The first 10 days of June will continue to serve as painful memory for all Sikhs living in and outside India when Indian army launched a murderous assault on Golden Temple, the Sikhs’ holiest shrine in Amritsar followed by the massacre of thousands of Sikhs between June 2 & 10, 1984.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the tragic incident, given the code name of ‘Operation Blue Star’, was not just a military action, it was a calculated genocide of Sikhs.
Sikh history remembers ‘Operation Blue Star’ as the Ghallughara — a holocaust that will never be forgotten as the storming of the Golden Temple was an official beginning of such violations and systematic purge of Sikhs in India, the report added.
The Sikhs’ holiest shrine was reduced to rubble and Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who stood tall against Indian imperialism was killed during the assault. Indian authorities had imposed draconian media restrictions to hide the gruesome crimes committed against Sikhs during the ‘Operation Blue Star’.
The report said that ‘Operation Blue Star’ was a deliberate move not only to kill Sikhs but also to desecrate their holiest religious place, which left deep scars on the psyche of Sikh community members. Many Sikhs resigned from services and returned awards they had received from the Indian govt in protest against the attack on Golden Temple.
The ‘Operation Blue Star’ was launched on June 2, 1984. Indian army backed by tanks and artillery guns massacred thousands of Sikhs including pilgrims during its attack on the Golden Temple between 2 & 10 June 1984.
The report maintained that even after 39 years, the victims of ‘Operation Blue Star’ and those killed in the ensuing bloody chain of anti-Sikh riots are still awaiting justice.
The report said that ‘Operation Blue Star’ was a deliberate move not only to kill Sikhs but also to desecrate their holiest religious place, which left deep scars on the psyche of Sikh community members. Many Sikhs resigned from services and returned awards they had received from the Indian govt in protest against the attack on Golden Temple.
Following the assault on their holiest shrine, every Sikh got convinced that their future with India was not safe. ‘Operation Blue Star’ was a blood-soaked message: crush Sikh identity & desecrate Sikh faith. Idea of a separate homeland in the name of Khalistan is rejuvenated every anniversary of the Golden Temple massacre in June. Sikhs will not to rest until they achieve a separate homeland, Khalistan. Sikhs’ fight against India is actually a war against Hindutva hegemony. The Sikh spirit remains unbroken — Modi’s Hindutva agenda will be met with fierce defiance.
Several Sikh leaders, including 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar, were killed by Indian agency RAW in Canada on June 18, 2023.
The report pointed out that brave people of the Sikh community are determined not to rest until they achieve a separate Khalistan and maintained that their fight against India is actually a war against Hindutva hegemony and they will not let Modi’s hegemonic designs succeed, come what may.
