Operation Blue Star is a codename of the biggest bloodied battle which took place in India after independence in1984.
On the orders of then-Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Indian Army carried out this operation to flush out Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers with Sahbeg Singh, who had holed up in Shri Harminder Saheb and fortified the temple complex as his operational base to create a separate state for Khalistan.
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Bhindranwale was originally approached for political objectives by Gyani Zail Singh and Rajiv Gandhi, hence it is reasonable to conclude that Bhindranwale came to light because of the Congress, which Indira Gandhi led.
Observations Regarding This Decision
In the second volume of his memoir, The Turbulent Years: 1980-96, President Pranab Mukherjee mentioned that
L.K. Advani of the BJP addressed Pranab Mukherjee in the Rajya Sabha near the end of 1981 and expressed deep worry about the events in Punjab, saying that the situation was rapidly deteriorating and that the way radicals were spreading violence and killing people at random was horrible. He warned that the situation could deteriorate more in the future, particularly in light of the assassination of Lala Jagat Narain, a Member of Parliament (MP), journalist, and proprietor of Punjab Kesari, the state’s largest newspaper (on 9 September 1981). After a series of attempts to resolve the situation peacefully, it became clear that attacking Shri Harmindar Saheb was the only choice left, hence Operation Bluestar was launched. Mr. Mukharjee also claimed that as the decision to launch an attack was being finalized, he still vividly recalls Mrs. Gandhi telling him, ‘Pranab, I know of the consequences. Despite the fact that her life was in jeopardy, she made the intentional decision to proceed in the national interest.
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In May 1984, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was receiving naturopathy treatment in Banglore when Prime Minister of India Mrs Indira Gandhi came to see him urgently and informed him about the plan to storm the Golden Temple to flush out the separatists, and Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and said there was no other option, Vajpayee strongly advised Mrs. Gandhi to abandon this plan. He said
‘Iski bihari keemat chukani pad skti hai’ and there can be other ways of flushing out the terrorists but Gandhi refused to listen, and a month later, an operation was carried out, resulting in massive casualties, Indira Gandhi’s assassination, and the subsequent massacre of Sikhs. Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, a training and research centre backed by the BJP, compiled his interviews, speeches, and other states to bring this topic to light.
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Her final address, two days before her killing, in Orissa, was prophetic. She said, ‘I am alive today, I may not be there tomorrow… I shall continue to serve until my last breath and when I die. I can say that every drop of my blood will invigorate India and strengthen it.’
Conclusion
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a blunder for Congress from the outset.It is apparent that extremists got Pakistani help based on the details of their preparation.
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was being used by two parties, one being Congress and the other being Pakistan. Bhindranwale chose to be used by Pakistan because it was more favorable to his ambitions.
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It is impossible to say which side is correct in a battle…
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Only when both parties are wrong and both are correct does war break out.
Many Sikhs wanted to stop Bhindranwale and oppose him, but not every Sikh was a Bhindranwale supporter. They demanded that the government take action against extremists sheltering in the Temple complex. They claimed Bhindranwale had tainted the holy place by making the temple compound his base.
However, one of Gandhi’s actions, Operation Bluestar, inspired the Sikhs to support Bhindranwale.
Sikhs were divided before the operation, with one group supporting Bhindranwale and the other opposing him; but, following the operation, the whole Sikh community opposed Mrs. Gandhi and backed Bhindranwale.
Indira Gandhi was assassinated not for her opposition to Bhindranwale, but for her acts against Sikhism.
Gandhi is reviled not for attacking the Golden Temple, but for reviling Sikh beliefs.
And India is all about belief: If a person possesses this ‘belief then,
‘A hero is always a hero even if he kills someone in the end,’ and Bhindranwale gained that belief on the day of the attack.
In his last interview on 2nd June 1984, Bhindranwale said that the government’s attack on Shri Harminder Saheb has exceeded all of the crimes of Mughal and British Empire.
There is no greater mark of slavery on Sikhs than the crime that has just been committed.
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