Operation Blue Star
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Operation Blue Star: (June 3 to June 6, 1984)) was an Indian military operation at the Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest temple of the Sikhs.
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[edit] Occupation of Harmandir Sahib
A crackdown on Separatist Sikh Militants in early 1984 led militant Sikhs under the leadership of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to fortify the Harmandir Sahib. Operation Blue Star was the Indian army’s response to the temple’s fortification. The attack resulted in many casualties both military and civilian. The operation also resulted in the death of Bhindranwale and most of his followers. The temple and surrounding buildings were heavily damaged in the operation.
[edit] The operation
On the 3rd of June, a 36 hour curfew was imposed on the state of Punjab. The period coincided with the anniversary of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, a major religious holiday in Sikh calendar. When the curfew was imposed, thousands of pilgrims and worshippers were trapped in the Golden Temple complex.
Major General Brar claimed in his book 'Operation Blue Star- The True Story' that he never visited the Harmandir Sahib complex prior to the launch of the operation, contrary to many written reports[citation needed]. The Sikh separatists within the Harmandir Sahib were led by former Major General Shabeg Singh (who resigned from the Indian Army in 1976). Gen. Brar and Lt. Gen. (later General) Sundarji, believed there was no way to avoid a violent resolution. This plan has been severely criticised by many professionals. Brar went in and briefed all troops.
The operation was expected to be a swift one. The operation was undertaken in the cover of the night, and due to the immense firepower and sophisticated weaponry in the possession of the Indian Army, the separatists suffered heavy casualties. General Brar ordered the artillry tanks to be brought in, lest his commandos become open targets in daylight.
The first task was the destruction of Major-General Shabeg Singh's outer defenses. Much of this had been completed in the preliminary firing. Major-General Brar had hoped to frighten Bhindrenwale into surrendering, which did not happen. These defences included the seventeen houses which the police had found Bhindanwale's followers to occupy in the alleys surrounding the Golden Temple. Some of them were as far as 800 yards away from the complex. These outposts were all in wireless contact with Shahbeg Singh's command post in the Akaal Takht. The Temple View hotel outside the Temple complex had also been occupied. Next to it was Brahmbuta Akhara, a large building housing the headquarters of a Sikh sect. Then there were three main towers which had been fortified to make positions from which Bhindranwale's men could fire into the Golden Temple complex. Because they rose well above the surrounding buildings, the towers were excellent observation posts for tracking the movement of Indian troops in the narrow alleys surrounding the Temple. The tops of these towers were blasted off by the artillery fire. The use of artillery in the congested inner city of Amritsar proved deadly for many people living in proximity of Golden Temple.
It was between 10:00 and 10:30 PM on June 5-th that commandos from 1st Battalion, the parachute regiment were ordered to run down the steps under the clock tower on to the parikarma, or pavement, turn right and move as quickly as they could, round the edge of the sacred tank to the Akal Takht. But as the paratroopers entered the main gateway to the Temple they were gunned down by militants with light machine-guns who were hiding on either side of the steps leading down to the parikarma. The few commandos who did get down the steps were driven back by a barrage of fire from the building on the south side of the sacred pool. In the control room, in a house on the opposite side of the clock-tower, Major-general Brar was waiting with his two supporting officers to hear that the commandos had established positions inside the complex.
The few commandos who survived regrouped in the square outside the Temple, and reported back to Major-General Brar. He reinforced them and ordered them to make another attempt to go in. The commandos were to be followed by the 10th Battalion of the Guards commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Israr Khan. The second commando attack managed to neutralise the machine-gun posts on either side of the steps and get down on to the parikarma. They were followed by the Guards who came under withering fire and were not able to make any progress, radioed for permission to fire back at the buildings on the other side of the tank. That would have meant that the Golden Temple itself, which is in the middle of the tank, would have been in the line of fire. Brar initially refused, but then started to get messages from the commander of Guards reporting heavy casualties, through the Sikhs strong persistance to protect the holy place they had suffered almost 20 percent casualties without managing to turn the corner of parikarma to the western sides. Militants would also appear from man-holes in the parikarma, let off a burst of machine-gun fire or throw grenades, and disappear into the passages around the Temple. These machine-gunners had been taught to fire at knee-level because Major-General Shabeg Singh expected the army to crawl towards its objective, But the Guards and commandos were not crawling, and so many of them received severe leg injuries. This is only claimed by the Indian Government and is not supported by any witness.
Brar again requested tanks and was this time granted his request. According to eyewitness accounts, as many as 13 stephine tanks were brought into the parikarma and lined up on the eastern side. Marble flooring of eastern parikarma was destroyed. Brar never ordered the destruction of Akal Takht. A total of 90 shells were fired and the Bhindrawale was brought down by the Indian army. Later the Holy Temple was found to have more than 300 bullet holes.
As per the affidavit filed by retired Brigadier D.V. Rao in court of Harjit Singh Khalsa, judicial magistrate first class, Amritsar, on March 19, 2007, the Indian Army suffered 83 deaths, which included four officers, four Junior Commissioned Officers and 75 other ranks. As per the affidavit , 13 Indian Army officers, 16 JCOs and 220 other ranks were injured in the operation. Indian army recorded 492 civilian deaths inside Golden Temple while 433 persons were segregated as separatists amongst 1592 persons apprehended [1]. During June of 1984, brigadier D.V. Rao served as Commander of 350 Infantry Brigade based in Jalandhar, which formed part of Ninth Infantry Division of Indian Army.
General A S Vaidya was Chief Of Army Staff at the time of Blue Star operation, and was assassinated in 1986 in Pune.
[edit] Criticism of the Operation
Operation Blue Star is regarded by some military observers in India and the international community as a major military embarrassment. It was criticized as the most poorly conducted and managed military operation in the history of the Indian Army due to the large number of military and civilian casualties. Moreover, the success in emptying and depoliticising the temple was marred by the damage to the temple building and the death of civilian worshipers caught in the crossfire.
The Operation led to an estrangement between the Indian Central government and large portions of the Sikh community. Indira Gandhi was later assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. The assassination triggered Anti-Sikh riots in North India.
The BJP, the current opposition party was one of the strongest political critics of the Operation. They and their parent organisation, the RSS were praised by the Sikhs, notably writer Khushwant Singh for their opposition of the operation. He said:[1].
"It was the Congress(I) leaders who instigated mobs in 1984 and got more than 3000 people killed. I must give due credit to RSS and the BJP for showing courage and protecting helpless Sikhs during those difficult days”[1]
