OPERATION BLUE STAR

1. Context

June 6, 2023 marks 39 years of Operation Bluestar, in which the Indian army stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar to flush out militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers.

2. Operation Blue Star

Operation Bluestar was an Indian Army operation carried out in June 1984 in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, to flush out militants who were led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a one-time leader of the Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal and a key figure in the growing separatist Khalistan movement at the time.
While successful in its intended objectives, it caused a furor among some members of the Sikh community, who saw the operation carried out in their shrine as an attack on their faith, and 39 years later too, it remains a controversial episode of Indian history.

Image Source: The Indian Express

3. History of Operation Blue Star

The idea of Khalistan was born in the aftermath of the Partition of India into West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
Punjab, the home of most members of the Sikh community, was also divided into two because of the newly-created border.
It led to a sense of loss among Indian Sikhs, with culturally and religiously important cities, such as Lahore and Nankana Sahib, going to Pakistan.
As writer Khushwant Singh put it in the collection of essays The Punjab Story, “The sentiment (for a separate Sikh state) was expressed in a single query – Hindus got Hindustan. Muslims got Pakistan. What did the Sikhs get out of Partition and Independence?”
Additionally, there was some discontent over a few administrative issues, like river water sharing with other states, which led to demands for autonomy – and then for a sovereign Sikh state from some quarters. It is also believed that Pakistan aided the movement with arms and funds.
In response to demands for autonomy, in 1966, the erstwhile Punjab state was divided into the Hindi-speaking, Hindu-majority states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, and the Punjabi-speaking, Sikh-majority Punjab. However, by the 1970s, the separatist Khalistan movement was in full swing – in India and abroad.

4. Operation Blue Star- Background

Operation Blue Star was ordered by the then Prime Minister of India Smt. Indira Gandhi took control of the Harmandir Sahib Complex in Amritsar, also popularly known as the Golden Temple which is a holy shrine of the Sikhs.
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale wanted the Government of India to pass the Anandpur Resolution, which sought the formation of a separate state of Khalistan for Sikhs among other demands.
By 1982, the radical leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had managed to gain enough support for his cause, and by the mid next year, he had set up a base inside the Golden Temple complex, with ammunition as well as his followers.
It was not easy for the armed forces to take back control of the Golden Temple from armed militants and preserve its sanctity at the same time.
After nearly a year of consultations and negotiations, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided that the only option left was to carry out a military operation which led to Operation Blue Star.

5. The Operation

Operation Blue Star consisted of a two-stage operation: the first one was known as Operation Metal, which was restricted to the elimination of the armed militants present inside the Golden Temple complex.
This was followed by another operation called Operation Woodrose, which was carried out across the state to ensure that all suspects were either captured or killed.
The Golden Temple complex, commonly the Harmandir Sahib, is a revered religious site for Sikhs and is considered the holiest shrine in the Sikh religion.
In 1984, a group of militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale took refuge inside the complex, along with a large number of armed supporters around him.
Operation Blue Star, which began on June 3, 1984, involved the deployment of thousands of Indian Army troops, tanks, as well as artillery around the Golden Temple complex.
Operation Blue Star was commanded by Lt. General Kuldip Singh Brar, operating under General Sundarji.
On 3rd June, a 36-hour curfew was imposed in Punjab, detaching the state from all modes of communication, electricity, and transport.
Thousands of Sikhs had gathered inside the complex of the Golden Temple to celebrate the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev, however, they all were trapped inside the Gurudwara after the said curfew was imposed on 3rd June.
The Indian Armed Forces stormed the Harmandir Sahib complex on the night of June 5, and Operation Blue Star lasted for another 5 days, during which heavy gunfire and explosions rocked and affected the complex, causing significant damage to the temple and surrounding buildings.
The Akal Takht was heavily equipped with sandbags and gun emplacements in its windows and arches from where the dissidents were able to fire at any commandos who made their way in front of the Gurudwara.
The forces had full control of Harmandir Sahib by the morning of June 7. Sikh leaders JS Bhindranwale and Shabeg Singh were killed in the operation.
Operation Blue Star cleared terrorists from the Golden Temple compound but it received backlash from the Sikh community worldwide.

6. Operation Blue Star- Aftermath

The operation was considered to be a controversial one as it had severe ramifications for many sections. In the long term, the Sikh community became more assertive about their identity and their place in Indian society.
However, there was a series of violence across the country against Sikh people immediately after the incident.
In 1985, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee filed a damages suit for Rs 1000 crore about Operation Blue Star.
Operation Blue Star has been the subject of several inquiry commissions and investigations, including the 1984 Misra Commission and the 2005 Nanavati Commission, both of which sought to uncover the events leading up to the operation, deaths, and its aftermath.
The aftermath of Operation Blue Star also saw an increase in militant activities as well as violence in Punjab, leading to a decade-long insurgency followed by a brutal crackdown by the Indian security forces.
The operation sparked widespread protests and anger among the Sikh community in India as well as abroad, who viewed it as an attack on their religious and cultural identity.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who gave a nod to Operation Blue Star was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards later in the year.
The 1984 Sikh Riots broke out, which lasted for 3 days and led to several deaths which are estimated by various independent sources at around 8,000-16,000.
In 1986, the Chief of Army Staff at the time of the operation- General AS Vaidya was assassinated by Sikh militants in revenge.
The bombing of Air India Flight 182 from Canada to Delhi in 1985 is believed to have been another act of revenge for Operation Blue Star.
Many Sikh army men in the Indian Army mutinied because of the operation. Many Sikhs resigned from administrative positions in the government.
On July 24, 1985, the then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Punjabi Akali leader Harchand Singh Longowal signed the Rajiv–Longowal Accord or simply, the Punjab Accord.

For Prelims: Operation Blue Star, Khalistan movement, Operation Metal, Operation Woodrose, Harmandir Sahib.

For Mains: 1. The scourge of terrorism is a grave challenge to national security. What solutions do you suggest to curb this growing menace? What are the major sources of terrorist funding? UPSC CSE Mains 2017).

Source: The Indian Express

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