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The Indian Army fired cannons at Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Sikhs’ highest temporal throne & authority, until the morning of 6 June, 1984.
13 tanks, intended for fighting India’s enemies, had instead been used to slaughter India’s own citizens; thousands of innocent Sikh civilians.
13 tanks, intended for fighting India’s enemies, had instead been used to slaughter India’s own citizens; thousands of innocent Sikh civilians.
At 7.30am, Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale, surrounded by Bhai Amrik Singh Ji and 40 brave Sikh warriors, offered what was to be his final Ardas. He promised that he would attain Shaheedi defending Sri Akal Takht Sahib.
Sant Ji prayed to be reborn to keep dying fighting against oppression, until the Sikh Panth is free from slavery.
Hours later, shouting Jaikaras and firing at Indian Army tanks, Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale, stayed true to his promise.
Hours later, shouting Jaikaras and firing at Indian Army tanks, Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale, stayed true to his promise.
On 6 June 1984, Sant Ji took his last mortal breaths while gallantly defending Sikhi and Sri Akal Takht Sahib against tens of thousands of invading Indian Army troops, with all their tanks, armoured carriers, artillery and helicopters, and attained Shaheedi.
Major General Shabeg Singh ji; one of the greatest military strategists & war heroes, & Bhai Amrik Singh Ji; a Sikh yodha, scholar & intellect also attained Shaheedi, as did the brave Sikh warriors who had valiantly defended Darbar Sahib against the Indian Army for 6 days.
Once the Army had invaded the Darbar Sahib complex, the horrific violence, obscene human rights violations & crimes against humanity that occurred over the next days, & continued for over a decade after, made the atrocities of the first 5 days of the attack pale in comparison.
The Army raised the Indian flag at the complex; a practice used by military to indicate they have conquered enemy territory. Soldiers wearing boots and smoking cigarettes searched every room of the complex, throwing grenades into many of them, killing the civilian occupants.
Rooms that were bolted from the inside were broken open using machine guns, and the pilgrims who had hidden inside for safety were shot dead.
Hundreds of Sikh civilians who exited the buildings, their hands held up high in the air to show they posed no danger were captured.
Hundreds of Sikh civilians who exited the buildings, their hands held up high in the air to show they posed no danger were captured.
Their hands were tied behind their backs with their own turbans, they were lined up against walls and shot dead at point-blank range.
These murders and war crimes committed by the Indian Army were corroborated by the eye witness accounts of Brahma Chellaney, a journalist
These murders and war crimes committed by the Indian Army were corroborated by the eye witness accounts of Brahma Chellaney, a journalist
who had evaded the Indian government’s eviction of the media and remained in Amritsar. He recorded the statements of doctors and police officials indicating that many of the Sikhs killed in the attack had been shot at point-blank range with their hands tied behind their backs. 
Air force officers who entered the Darbar Sahib complex immediately after the invasion confirmed observing bodies of young Sikhs with hands tied behind their backs.
The scenes described by witnesses were of brutality and unimaginable horrors.
The scenes described by witnesses were of brutality and unimaginable horrors.
“Grenades and poisonous gas shells were thrown at the men, women and children, who had locked themselves in the rooms, bathrooms and toilets of Guru Nanak Niwas, Guru Ram Das Sarai and Taja Singh Samundri Hall. Those who tried to
come out were pierced with bayonets and shot dead. 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.” Harminder Kaur; Blue Star Over Amritsar, 1990.
“The Army stormed the complex. They raped women, looted, killed children, burnt people alive, set the rooms on fire & tied the hands of devotees behind their backs and shot them.” Eyewitness account of Bibi Pritam Kaur, whose husband & 18 month baby were shot dead.
On June 10, 1984 the Sunday Times reported: "The Army may be operating under 'take no prisoners’ orders, and want few to survive."
On June 13, 1984 the Guardian reported “It was a virtual massacre. A large number of women & children pilgrims were gunned down.”
On June 13, 1984 the Guardian reported “It was a virtual massacre. A large number of women & children pilgrims were gunned down.”
A Corporal of the Kumaon Regiment who participated in Bluestar is quoted in the August 1984 edition of Probe India, as saying : “Civilians who died were piled in trolleys and carried away. A lot of them were thrown into the rivers.”
Chellaney reported: "I twice visited the main city crematory on 9 and 11 June to check the fatality toll in the Golden Temple assault. Bodies were being brought in municipal garbage trucks round the clock since early 6 June. 'We have been really busy.
To add to our woes, we don't have enough wood to burn the dead, and so we are cremating them in heaps of 20 or more', said the crematory official”.
The worst was far from over, the Indian state’s spree of murder, rape and torture of Sikhs had only just begun.
The worst was far from over, the Indian state’s spree of murder, rape and torture of Sikhs had only just begun.
The events of June 1984 were the Indian state’s prelude to the Sikh genocide and over a decade of extrajudicial murders of Sikh youth, sexual abuse of Sikh women and horrific human rights violations and crimes against humanity that would follow.
This thread is dedicated to the Shaheeds of June 1984; the Sikh yodhe who sacrificed everything to protect Sikhs, Sikhi and our holiest of shrines, Sri Darbar Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib, from the tyranny and oppression of the Brahmanical Indian state. Parnam Shaheeda Nu.
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