be analysed are -

a). This man has Z-security in India, at what time his Z-security was released and he travelled to UK, Indian Airports? Was MEA not aware of his? SM Krishna saying he should have informed IHC he is in UK ...

b). His whereabouts in India are unknown, his presence in UK was unknown (atleast to Sikh JatheBandis, else there would had been call for peaceful protests on Sikh media), only known to Indian officials or his security personnal who knew he is now off to UK?

c). There is a lot of Sikh/Indian staff who work at Heathrow airport, his arrival was still unknown, was he was hidden and taken away, which means he had security in London? If he had security, how can he be attacked?

After Mr. Baird (Canada), I am sensing this as a similar operation by Hindutva foces to put a ban on Sikh Media in UK, trying to portray it as spreading seperatism, and this act as a result of all the discussions on Sikh media ... Just an opinion.

a) He may have Z security in India but these people rarely travel wil full security overseas. Even if they travel with security those attached to him will not be allowed to carry arms in the UK without prior approval (often denied to visiting Presidents and PMs so I doubt he would travel with armed guards).

c) Don't assume he arrived at Heathrow. He could have arrived at one of umpteen airports in the UK or in Europe.

[lsingh]

http://sg.news.yahoo...-085029264.html

Even one of Brar's fellow Generals does not believe his story. He states Sikhs would have finished him off.

Its fairly clear it was staged, can't believe people who think it was real Sikhs.

Ex-Army Lt. Gen. Hoon rules out Khalistani attack on Brar

By ANI | ANI – 8 hours ago

Chandigarh, Oct 2 (ANI): Former Indian army official Lieutenant General (Retd.) P.N. Hoon on Tuesday downplayed reports of a Khalistani attack on Lieutenant General (Retd.) K.S. Brar in London, saying the attackers would have achieved their target if it had been a well-planned attempt.

Lieutenant General (Retd.) Hoon pointed out that even the Scotland Yard and the London Police have not given a report on the unpleasing incident yet.

"I don't think this is too planned an attack because if it was too planned an attack then I would have been very sad because they would have really achieved their target. I would not say it is a Khalistani attack unless all these things are investigated and the whole world comes to know what has happened," said Lieutenant General (Retd.) Hoon.

"And, if we are not taking care of our people, I am sure some procedures would have been laid down. If not, it is time that we laid these down," he added.

Lieutenant General (Retd.) Hoon, however, said that security lapses have taken place both on the part of the Indian Government and the British Government.

"I will not give my opinion that it is a Khalistani attack, which is being given. But as far as lapses are concerned, yes lapses have taken place both by the Indian Government as also British Government. If the Indian Government has given information that a Z plus category officer of the rank of Lieutenant General is visiting and he has to be provided security. Was it done? Did our embassy inform the High Commissioner that this has been done?" asked Lieutenant General (Retd.) Hoon.

"If it has been done, I say that security lapse hundred percent.... I will blame the United Kingdom Government. They are responsible and we will not tolerate things like this that our officers or jawans or Indians who go there are either mugged or they are being eliminated because of the bravery that the Indian Army has showed. In case, we have not informed it is a great lapse on our part and we should have some systems laid down," he added.

Lt General (Retd.) Brar, who led the Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984, was attacked and injured in London.

Brar, a Z-category protectee, was stabbed by four men outside a hotel in London. The 78-year-old former Indian Army official was taken to a hospital with minor injury and was discharged after treatment. It was not immediately known who the attackers were.

The incident took place on Old Quebec Street near Hyde Park when he was out with his wife. The couple is in London on a private visit.

No arrests have, however, been made so far in connection with this attack. The Scotland Yard is carrying on with the investigations.

Brar, the retired army officer was involved in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and commanded the Operation Blue Star to flush out pro-Khalistan Sikh militants from the Golden Temple complex.

In 1984, a group of pro-Khalistan Sikh militants, along with the Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, occupied the Golden Temple at Amritsar, and resisted the police who sought to arrest them.

As the law and order situation deteriorated, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, decided to send in the army to flush the militants out of the temple complex. Brar, along with Lt. General Krishnaswamy Sundarji (then chief of western army command) and Lt. General Ranjit Singh Dyal (then chief of staff in the command), planned this operation codenamed Operation Blue Star.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Brar commanded an infantry battalion, and was in the first batch of troops who entered Dhaka (now the capital of Bangladesh) on the morning of 16 December 1971. He won the Vir Chakra for the battle fought at Jamalpur on the night of 10 December 1971. His battalion was pitted against the 31st Baluch of the Pakistani Army.

In the years following the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Brar was involved in anti-insurgency operations in Nagaland and Mizoram states of India.

Gen. Brar is a decorated soldier who saw action in the 1971 war with Pakistan. He was among the first to enter Dhaka to force the Pakistani Army into surrender.(ANI)

[Azaad]

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Capt Amarinder Singh today condemned the attack on Lt Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar in London on Sunday.

Maintaining that his position on Operation Bluestar was well known to everybody in and outside Punjab, Amarinder said the attack on Gen Brar was highly condemnable and those guilty of it must be brought to book.

Amarinder blamed CM Parkash Singh Badal for creating the situation which led to the attack saying that the establishment of memorials commemorating the event did not allow old wounds to heal.

Amarinder pointed out that the persons who attacked Gen Brar were young and might not even have been born at the time of Operation Bluestar. They must have been provoked by the setting up of the Bluestar memorial.

Even as Lt Gen KS Brar (retd), who was attacked in London on Sunday, termed it as an attempt to kill him, Indian security agencies are searching for answers to know how the attackers got to know of the travel plans of the General, who is under ‘Z category’ security.

Gen Brar, who was divisional commander of the 9 Division of the Army that was tasked with flushing out militants holed up in the Golden Temple in 1984 under ‘Operation Bluestar’, has been on the ‘hit-list’ of Sikh radical groups.

Gen Brar told reporters in London, “It was an assassination attempt by pro-Khalistan elements. They straight went for my neck with a sharp blade.” He said there have been several threats to his life and those had been brought to the notice of the police and army authorities in India.

For security agencies, the attack on means that the General, usually reclusive, was possibly being observed and also that someone inimical to him knew his location in London. It could also mean he was being tracked in India and London, said sources, adding that the Ministry of Home Affairs was waiting for a factual report from the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Gen Brar said the Punjab Government was sympathetic to terrorists as it was supporting construction of a memorial inside the Golden Temple and slammed it for taking the situation back to the 1980’s.

Meanwhile, Scotland Yard has appealed for information from members of the public and described the four assailants as wearing dark clothing and long black jackets and sporting long beards.

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

• How did the attackers get to know the travel plans of Lt Gen KS Brar (pic)?
  
• It seems that he was being observed and someone knew his exact location in London. Was he being tracked in India and London?
  

I’m a soldier, won’t let go easily: Lt Gen Brar

Prabhjot Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 2

As a sworn enemy of Sikh militants, Lt-General Kuldip Singh Brar (retd) might have been anticipating an assassination bid as he believes that after Operation Bluestar, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s men not only swore to take revenge, but have also acted upon it.

Of the five major architects of Operation Bluestar in June 1984, two — Indira Gandhi and General Vaidya — were assassinated while two others — General Sundarji and General Ranjit Singh Dayal — died natural deaths.

“I am the only one who is still alive. They would rather see me dead," he told the media after an assassination attempt was made on him in London on the night of September 30.

General Brar exhibited valour in grappling with those who came to assassinate him even though he was without any security.

On June 6 every year, those owing allegiance to Bhindranwale observe martyrs’ day where they renew their pledge to kill him. “But I am a soldier and will not let go easily,” asserts the 78-year-old General.

After his retirement from the Army, General Kuldip Singh Brar moved to the highly protected Mumbai Cantonment. Whenever he has to travel out of Mumbai, he informs the local military station that in turn keeps the higher authorities posted. That could be the reason that Indian High Commission was not aware of his presence in London.

Though a born soldier - his father DS Brar retired as a Major General — General Kuldip Brar had been maintaining a low profile for obvious reasons. “As and when I talk about Operation Bluestar, lot of old wounds are revived,” he said in an interview months before his present holiday in London.

Incidentally, both General Kuldip Brar — Bulbul to his friends — and Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the dreaded Sikh militant leader whom Army troops killed during Operation Bluestar, belonged to the Moga area, a stronghold of the Brars.

Early days

Born in 1934 into a Sikh family, General KS Brar moved to a boarding school at the age of five with a career in Army in mind. He later moved to Doon School and subsequently joined the Maratha Light Infantry in 1954 as a Lieutenant.

During the 1971 action against Pakistan, General Brar commanded an infantry battalion. He was in the first batch to enter Dhaka on the morning of December 16, 1971.

He was honoured with the Vir Chakra for the battle at Jamalpur. Pitted against the 31st Baluch battalion of the Pakistani army, his soldiers had to move across the Brahmaputra at a location where no bridges existed. Therefore, they were able to only carry limited weapons. It was General Brar’s motivation that made up for the shortage of weapons in the ensuing battle.

Operation Bluestar

Had Operation Bluestar been delayed by a couple of days, General Brar would have been in Manila with his wife on a month-long holiday. On May 31, he was asked to come to Chandimandir for a briefing where, after consultation, the then Western Army chief General Sundarji and chief of staff General Ranjit Singh Dayal asked him to cancel his holiday and instead, proceed to Amritsar.

It was Operation Bluestar that rendered his career controversial in Sikh circles though he has always justified his action by saying that it was important not only to save Sikhism’s most sacred shrine from militants but also dispel the danger of declaration of Khalistan.

Immediately after Operation Bluestar, General Brar faced the wrath of not only the Sikh militants, but also of religiously inclined people including his own relatives.

One of his maternal uncles, who was settled in London, severed relations with him. General Brar said that when he visited his uncle in his last days, his uncle had tears in his eyes while endorsing General Brar’s actions as an Army Commander.

His account

Nine years after Operation Bluestar, General Brar decided to come out with a book “Operation Bluestar: The True Story”. The book went into eight reprints and finally, one of his ardent supporters even translated it into Punjabi.

In his book and subsequent interviews, General Brar recounted how the operation went. Initially, the Army had planned to start the operation by 7 pm on June 5, 1984, and end it before dawn on June 6. But it was not to be. It was a pitched battle that continued for six days and witnessed a lot of bloodshed.

General Brar maintains that he talked to his men (many of whom were Sikhs) personally on the morning on June 5 and told them what they planned to do and why they had to do it. It was explained that the operation was not targeting any religion, but against some militants who had defiled the temple. The soldiers were given the chance to opt out in case they felt participating in the operation would hurt their religious sentiments.

General Brar maintains that none of his men, including Sikhs, walked away. In fact, in the unit commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammad Israr (whose 10 guards later led the first unit into the temple premises), a Sikh officer, Second Lieutenant Jasbir Singh Raina, raised his hand as he wished to be the first one to enter the Golden Temple to wipe out the militants.

[SikhWorldTv]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyai4AnS0p4