June 1984 - Operation Blue Star

Series | Part Two

In June 1984, the Indian state carried out a violent military assault on the Sri Harmandir Sahib complex, the most sacred site in the Sikh faith, in what it called Operation Blue Star. While official accounts framed the operation as a crackdown on armed militants, what took place was a direct, calculated attack on Sikh sovereignty, identity, and spirit.

Tensions had been building for years. Sikhs in Punjab were campaigning for greater autonomy, economic fairness, and the implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, a constitutional and peaceful set of demands. These were dismissed as separatist by the Indian government.

At the centre of the movement was Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Bhindranwale, a respected Sikh leader who spoke openly about injustice and the rights of Sikhs. By 1984, he had taken up residence in the Akal Takht, the temporal seat of Sikh authority, within the Sri Harmandir Sahib complex. The government painted him as a militant threat. For many Sikhs, he was a voice of truth and resistance.

In the early days of June, during Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s Shaheedi Gurpurab, one of the holiest days in the Sikh calendar, the Indian Army launched a full-scale military invasion of the complex. Tens of thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the complex. Trains carried them into Amritsar, but they were not permitted to leave, effectively trapping them as the horror unfolded. A curfew was imposed across Punjab. Communication and travel were suspended, and a strict media blackout was enforced. Punjab was now under siege, isolated from the rest of the world.

Indira Gandhi made a national address for peace, in the full knowledge that she had already ordered tens of thousands of troops to launch a full-scale assault on unarmed civilians inside and around the Sri Harmandir Sahib complex.

The military offensive erupted with gun battles and mortar attacks. Following fierce resistance from a handful of Sikh youth and retired soldiers, the army escalated its assault. Heavy artillery, tanks, and missile-laden helicopters were deployed, unleashing indiscriminate and relentless firepower. Pilgrims, including women and children, were trapped inside. Water and electricity were cut. No safe passage was allowed.

The Akal Takht was reduced to rubble. The Sikh Reference Library, home to countless rare manuscripts and documents of Sikh history, was deliberately torched. Pieces of the Guru Granth Sahib were seen flying in the air as the complex burned.

Eyewitnesses reported unspeakable brutality. Some soldiers were seen celebrating inside the complex by drinking and smoking in the Sikh community’s most sacred space. Others committed horrific atrocities. According to one account: “Some soldiers caught hold of small babies and children by their feet, lifted them up in the air and then smashed them against the walls, thus breaking their skulls.”

The night between 5 and 6 June was described by survivors as unbearable. Tanks and armoured carriers had entered the complex. “The firing was such that its ferocity cannot be described. All through the night we heard the heart-rending cries of the dying persons.” Wounded civilians were not offered medical treatment. Many were executed at point-blank range. Official figures claimed around 500 deaths. Independent estimates place the number in the thousands, mostly unarmed civilians. And to this day, we do not have the dignity of an accurate death toll.

This was not an isolated attack. At present, we know of 74 Gurdwaras that were targeted in coordinated strikes across Punjab at the same time. Sangat-led seva is ongoing to uncover and document the full truth.

The attack was often presented as a sudden response to escalating violence, but evidence shows it was carefully premeditated. In 1982, the Indian Army constructed a scale model of the Sri Harmandir Sahib complex to rehearse the invasion. By February 1984, UK forces had been consulted. A state of emergency was declared. Foreign press were expelled. A media blackout was imposed. Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Bhindranwale had no arrest warrant and was openly residing in the complex. There was no attempt at negotiation, no legal procedure followed. The army laid siege and opened fire. This was not a spontaneous operation. It was a calculated assault.

It was an attempt to erase a people, to desecrate Sikh sovereignty, our memory, and our connection to the Guru. It was an attack not just on Sikhs, but on Sikhi itself. When you burn a people’s history, kill their leaders, destroy their holiest site, and then celebrate inside it, it’s not security. It’s erasure.

Make no mistake. Operation Blue Star was an attempt to kill Sikhs, to silence Sikhs, and to erase Sikhs. It failed.