Assault on Amritsar, 1984

Justice Ajit Singh Bains (Retd.) The Sikh Review, August 1995

The invasion of the Golden Temple complex in June 1984 by the Indian Armed Forces alienated the people of Sikh faith beyond repair. The day chosen for the attack was not without significance. It was the martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, the fifth Guru and builder of the Golden Temple.

If the idea behind the attack was to enrage the whole community, it was meticulously planned and executed to perfection for the effect. It actually enraged and angered the Sikhs to the point of alienation. It was the fifth Guru who compiled The Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book and ensured its continuous recitation in the Golden Temple.

Jehangir had assumed in 1605 that the killing of Guru Arjun Dev will finish Sikh faith, but it turned out otherwise. Guru Hargobind then turned saints into soldiers and accepted the challenge of the oppressive rulers by establishing Akal Takhat opposite Darbar Sahib, an institution of defiance against state power. He fought many battles and was even imprisoned in Gwalior Fort. All decisions to fight against unjust state were used to be taken at ‘Akal Takht’ during the 18th century till the Mughal oppression lasted.

Every government thereafter tried its best to interfere in the affairs of the Akal Takht and, at times, even occupied the complex. But each time the state failed to finish the Sikh faith. Massa Rangar, who occupied the Golden Temple during 1730, was beheaded by Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mehtab Singh and the temple liberated.

Ahmed Shah Abdali, the invader from Afghanistan also ransacked Darbar Sahib. He was resisted by Baba Gurbax Singh and his 40 comrades, who laid down their lives for its defence. Ahmed Shah Abdali succumbed to injuries suffered by him at the Darbar Sahib and could not visit India again. Ahmed Shah was asked by a Sufi Faquir as to why he destroyed a place of religion. His reply is significant. “The Sikhs hide in the temple and they get inspiration from it.”

Curiously enough similar reasons were advanced in the White Paper published by the Government of India, justifying Operation Bluestar.

Tragically, however, Bluestar was the bloodiest of all previous assaults on the Golden Temple. The earlier attacks were launched by the foreign invaders, but the invasion in 1984 was by India’s own rulers. It is rare in any country to use the might of its armed forces for hurting a whole community by demolishing its most visible symbol of holiness - which sears the soul.

In the process, hundreds, maybe thousands were massacred. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, General Shabeg Singh and Bhai Amrik Singh, with their resistance group re-enacted the fight put up by Baba Gurbax Singh and his companions. Except for three leaders, the dead bodies of the rest of the sangat were not identified. They were thus not given to their relatives. The injured were not taken to hospital and were left to die. Sikh reference library, Tosha Khana, Museum and SGPC offices were totally destroyed.

It is now admitted by the Generals who have written their memoirs that tanks were in fact used, which was anyway public knowledge in those days. Other historical Sikh Gurudwaras were also invaded simultaneously like that of Mukhtsar, Anandpur Sahib and of Dukh NIvaran. The whole of Punjab was put under siege and curfew, in a massive operation to terrorize the population.

Operation Bluestar thus angered and hurt the whole Sikh community where ver its members were. Contrast it with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. There, the bodies were identified, and handed over to their relatives. Hunter Commission of enquiry was appointed and compensation awarded to the injured and the next of kin of those killed, after the commission held that firing was not justified. Nothing of the kind happened. And this was our own government! That was foreign government. The bullet marks at Jallianwala Bagh are still intact and can be seen. The marks of tank shells, machine guns and mortar on the Golden Temple and the Akal Takht have however been obliterated by the elected body of the Sikhs. The scars linger in the memory of this generation only, and may become a fairy tale for the coming generations.

Thousands of Sikhs were arrested, tortured and sent to jails. Jodhpur became, for the Sikhs, a name which invokes injustice rather than a serene place of beauty in the desert. Such terror ensured that those who can, will try to escape. Thus many escaped to foreign countries to save their lives.

It was evident from the beginning that it was an operation that had backfired. But nothing was done to heal the wounds of 1984. It was followed by a sinister operation codenamed “Woodrose” - a systematic campaign to kill and torture all Amritdhari Sikhs.

1984 also saw the end of Indira Gandhi and the fearful state - sponsored breakdown of law and order. It was nothing short of genocide of the Sikhs. No case, no FIR, no trial and no punishment for the guilty. Murder and mayhem have been documented by human rights bodies, which ought to have been done by the police. But there are two sets of laws, one for the Indians and another for the Sikhs.

Rajiv Gandhi, as it turned out, was merely a son rather than a Prime Minister. The present Prime Minister was the Home Minister in November 1984 when Sikhs were massacred all over North India. The door to justice is thus closed for the Sikhs even today.

Every year the Sikhs remember the dead of 1984. Their faith is shaken that they are the rightful citizens of this country where the Constitution promises each citizen equality of justice.

In respect of Punjab, central government is behaving like the old colonial empire. For them the only problem is to maintain order with the help of brute force. Order, in accordance with law and justice, they do not understand. Be it Babari masjid or Chrar Sharief, or North East, law has not been upheld. The only response is force. Every political demand has been reduced into a problem of law and order, to which response is force, yet more force.

There was no need for Operation Bluestar. If militants were hiding there, surely there were more honest and wiser ways of catching them. A problem has been created in the heart and soul of Punjab which perhaps the next generation can scarcely comprehend.

For Sikhs, Golden Temple is not merely a place of worship. It is also a place of resistance against injustice and tyranny. It is not merely a construction of bricks and mortar but a shrine hallowed by the blood of the martyrs. Golden Temple exists in defiance of all earthly kings, be it Jehangir, Aurangzeb, Ahmed Shah, Indira Gandhi or Narasimha Rao.