Today marks 41 years since the Indian state declared war on Sikhs and Sikhi in an attack that was given the codename Operation Bluestar. In the lead up to June 1984, up to 160k troops consisting of 7 divisions were deployed to Panjab equipped with tanks & helicopter gunships.


Under the false pretext of apprehending ‘militants’ and ‘terrorists’, the Indian state used its army to unleash 10 days of terror, bloodshed and horrendous human rights abuses, unprecedented in post-independence India.

As the sun rose on 7 June 1984, piles of dead bodies of Sikh women, children and men blanketed the Parikarma of Sri Darbar Sahib. Blood covered the walls and floors of Sikhs’ holiest of shrines. The water in the holy Sarovar had turned a deep shade of red.

Injured pilgrims' cries of pain echoed across the Darbar Sahib complex. In complete violation of the Geneva Convention and the UN Charter, Red Cross volunteers were not allowed to enter the complex to provide medical aid to the injured civilians.

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, were instead 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.

On 5 June 1984, the Indian Army continued their relentless firing at the Sri Darbar Sahib complex and over 10,000 Sikhs trapped inside. At 6.30am, their bullets hit and killed Amrik Singh, the 65 year old blind Head Ragi. Another Ragi, Avtar Singh, took a fatal bullet soon after.
Helicopters continued to circle above, spraying the Darbar Sahib complex with artillery fire, killing Sikh civilians indiscriminately. At 11.30am, the water tank inside the complex was fired at, and then bombed, completely destroying it.

On 4 June 1984, while most of Punjab was still asleep, Amritsar residents woke to the sounds of a war zone. At 4.40am, an Army rocket fired from a shoulder-held launcher, slammed into Sri Akal Takht Sahib; the very heart of Sikhi and our highest temporal throne and authority.

Two more rocket blasts shortly followed, shattering the serenity of the Sikh holy city. Witnesses described the impact of the blasts as being so strong that they thought the whole complex had collapsed. After this the ferocity of the firing escalated throughout the day, unabated.

3 June 1984 was observed as the Shaheedi Dihara (Martyrdom Day) of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh Guru. Tens of thousands of Sikh pilgrims from across Punjab, India, and the world had gathered at Sri Darbar Sahib to pay obeisance and bathe in the holy Sarovar. They had been allowed to enter freely by the Indian Army, who had surrounded the complex and had full knowledge of the destruction and devastation they were going to inflict upon these unarmed civilians in the coming days.

On the surface, 2 June 1984 appeared to be uneventful with no firing or curfew. This turned out to be a facade of calm used to prepare for the storm of destruction, desecration, unimaginable violence and horrific human rights violations inflicted on the Sikh population by the barbaric Indian state and its Army.

On 2 June a team of five reporters, including the BBC’s Mark Tully, came to Sri Darbar Sahib to report on the events of the day before. They were taken around the complex and shown the damage caused by the Army’s unprovoked firing;

Today marks 40 years since the Brahmanical Indian state declared war on Sikhs in an attack that was given the codename Operation Bluestar. In the lead up to June 1984, up to 160k troops consisting of 7 divisions, were deployed to Punjab equipped with tanks & helicopter gunships.


Under the false pretext of apprehending ‘militants’ and ‘terrorists’, the Indian state used its army to unleash 10 days of terror, bloodshed and horrendous human rights abuses, unprecedented in post-independence India.