FILE PHOTO 

By Bushra Malik 

‘Operation Blue Star’ was an Indian military operation which occurred between 3-8 June 1984, ordered by then Indian PM Indira Gandhi, to win control over the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs in Amritsar, Punjab, and to arrest Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the temple. Bhindranwale had earlier taken residence in the Golden Temple and made it his headquarters in April 1980. Bhindranwale was the only leader who had boldly fought for the legitimate rights of the Sikhs.

The Indian Army led by General Kuldip Singh Brar, supported by troops and armoured vehicles, broke all records of state terrorism and extra-judicial killings through that barbaric operation. At that time, there were only 251 Sikhs inside the complex to protect the Harmandir Sahib, and to resist the well-trained Indian army, equipped with sophisticated weaponry.

In those days, majority of Sikhs were coming to the temple complex to celebrate the Martyr Day of Guru Arjun Dev. The Indian regime used tanks and destroyed the Akaal Takht Sahib which was right in front of the Harmandir Sahib. On June 6, when all Sikh fighters were martyred along with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Indian troops entered the temple complex with their shoes, deliberately ignoring the holiness of the place. When the Indian Army felt that only 251 men had prevented them from entering the Harmandir Sahib for so many days, they started killing innocent Sikhs who had come there to visit the temple. The only purpose was to hide their humiliation.

“The Indian Army killed every Sikh who could be found inside the temple-complex. They were hauled out of rooms, brought to corridors on the circumference of the temple and with their hands tied behind their back, were shot in cold blood. Among the victims were many old men, women and children.”
– The Sikh Struggle, Ramnarain Kumar and George Sieberer.

According to Researcher N.A.K Gill from Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina writes in the research paper titled ‘The Punjab Problem: A Case Study on ‘The Rise of Sikh Nationalist Identity in India’, that “70,000 Indian army personnel backed with weaponry invaded the Golden Temple to handle about only few Sikhs”.

In the garb of democracy and secularism, the Indian state has become the worst nightmare for minorities, especially Muslims and Sikhs. By towing the RSS’s radicalized ideology, deliberate hate campaigns, discrimination, and genocide, the Indian establishment is on the brink of fulfilling its agenda of turning India into a totalitarian state with no scope for already marginalized non-Hindus. Members of Muslim and Sikh communities have started intuiting a state of alienation under the intolerance in Indian society and the doctrinaire behaviors of incumbent rulers.

Following decades of desolation, state oppression, and narrowing space for their community in India, Sikhs across the globe are now congregating under the umbrella of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ); an organization that has long been raising voice against systematic genocide of their peaceful community by Indian authorities. Sikhs and other Indian Punjabis overseas are estimated at 12 million. They form a tightly knit group and are vociferous in articulating the concerns of the Sikh community advocating their purely democratic demand of a separate homeland ‘Khalistan’ comprising the areas of Punjab presently under Indian rule.

For a united front, the International Sikh community decided to hold referendums in all the important international capitals. After the very first referendum in London, where the Sikhs overwhelmingly voted to leave the Indian Union, ‘Hindutva’ caved in. The Prime Minister (PM) decided to withdraw his Agriculture Reforms package.

The most anticipated event of the referendum started on 31st Oct 2021 by voting at Queen Elizabeth Hall outside Westminster Palace UK, and SFJ’s Khalistan referendum pursued voters on the question of the separation of Punjab and other Sikh dominating areas from India. According to SFJ, after casting 20,000 votes on the 31st Dec 2021, now the number of Sikhs across the UK who voted in favour of the liberation of Indian Punjab from illegal occupation has reached 2,00,000.

The killing of famous Indian Singer hailing from Punjab Sidhu Moose Wala was another anti-Sikh incident in India. The security of the Punjabi Singer was intentionally removed and the other day he was shot dead. He was a staunch supporter of Khalistan movement and was vocal against the plight of Sikhs in India. The Indian establishment is trying its best to damage the will and economic progress of Sikh community. The farmer’s movement was also subverted and they were not given their fair right. Sikh community in India is under a continuous threat and struggling for its survival. International community must speak against the so-called secularism in India and support the Sikh community in their freedom fight.

• Opinions expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of The South Asia Times