Chandigarh: Story of Operation Blue Star: Along with the defeat in the 1977 general election, Indira Gandhi also suffered a tremendous defeat in the Punjab province. In order to overcome the defeat, the Akali Dal government led by Parkash Singh Badal came to power in Punjab, the Congress resorted to a man who, within seven years, created a stir in the entire country including Punjab.
‘Operation Blue Star’ is an incident in the history of India called the script of Indira Gandhi’s death, which was written by Indira Gandhi herself somewhere. Today marks 33 years of this event.
On the occasion of Operation Blue Star anniversary today, the day Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was also assassinated by Indian army.
Let’s know who is Bhindranwale and how Operation Blue Star changed the course of the country’s politics:
In 1977, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was made the jathedar of ‘Damdami Taksal’, the main branch of Sikh religious propaganda. During that time, Bhindranwale became a big face in Punjab politics. He was coined by Akalis leaders and this was propagated well by Giani Zail Singh and Sanjay Gandhi.
But Bhindranwale became trouble. Senior journalist Kuldip Nayar wrote in his book ‘Beyond the Line an Autobiography’ that Sanjay Gandhi has admitted to giving money to Bhindranwale. However, he had no idea that Bhindranwale would choose the path of terrorism.
Indira Gandhi won the 1980 election. Out of the 529 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress got 351 seats. Giani Zail Singh was made the Home Minister by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In the Punjab assembly elections also, the Congress defeated the Akali Dal. Darbara Singh was made the Chief Minister of Punjab. After the defeat in Punjab, the Akali Dal went to its old issue. The issue which is known from anantapur saheb resolution in 1973. In which unilateral demands were made on the sharing of water of Chandigarh and rivers. There was tension between the Akalis and the Darbara Singh government that Punjab’s politics got entangled in the clutches of language and religion.
During this period, the newspaper Punjab Kesari campaigned for Hindi, which further worsened the atmosphere. The Hindi’s campaign angered the hardliners Sikhs, including Bhindranwale.
The demand to make Punjab a separate country gained momentum
Meanwhile, on September 9, 1981, armed men shot dead Lala Jagat Narayan, the editor of Punjab Kesari. The blame also came on Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale was arrested from Gurudwara Gurudarshan Prakash in Amritsar on September 15 after the murder of Lala Jagat Narayan. But in the absence of evidence, bail was granted. The politics over Bhindranwale continued when the demand to make Punjab a separate country gained momentum. Violence and bloodshed were on the rise.
Bhindranwale was anguish after the release. Meanwhile, the Asian Games in Delhi were scheduled to be held in November and December 1982. In protest, Bhindranwale announced a protest, following this, 1,500 people have been arrested citing security threat to PM.
Now the anger of the hardliner Sikhs has increased, which Bhindranwale took advantage of. The voice of the moderates began to weaken. Bhindranwale’s growing influence alienated the Akalis. Meanwhile, Punjab DIG AS Atwal was murdered on the steps of the Golden Temple. The body of AS Atwal lay on the steps of the Golden Temple for hours and no one dared to remove his body from the stairs of the temple. After the incident, Indira Gandhi sought advice from Giani Zail Singh to send the police inside the Golden Temple. But he refused. This increased Bhindranwale’s spirits. The situation in Punjab was becoming explosive. The Akalis also came into the fray. Thirty thousand arrests were made in two months. The demand was to pass the resolution of Anandpur Sahib resolution.
On October 5, 1983, Hindu pilgrims massacred
Meanwhile, on October 5, 1983, Sikh extremists stopped a bus from Kapurthala to Jalandhar. The Hindu passengers on the bus were killed selectively. The day after the incident, Indira Gandhi ousted Darbara Singh’s government. President’s rule was imposed in Punjab. The situation did not improve even after the government’s removal. Violence and beatings continued in Punjab. But Indira Gandhi was reluctant to take any drastic step against Bhindranwale.
On December 15, 1983, Bhindranwale, along with his armed comrades, took control of the Golden Temple.
On December 15, 1983, Bhindranwale, along with his armed comrades, took control of the Golden Temple. Bhindranwale captured the Akal Takht of the Golden Temple. There was opposition to the capture of the Akal Takht, but Bhindranwale did not care. It is stated by the government that Bhindranwale wanted Hindus to leave Punjab. This was a direct challenge to the Delhi government. On the other hand, Indira Gandhi’s problems has exacerbated by this act of defiance.
Indira Gandhi handed over Punjab to Army
Indira Gandhi finally handed over Punjab to the Army on June 1, 1984. The code word for the amey operation was ‘Operation Blue Star’. The leadership of this operation was handed over to Major General Kuldeep Singh Brar. The 9th Division of the Army had moved towards the Golden Temple. On June 3, journalists were expelled from Amritsar. The border with Pakistan was sealed. People living in the Golden temple premises were asked to come out. These appeals were made repeatedly. By 7 pm on June 5, only 129 people had come out. People said Bhindranwale’s people are preventing them from coming out.
On June 5, 1984, at 7 p.m., the army began operations. There were shots from both sides all night long. On June 6, at 5:20 a.m., it was decided that tanks would have to be entered to flush out the terrorists hiding in the shrine. During the operation, the library of valuable documents and books caught fire. Several bullets fired in the firing also went towards Sri Harmandir Sahib. The Akal Takht also suffered heavy losses.
492 people were killed, including the terrorists, govt data
On June 6, the shooting went on from morning to evening. The body of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was found by the army late last night. On the morning of June 7, Operation Blue Star ended. A total of 83 people were killed in Operation Blue Star, including three army officers. In addition, 248 were injured. The death toll of terrorists and others stood at 492, the government data revealed. The unofficial figures, however, are stated to be much higher.
The atmosphere in Punjab was very tensed after the operation. When Indira Gandhi came to know about the success of the operation from Minister of State for Defence KP Singh Deo, she said, “Oh my God, what has happened? These people told me there wouldn’t be so many deaths.”, government officials aware of the incident told.