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#13 What Happened During 1984 Operation Blue Star?


Hey infinities, we are here with the article about 'The 1984 Operation Blue Star' which was the biggest internal security mission ever undertaken by the Indian Army. You all need to know about it briefly so read the article for each and every details about the 'Operation Blue Star'.


Operation Blue Star was the codename of an Indian military action carried out between 1 and 8 June 1984 to remove militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab. Operation Blue Star was Indira Gandhi,s solution to the haywire going law and order situation in Punjab.
Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, ordered the military operation to remove Sikh militants who were accumulating weapons in the Harmandir Sahib Complex.


The Birth Of Blue Star
Operation Blue Star took birth after the rise of Khalistan movement in India. The Khalistan movement was a political Sikh nationalist movement which aimed at creating an independent state for Sikhs inside the current North-Western Republic of India.
Even though the Khalistan movement started in the early 1940s and 1950s, it gained popularity between 1970s and 1980s. On 3 June, a 36 hour curfew was imposed on the state of Punjab with all methods of communication and public travel suspended. The electricity supply was also interrupted, creating a total blackout and cutting off the state from the rest of the world. Complete media censorship was enforced.


Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Bhindrawale was the leader of Damdami Taksal and was one of the main reasons behind Operation Blue Star. As a leader, Bhindrawale had an influence on Sikh youth. He persuaded many people to follow Sikh rules and tenets.
During Operation Blue Star, Bhindranwale and Khalistan supporters took over the Akal Takht complex in Amritsar's Golden Temple.
Bhindranwale was seen as a supporter of the creation of Khalistan. Operation Blue Star specifically was aimed to eliminate Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple complex and regain the control over Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple).

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

The army operation was further subdivided along two subcategories :

1. Operation Metal
It was limited to Golden Temple but it also led to Operation Shop the capturing of suspects from outskirts of Punjab. To take out the militants including Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple complex. Lt. Gen. Kuldip Singh Brar's 9 infantry Division was deputed for this.

2. Operation Shop
To raid extremist hideouts throughout the Punjab state and to mop up the militants remaining in the countryside.

In addition, the army carried out Operation Woodrose, in which units were deployed to the border areas, replacing the pickets routinely held by the paramilitary Border Security Force. The border pickets were held in at least company strength. The operation was carried out by Indian Army, using tanks, artillery, helicopters and armored vehicles.


Barring Media
The government faced a lot of backlash in 1984 as they had barred media from entering Punjab altogether. Media personnel were put on a bus and were dropped off at Haryana border. As there was a curfew situation in Punjab, no mode of transport was available for them to travel. Whoever reached was not allowed to enter Punjab as well.
The Times reporter Michael Hamlyn reported that journalists were picked up from their hotels at 5 a.m. in a military bus, taken to the adjoining border of the state of Haryana and "were abandoned there". A group of journalists who later tried to drive into Punjab were stopped at the road block at Punjab border and were threatened with being shot if they proceeded.
The press criticized these actions by government as an "obvious attempt to attack the temple without the eyes of the foreign press on them". The media blackout throughout Punjab resulted in spread of rumours. The only available source of information during the period was All India Radio and the Doordarshan channel.


The Aftermath
President Zail Singh visited the temple premises after the operation, while making the round, he was shot at by a sniper from one of the buildings that the army had not yet cleared. The bullet hit the arm of an army colonel accompanying the president.
The operation also led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 by two of her as an act of vengeance, triggering the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.


In March 1986, Sikh militants again occupied and continued to use the temple compound which necessitated another police action known as 'Operation Black Thunder' on 1 May, 1986.

Operation Black Thunder
Operation Black Thunder was the second phase of Operation Blue Star. It was carried out by Black Cat commandos of National Security Guards (NSG) to remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple.


Long Term Effects
The long-term results of the operation include :
  1. Defeat of the ISI-backed secessionist Khalistan movement.
  2. Reduction in militancy in the Indian state of Punjab.
  3.  Ensuring that the Golden Temple remains free from violence and weapons stockpiling.


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