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<!-- Sikhism was born in the Punjab area of South Asia, which now falls into the present day states of India and Pakistan. The main religions of the area at the time were Hinduism and Islam.

The Sikh faith began around 1500 CE, when Guru Nanak began teaching a faith that was quite distinct from Hinduism and Islam.

Nine Gurus followed Nanak and developed the Sikh faith and community over the next centuries.

Militarisation of the Sikhs Sikhism was well established by the time of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru.

Guru Arjan completed the establishment of Amritsar as the capital of the Sikh world, and compiled the first authorised book of Sikh scripture, the Adi Granth.

However, during Arjan’s time Sikhism was seen as a threat by the state and Guru Arjan was eventually executed for his faith in 1606.

The sixth Guru, Hargobind, started to militarise the community so that they would be able to resist any oppression. The Sikhs fought a number of battles to preserve their faith.

The Sikhs then lived in relative peace with the political rulers until the time of the Moghal Emperor, Aurangzeb, who used force to make his subjects accept Islam.

Aurangzeb had the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, arrested and executed in 1675.

The Khalsa The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, recreated the Sikhs as a military group of men and women called the Khalsa in 1699, with the intention that the Sikhs should for ever be able to defend their faith.

Gobind Singh established the Sikh rite of initiation (called khandey di pahul) and the 5 Ks which give Sikhs their unique appearance.

Gobind Singh was the last human Guru. Sikhs now treat their scriptures as their Guru.

After the Gurus The first military leader of the Sikhs to follow the Gurus was Banda Singh Bahadur.

He led a successful campaign against the Moghals until he was captured and executed in 1716.

In the middle of the century the Sikhs rose up again, and over the next 50 years took over more and more territory.

In 1799 Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, and in 1801 established the Punjab as an independent state, with himself as Maharaja.

He proved an adept ruler of a state in which Sikhs were still in a minority.

Although a devout Sikh, he took part in religious acts with Muslims and Hindus as well.

Defeated by the British After Ranjit Singh died in 1839 the Sikh state crumbled, damaged by vicious internal battles for the leadership.

In 1845/6 troops of the British Empire defeated the Sikh armies, and took over much Sikh territory.

The Sikhs rebelled again in 1849, and were defeated by the British, this time conclusively.

The Sikhs and the British Raj After this final battle, the Sikhs and the British discovered they had much in common and built a good relationship. The tradition began of Sikhs serving with great distinction in the British Army.

The Sikhs got on well with the British partly because they came to think of themselves less as subjects of the Raj than as partners of the British.

The British helped themselves get a favourable religious spin when they took control of the Sikh religious establishment by putting their own choices in control of the Gurdwaras.

Good relations between Sikhs and British came to an end in 1919 with the Amritsar massacre.

1919 – the Amritsar massacre

This was a shameful event in the history of British India.

In April 1919 British troops commanded by General E H Dyer opened fire without warning on 10,000 people who were holding a protest meeting. The troops killed about 400 people and wounded 1,000.

Dyer felt that he had been obliged to teach a moral lesson to the Punjab.

Realising the damage that had been done, the British rapidly retired Dyer, but not without promoting him first.

Some historians regard the Amritsar Massacre as the event that began the decline of the British Raj, by adding enormous strength to the movement for Indian independence.

In October 1997, Queen Elizabeth II made the gesture of laying a wreath at the site of the massacre.

Background to Amritsar – the partition of India

When British India gained its independence in 1947; it was divided between India and the Islamic state of Pakistan. The Sikhs felt badly treated and reluctantly chose to join India.

The Sikhs were unable to demand their own state, because there were too few of them to resist Pakistan’s claim to the Punjab.

Only by siding with India were they able to keep part of the Punjab, although not before appalling loss of life in communal massacres.

Sikhs lost many of their privileges, much of their land, and were deeply discontented.

A state of their own

The Sikh ambition for a state of their own was something that India would not concede. To do so would have allowed communalism (i.e. religious groupings) an unbreakable foothold in the politics of what was supposed to be a secular state.

However, in 1966, after years of Sikh demands, India divided the Punjab into three, recreating Punjab as a state with a Sikh majority.

This was not enough to stop Sikh anger at what they saw as continuing oppression and the unfair way in which they thought India had set the boundaries of the new state. They continued to demand various concessions from the Indian government.

The invasion of the Golden Temple

As Sikh discontent grew, the conflict gradually changed from a purely political conflict into a confrontation between Hindus and Sikhs; and then to real violence.

A Sikh preacher called Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale became the leader of the most disaffected of the Sikhs. He was often portrayed as representing all Sikhs, although, actually, he did not. In 1983 Bhindranwale and his closest followers took refuge in the Golden Temple Complex at Amritsar, the most revered place in the Sikh world.

The Indian government believed that the Temple was being used as a militant command post, a sanctuary for wanted criminals and as a warehouse for weapons, and resolved to take action.

In June 1984 Indian troops launched ‘Operation Blue Star’. They attacked the Golden Temple Complex, killing many of those inside, and seriously damaging the buildings.

The assassination of Indira Gandhi

This invasion of the holiest place of the Sikhs infuriated many Sikhs, even the non-militant. They saw the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, who had ordered the invasion, as a deliberate persecutor of the Sikh faith and community.

In October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards.

Anti-Sikh riots

Four days of anti-Sikh rioting followed in India. The government said more than 2,700 people, mostly Sikhs, were killed, while newspapers and human-rights groups put the death toll between 10,000 and 17,000.

Sikhs are still resentful that action has not been taken against all those who were responsible.

For several years militant Sikhs responded by killing members of the Hindu community and a number of Sikh political leaders who oppposed them.

The anger and frustration dominated Sikh politics until the mid-1990s.

The current position

The 300th anniversary of the Sikh Khalsa in 1999 changed the Sikh community. It was covered positively and approvingly in the Indian (and world) press, which did much to restore Sikh confidence that they were appreciated for their true worth.

The Punjab is presently peaceful, although in the last two or three years the rise of Hindu nationalism, and renewed claims that Sikhism is nothing more than a Hindu sect, have given Sikhs cause for alarm.

Sequence of Events A recapitulation of the 1984 Delhi carnage in which about 4,000 Sikh s were massacred in three days in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

October 31, 1984 : 9.20 am: Indira Gandhi was shot by two of her security guards at her residence No. 1, Safdarjung Road, and rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

11 am: Announcement on All India Radio specifying that the guards who shot Indira Gandhi were Sikh s. A big crowd was collecting near AIIMS.

2 pm: Though her death was yet to be confirmed officially, it became common knowledge because of BBC bulletins and special afternoon editions of newspapers.

4 pm: Rajiv Gandhi returned from West Bengal and reached AIIMS. Stray incidents of attacks on Sikh s in and around that area.

5.30 pm: The cavalcade of President Zail Singh, who returned from a foreign visit, was stoned as it approached AIIMS.

Late evening and night: Mobs fanned out in different directions from AIIMS. The violence against Sikh s spread, starting in the neighbouring constituency of Congress councillor Arjun Dass. The violence included the burning of vehicles and other properties of Sikh s. That happened even in VIP areas like the crossroads near Prithviraj Road where cars and scooters belonging to Sikh s were burnt.

Shortly after Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister, senior advocate and Opposition leader Ram Jethmalani met home minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and urged him to act fast and save Sikh s from further attacks. Delhi’s lt governor P.G. Gavai and police commissioner S.C. Tandon visited some of the violence-affected areas. Despite all these developments, no measures were taken to control the violence or prevent further attacks on Sikh s throughout the night between October 31 and November 1.

November 1, 1984 : Several Congress leaders held meetings on the night of October 31 and morning of November 1, mobilising their followers to attack Sikh s on a mass scale. The first killing of a Sikh reported from east Delhi in the early hours of November 1. About 9 am, armed mobs took over the streets of Delhi and launched a massacre. Everywhere the first targets were Gurudwaras – to prevent Sikh s from collecting there and putting up a combined defence.

Mobs were armed with iron rods of a uniform size. Activist editor Madhu Kishwar saw some of the rods being distributed among the miscreants. Mobs also had an abundant supply of petrol and kerosene. Victims traced the source of kerosene to dealers belonging to the Congress party. For instance, a Congress worker called Brahmanand Gupta, a kerosene dealer, figures prominently in affidavits filed from Sultanpuri.

Every police station had a strength of about 100 men and 50-60 weapons. Yet, no action was taken against miscreants in most places. The few places where the local police station took prompt measures against mobs, hardly any killings took place there. Farsh Bazar and Karol Bagh are two such examples. But in other localities, the priority of the police, as it emerges from the statement of the then police commissioner S.C. Tandon before the Nanavati Commission, was to take action against Sikh s who dared to offer resistence. All the Sikh s who fired in self-defence were disarmed by the police and even arrested on trumped up charges.

Mobs generally included teams attending to specific tasks. When shops were to be looted, the first team that gets into action would kill and remove all obstacles. The second team specialises in breaking locks. The third team would engage in looting. And the fourth team would set the place on fire.

Most of the mobs were led by Congress members, including those from affluent families. For instance, a Youth Congress leader called Satsangi led a mob in the posh Maharani Bagh. The worst affected areas were however far flung, low income colonies like Trilokpuri, Mongolpuri, Sultanpuri and Palam Colony.

The Congress leaders identified by the victims as organisers of the carnage include three MPs H.K.L. Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar and Dharam Dass Shastri and 10 councillors Arjan Dass, Ashok Kumar, Deep Chand, Sukhan Lal Sood, Ram Narayan Verma, D.R. Chhabbra, Bharat Singh, Vasudev, Dharam Singh and Mela Ram.

November 2, 1984 : Curfew was in force throughout Delhi – but only on paper. The Army was also deployed throughout Delhi but nowhere was it effective because the police did not co-operate with the soldiers who were not empowered to open fire without the consent of senior police officers or executive magistrates. Meanwhile, mobs continued to rampage with the same ferocity.

November 3, 1984 : It was only towards the evening of November 3 that the police and the Army acted in unison and the violence subsided immediately after that. Whatever violence took place the next two or three days was on a much smaller scale and rather sporadic.

Aftermath of the carnage: Most of the arrested miscreants were released at the earliest. But the Sikh s arrested for firing in self-defence generally remained in detention for some weeks. Worse, there was also a pattern throughout Delhi of the police not registering proper cases on the complaints of victims. Instead, the police registered vaguely worded omnibus FIRs which did not deal with any specific incident or person. As if the damage done by such FIRs was not bad enough, the police made little effort to investigate the cases and trace the miscreants. The only acknowledgement of any wrongdoing on their part was the appointment of a committee headed by senior police officer Ved Marwah to probe the role of the police.

Two remarkable initiatives that came on the same month as the carnage, in a bid to make up for the failure of the Government, were from human rights organisations and a leading Opposition party. People’s Union of Civil Liberties and People’s Union for Democratic Rights came out with a devastating expose in a booklet titled, Who are the guilty? The Bharatiya Janata Party contradicted the Government’s claim then that only 600 people were killed in the Delhi carnage. On the basis of a survey done by its cadres, the BJP came out with a death toll of 2,700, which is remarkably close to the official tally of 2,733 arrived at three years later.

On December 27, 1984, the Lok Sabha elections were held and the Congress party had a landslide victory bagging over 400 seats for the first and so far the only time in the Indian electoral history. The election held under the shadow of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the subsequent massacre was marked by an anti- Sikh sentiment whipped up by the Congress party campaign.

In the early months of 1985, two more NGO reports followed: one by Citizens for Democracy headed by Justice V.M. Tarkunde and another by a Citizens’ Commission headed by former chief justice of India S.M. Sikri. Both indicted the Government and the ruling party and called for a judicial inquiry.

A journalist, Rahul Kuldeep Bedi, filed a writ petition in the Delhi high court seeking an inquiry into the role of the police. PUDR filed a writ petition in the same court seeking a direction to the Government to appoint a Commission of Inquiry. Both the petitions were dismissed.

On April 26, 1985, i.e. almost six months after the carnage, the Rajiv Gandhi Government appointed the Ranganath Misra Commission to inquire into “the allegations in regard to the incidents of organised violence” in Delhi.

In June 1985, a group of eminent persons and representative of human rights organisations came together under the banner of the Citizens Justice Committee (CJC) to help the Misra Commission unravel the truth.

The Misra Commission held all its proceedings in camera and took the help of the CJC to get affidavits from victims.

On March 31, 1986, the CJC notified its withdrawal as the Misra Commission kept it out of most of the inquiry holding “in camera proceedings within in camera.”

In August 1986, the Misra Commission submitted its report to the Government, which in turn tabled it in Parliament in February 1987. The report vindicated the CJC’s apprehension that the Misra Commission would whitewash the role of the Government and the ruling Congress party.

On February 23, 1987, the Government appointed three committees on the recommendation of the Misra Commission. (1) Jain-Banerjee committee to pursue cases that have either not been registered or not properly investigated. (2) Kapur-Mittal committee to identify delinquent police officials. (3) Ahooja committee to arrive at the official death toll of the carnage.

In August 1987, the Ahooja committee determined that the number of persons killed in Delhi in the 1984 carnage were 2,733.

In November 1987, the Delhi high court stayed the functioning of the Jain-Banerjee committee because of its very first recommendation, which was to register a murder case against former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar. The petition was filed by one of the co-accused, Brahmanand Gupta.

In October 1989, the Delhi high court quashed the notification appointing the Jain-Banerjee committee. The court found that the powers of monitoring of investigation and the institution of new case conferred on the committee were illegal.

March 1, 1990 : The two members of the Kapur-Mittal committee gave separate reports. Justice Dalip Kapur gave no finding on the ground that the committee had not been empowered to summon police officials to hear their version. Kusum Lata Mittal identified 72 police officials, including six IPS officers, recommending various penalties against them.

March 27, 1990 : The Delhi Administration prompted by the newly elected V.P. Singh Government appointed the Poti-Rosha committee without the legal defects pointed out by the high court in the case of the Jain-Banerjee committee.

August-September 1990: The Poti-Rosha committee sent two batches of recommendations covering altogether 30 affidavits, including the case against Sajjan Kumar. When a CBI team went to his house to arrest him, Sajjan Kumar and his supporters locked up the officials and detained them till his lawyer, R.K. Anand (now a Congress MP), obtained “anticipatory bail” from the high court. Subsequently, the two committee members, Subramaniam Poti and Padam Rosha, declined to carry on in office when their first term expired on September 22.

October-November 1990 : The Delhi Administration constituted a fresh committee comprising J.D. Jain and D.K. Aggarwal, to take over the work of the Poti-Rosha committee.

June 30, 1993 : After making recommendations from time to time from among the remaining 1,000-odd affidavits, including 21 affidavits against Congress leaders H.K.L Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar, the Jain-Aggarwal committee submitted a detailed report giving a comprehensive account of how the police scuttled carnage cases at the stages of registration, investigation and prosecution. The Jain-Aggarwal committee also recommendation action several police officials for their lapses.

1994 : The Delhi Government under Madan Lal Khurana appointed an Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of Justice R.S. Narula. The Advisory Committee reviewed the status of the recommendations made the Poti-Rosha committee, Jain-Aggarwal committee and Kapur-Mittal committee. The Advisory Committee also made a particular reference to the failure of the police, which came under the Congress-ruled Central government, to book the cases recommended against Congress leaders H.K.L. Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar.

1995 : On the basis of the Advisory Committee’s report, Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana repeatedly asked the Centre to let the police take action on the 21 affidavits against Congress leaders H.K.L. Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar. It was only when Khurana threatened to complain to the National Human Rights Commission, the Centre sent those affidavits to the Delhi Government.

2000 : The Atal Behari Vajpayee Government appointed a fresh judicial inquiry into the 1984 carnage under the chairmanship of Justice G.T. Nanavati. The justification offered for it was the failure to punish the guilty. Despite the lapse of over 15 years, the Nanavati Commission received hundreds of fresh affidavits from victims as well as victims, including prominent persons such as I.K. Gujral, Khushwant Singh, Kuldip Nayar and Jagjit Singh Aurora.

2001-02: The Nanavati Commission records much damaging evidence brought on record for the first time since 1984. Arguments pending at the time of release of this report.

Operation Blue Star Also read The details in the books

Khalistan The Only Solution

By Col. Partap Singh

India Committs Suicide

By Prof G. S. Dhillon --~ Operation Blue Star was a code name given by the Indian government to an attacked when launched on the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs. The attack, initiated on May 31st 1984, was one of the most inflammatory actions ever taken by the Indian government and showed the real face of regime, which rules India. This attack proved the values which is highest held in society: freedom, and even explicitly mentioned in all constitutions, including the Indian constitution as Freedom of religion, was not of importance in India.

There are many reasons why the Indian government attacked the Golden Temple, but among them the main reasons for the attack was simply to destroy Sikhism at its roots. In order to understand this it is important to first look at how Sikh/Hindu relations started. Hindus have been against Sikhism since the time of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, most notably the Brahmins (upper caste Hindus) because Sikhism rejects the idea of a caste system. It teaches equality for all and declares women equal to men. Guru Nanak Dev Ji preached the message of One God, which is totally against Hinduism. So Hindus, mostly Brahmins (the upper class Hindus), turned against Sikhism. During the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji not only Brahmins but also other castes turned against Sikhism. Guru Ji established Khalsa and everyone was given full rights and everyone was required to sit together and eat Langar. Brahmins didn’t like lower caste people sitting equally to them and second and third class people didn’t like lower class people taking up arms for self-defense under the command of Guru Ji. Guru Ji not only fought Moughals but also Hindu kings who were jealous of Guru Ji’s power. Hindus always betrayed Sikhs. After the British annexed the Sikh Kingdom, a Hindu sect Arya Samaj turned against Sikhs and tried to declare that Sikhs were actually Hindus and Sikhism was just another sect of Hinduism. For a while this anti-Sikh propaganda slowed, but with the gaining of Indian independence, the Hindus once again resumed and increased their negative activities. While under British control Gandhi and Nehru promised Sikhs that they would have full rights and freedom. They also stated that Sikhs would have the rights to rule Punjab without any interference from the government and that no laws would be passed without discussing them with Sikhs. Gandhi said “You (Sikhs) take my word that if ever the Congress or I betray you, you will be justified to draw the sword as taught by Guru Gobind Singh.” But as soon as the British left India Sikhs were fired from their jobs and Hindus were hired. Sikhs were declared as traitors of India.

On top of this when the Indian constitution was written Sikhs refused to sign it in the parliament house because Sikhs were declared “Hindus with long hair.” Gandhi told Sikhs that if they cut their hair and give up their faith and joined the Hindus, they would be given the full right and hired at the jobs (the very same liberties which were denied them) but Sikhs refused to do so.

The Indian government broke all of their promises and forgot all about the liberties the Sikhs had essentially won for India. When Nehru was asked about creating a separate Punjabi state, he brushed it off by saying “Circumstances have changed now.” When China attacked India, it was the Sikhs who saved Nehru’s life but he still thought of Sikhs as his enemies and mistreated them. Sikhs fought bravely against Pakistan in the wars of 1965 and 1971, yet the Indian government paid no attention to Sikhs’ loyalty. When Pakistan army agreed to surrender, Hindu officers were sent to sign the negotiation instead of Sikhs. At this the Muslims of Pakistan refused to surrender saying that “brave people (Muslims) surrender only to brave people (Sikhs).” So Pakistan surrendered to the Sikhs, but Indian television did not show this on the television. They showed only hands. Sikhs were not shown on TV. Despite their heroism and valor Sikhs were not even dignified with credit for their labors.

In 1978 the Indian government sent an agent, Gurbachan, to Punjab to disillusion and slowly destroy Sikhism. He started by speaking against Sikhism and insulting the Sikhs Holy Scripture Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Sikhs could not tolerate this outrageous propaganda and they launched a peaceful march to stop him. But the agent called “Nirankari Gurbachan” had already had Indian troops with him and had ordered them to shoot Sikhs. 13 Sikhs were killed and most others were injured. No one was punished for this massacre and the government blamed Sikhs for the occurrence. This angered Sikhs and they rebelled against the Indian government. Then a religious leader, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, took power in the Sikh Quam and started a campaign to preaching Sikhism. He preached the truth and woke the Sikh nation. He openly spoke against the Indian government’s activities against Sikhism. He said, “Many Sikhs have been killed by Indian government but not even a single case has been registered. But when a Hindu was killed by police, president Indira Gandhi herself came over to his house and gave his family a hundred thousand rupees and the police officer was punished. Is this not discrimination? Three Sikhs hijacked a passenger plane for the cause of religion and not even a single passenger was harmed, The Indian government declared them as terrorists and they were killed at the airport. But when Hindus hijacked a plane to free a jailed Indira Gandhi, they were given positions in the government and the government declared them as heroes after meeting their demands and letting a guilty Indira go free. Is this not discrimination?”

These messages influenced people very much. After hearing the truth, people started supporting Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Bhindranwale and a freedom movement rose. Many people became Sikhs. Sometimes, as many as 10,000 people would initiated into Sikhism at one ceremony. (At that time there was no mention of Khalistan.) Sant Jarnail Singh Ji and many political leaders launched a peaceful march. They wanted the Indian government to grant them full rights and treat them as first class citizens. An Anandpur Sahib resolution was brought to attention by Sant Jarnail Singh Ji, which included many demands for Punjab and Sikhs such as:

1. Regional autonomy for Punjab. (The Indian Government was interfering) 2. Return of Chandigarh to Punjab. (Chandigarh was split as a duel capital for two states) 3. Special status for Sikhs in the Indian union. (Sikhs were called “long haired Hindus” not Sikhs) 4. A Supreme Court review of Punjab river waters, (Punjab’s water was being sent to other states) 5. Return of the Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab, (The government split Punjab into many separate states) 6. Provision of a fare share of electricity to Punjab, (Electricity was being split and not provided fairly to Punjab) 7. Declaring Amritsar a Holy City (Hindu and Buddhists Cities were named “holy cities” but the center of Sikhism was not given such a status) and some other religious demands.

The Indian government paid no attention to Sikh concerns and began arresting Sikhs blindly. About 150,000 Sikhs were arrested and many were killed- still not a single demand was met. Sant Jernail Singh said, “There is no solution to Sikhs’ problems without freedom.” Riots between Hindus and Sikhs broke out. When Sikhs were killed, police took no action but when Hindus were killed, not only victims were punished but also innocent Sikhs were killed. In other states of India many Sikhs were killed. All Sikhs traveling in trains and buses were stopped and killed. In Haryana, Hindus were called from villages by beating drums to kill Sikhs. Every train was stopped and Sikhs were dragged out and killed. At this point Sant Jarnail Singh was assured that the Indian government was making plans to attack the Golden Temple at Amritsar. He addressed the Sikhs and advised them to be ready to defend the Golden Temple. He said, “The day Indian government attacks the Golden Temple, foundation of Khalistan will be laid.”

When the movement got out of the government’s control, Punjab was handed over to the military. The Indian government had planned to attack Golden Temple in the first week of June because Martyr day of Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji was on June 6th and Indian government knew there was going to be a big Sikh gathering. The Government knew that Sikhs would gather in thousands. Punjab was totally under military control. A curfew was announced. Telephone lines were cut and all press reporters were asked to leave Punjab. Punjab was completely disconnected from the rest of the world. The entire state was surrounded by troops and all paths were blocked. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave. All the Sikhs were being harassed all over India.

On May 31st the Indian government launched an attack on the Golden Temple with 00 troops. There were only 251 Sikhs inside to protect the complex of the Golden Temple. But it was not a big attack at first because Sikhs were coming to Golden Temple to celebrate Martyr day of Guru Arjan Dev Ji. Sikhs held the army back for four days. Many troops lost their lives but not a single person of army could enter the Temple. Then the Indian government brought tanks and destroyed the Akaal Takhat Sahib, which is right in front of the Golden Temple. On June 6th, when all Sikh fighters became martyrs, the war was over and the Indian troops entered the temple. They did not even respect the holiness of the sacred place and entered with their shoes on, showing utter indecency. When Indian troops found that only 251 men had stopped them from entering the temple for 6 days they started killing innocent Sikhs who had come there to visit the Temple. This was to hide their humiliation. The small number of heroic Sikhs killed even the best of their army men. Sikhs in the temple were lined up and shot—dead, not even children were spared. About 50,000 Sikhs were killed that day. Priceless Sikh artifacts were burnt. All the Literature written by the Gurus was taken away by the army, but they claimed that it was burnt while bombing the Temple. The whole Amritsar city was burnt. Many visitors were killed and arrested. Sikhs’ shops were looted and houses were burnt. Hindu mobs went to every Sikh house and burnt Sikhs alive, women were dishonored even pregnant Sikh women. Most Sikhs that were killed were between ages from 5 to 40. Their main target was young Sikh males. The Indian government feared that young Sikhs would rebel. They thought if they killed young Sikh men then there would be no Sikh marriages and in next 10 or 15 years the Sikh population would not increase and they would eventually die out.

Indian government started making excuses about why it had become necessary to attack Golden Temple. Indian government claimed that Sant Jarnail Singh and his companions were using the building as their hiding place and had kept deadly weapons inside the building. Furthermore, they said they wanted to arrest Bhindranwale and drive him out of Golden Temple. But my point is if they wanted to arrest Bhindranwale then why couldn’t they arrest him when he preached all over India. He went to Bombay, Delhi and other major cities. So why couldn’t the Indian government arrest him there? Why couldn’t they arrest him at Mehta Choank? If the Golden Temple was attacked to drive out Sant Bhindranwale then why were other more than 50 Sikh temples attacked on the same day in Punjab by the army? Why were thousands of innocent people killed? Why did the government have to use tanks and heavy artillery to drive out few Sikhs? The truth is, it was a big plan of the Hindu government to destroy Sikhism and merge it into Hinduism. If you just look at what happened to Sikhs before 1984, it makes clear sense of why the Indian government attacked Golden Temple. Just look at the Olympic games of 1983 where no person with the last name “Singh” was allowed to enter in Delhi. If Bhindranwale was the target then why didn’t the army leave Punjab right after it was over? Why was the literature burned? Why did Indian troops linger and disrespectfully smoke cigars inside the temple?

All of the visitors to the Golden Temple were arrested and they all starved to death because they were not given any food to eat not even a single drop of water. When someone asked for water, the army men said “Drink that blood on the floor. That’s what you deserve. You deserve to die.” Many visitors were locked up in the rooms for two days without any food, water, or electricity and they all starved to death. The Golden Temple remained under the army control for months. WHY?!!! Because Indian government wanted to put someone in charge who would support them. Using Sant Jarnail Singh’s name was just a mere excuse. The truth is he was a real leader who openly spoke for the rights of Sikhs. In 1982, he had already said that Indian government was making plans to attack Golden Temple. Indian government built a model of Golden Temple in Dehradoon and the army was given special training.

When Sikhs in other states found out about the attack, they rebelled. Most of them who were in the Indian army and were far away from Punjab. They quickly left for Punjab and thwarted and killed many Hindus in power and officers. This put a stop to Indian army’s mission of killing innocent Sikhs in Punjab. Indian government turned its attention to Sikh military and tried to stop them before they could reach Punjab. Many Sikhs were killed on the way and many were arrested. There are about 60,000 Sikhs in jails without any charge or trial. Five months later Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards. One of them became martyr at the spot and other was hanged later after severe tortures. About 5,000 Sikhs were killed in four days. The mobs were organized by the government officials. Every Hindu was given 500 rupees and one liquor bottle to kill Sikhs. Mobs were given addresses of Sikhs’ houses and shops so that their property could be destroyed. No Hindu house was attacked, only Sikhs’ houses were burned and Sikhs were killed and burned alive. Most young Sikh males were killed and many young Sikh females were dishonored.

Aftermath

After Operation Blue Star and the Sikh massacre in Delhi, Sikh rebellions took over Golden Temple in order to restore the respect and honor it was entitled to, but the Indian government didn’t like this. They wanted the Golden Temple under their control. So another attack was launched on the Golden Temple in 1987, called ” Operation Black Thunder “. This time only Sikh rebellions were the main target. Thousands were killed and dead bodies lay inside the Holy place for many days. My father was a Ragi in the Golden Temple during that time. He tells of the brutality of the Indian government who refused to remove the bodies saying that, those dead bodies were Sikhs’ and it was Sikhs’ responsibility to remove them. According to my father, all employees of SGPC volunteered to remove the bodies. My father said the bodies lay there for days in the hot sun because it was summer time. The bodies were so rotten that when my father tried to pull one body by its arm, the skin came off in his hand. People could not even enter the Temple because of the smell. Many trucks were loaded with dead bodies and all were burned with kerosene oil. Other operations against Sikhs were ” Operation Woodrose ” (killing amritdhari Sikhs extrajudically) and Operation Black Thunder II (continued where Operation Black Thunder had finished).

After the second attack, Sikhs organized themselves into a military power in order to fight the Indian government. These brave Sikhs avenged the massacre in Delhi and killed many traitors. Many Sikhs have left India to escape religious persecution. Sikhs have spread out all over the world to enjoy the freedom and have better lives. Many Sikhs consider themselves as Khalistanis. No matter what country you go to you will see Sikhs living there and keeping the movement of Khalistan alive. The fighting is still going on. The Indian government has killed over 1 million to 1.2 million Sikhs in the last 18 years (figures according to “THE SIKHS IN HISTORY” by Dr. Sangat Singh). Indian government has also killed 50,000 Christians and 100,000 Muslims since 1947. The only one way to stop this terrorism is to create a Khalistan where Sikhs and other religious people can enjoy their freedom. LONG LIVE KHALISTAN. LONG LIVE REVOLUTION. KHALISTAN ZINDABAD -->