Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation which occurred between 1 June and 8 June 1984, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in order to establish control over the Harmandir Sahib Complex in Amritsar, Punjab, and remove militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant armed followers from the complex buildings. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was invited to the Harmandir Sahib, and later on made it his headquarters in December 1983.
The operation had two components—Operation Metal, confined to the Harmandir Sahib complex, and Operation Shop, which raided the Punjabi countryside to capture any suspects. Following it, Operation Woodrose was launched in the Punjab countryside where Sikhs, specifically those carrying a kirpan and protesting, were now targeted. The operation was carried out by Indian Army troops. Casualty figures of Operation Blue Star given by Kuldip Singh Brar put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83 dead and 249 injured. According to the official estimate presented by the Indian government, 1592 persons were apprehended, though numbers put forward by independent human rights organizations are significantly higher. The Sikh Museum states that the Amritsar crematorium has counted 3300 dead civilians in their crematorium. Chand Joshi has stated approx. 5000 victims and eyewitnesses and survivors claimed up to 8000 civilians were killed in the operation.
In addition, there were claims made that blamed the CBI for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library, before burning it down. The military action led to an uproar amongst Sikhs worldwide and the increased tension following the action led to assaults on members of the Sikh community within India. Many Sikh soldiers in the Indian army mutinied, many Sikhs resigned from armed and civil administrative office and several returned awards and honors they had received from the Indian government.
Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, who were her two Sikh bodyguards, in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Subsequently, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the ensuing anti-Sikh riots in 1984. Within the Sikh community itself, Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance and is often compared to what Sikhs call “the great massacre”, following the invasion by the Emir of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Sikh holocaust of 1762. Read more
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