Operation Blue Star anniversary: Know all about the 1984 security mission at Golden Temple

As the nation marks the 38th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, the Punjab Police has increased security at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also reviewed the law-and-order situation in the state ahead of the Operation Bluestar anniversary. He chaired a meeting with senior officers of the police and civil administration and asked them to ensure elaborate security arrangements across the state before June 6.

On this day in 1984, the Indian Army had carried out Operation Bluestar to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple complex.

Just a few days before the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, also known as “Ghallughara Divas”, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had placed a copy of the bullet-hit Guru Granth Sahib on display in the Golden Temple. 

What was Operation Blue Star?

The 1984 Operation Blue Star was the biggest internal security mission ever undertaken by the Indian Army. The Operation was Indira Gandhi's solution to the law and order situation in Punjab prevalent at that time due to the rise of the Khalistan movement. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, ordered troops to remove Sikh militants who were accumulating weapons in the Harmandir Sahib Complex (Golden Temple) under Operation Blue Star - which was carried out between June 1 and June 8, 1984, in Amritsar.

Operation Blue Star took birth following the rise of the Khalistan movement in India. The political Sikh nationalist movement was aimed at creating an independent state for Sikhs inside the current North-Western Republic of India.

In the 1980s, Khalistan supporters had sought cover in the Akal Takht complex in Amritsar's Golden Temple. The Blue Star operation was specifically aimed to eliminate Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who took over the Akal Takht complex in Amritsar's Golden Temple.

As per the official reports, at least 83 Army jawans and 492 civilians were killed throughout the whole Operation. During this time, a copy of the holy Sikh book, installed in the Golden Temple was targeted in the firing.

The operation not only angered the entire Sikh community but, is also said to be the reason behind the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards.