Operation Blue Star: Assault on Faith and Freedom

In June 1984, the Indian government launched Operation Blue Star, a military assault on the Golden Temple—the holiest shrine in Sikhism—under the orders of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The declared aim was to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed supporters, who had fortified the temple complex. But to Sikhs worldwide, it was not a counter-terrorism action—it was a state-sanctioned desecration of their most sacred site and an assault on their identity.

The Causes Behind the Siege

Bhindranwale had become a powerful voice for Sikh rights, speaking against systemic discrimination and demanding greater autonomy for Punjab. His rhetoric, combined with escalating tensions between the central government and Sikh leaders, culminated in a standoff. Indian authorities accused him of sheltering militants and stockpiling weapons inside the Golden Temple.

Yet many historians argue that these tensions were rooted in decades of marginalization of the Sikh community. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution—a Sikh political demand for greater federalism—was dismissed by the central government, heightening mistrust. By framing Sikh political aspirations as separatism, the state set the stage for a military solution to a political problem.

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The Assault

In early June, Indian forces imposed a total curfew in Amritsar, cutting off electricity, water, and communication. Tanks and heavy artillery surrounded the temple. Over several days, intense fighting tore through the sacred complex.

The Akal Takht, the highest seat of Sikh temporal authority, was reduced to rubble. The Sikh Reference Library—holding centuries-old manuscripts—was burned. Eyewitnesses reported indiscriminate firing, killing not only armed combatants but also pilgrims and temple staff who had no role in the standoff.

India’s Official Response

The Indian government maintained that the operation was unavoidable to root out terrorism. Officials claimed it was a “surgical strike” aimed only at militants. However, independent observers, including human rights groups, documented large-scale civilian deaths and extensive property destruction.

Following the operation, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. In retaliation, anti-Sikh pogroms swept Delhi and other cities. Organized mobs, often with police complicity, killed thousands, raped women, and destroyed Sikh businesses. No substantial justice was served—many perpetrators walked free.

Desecration and Persecution

For Sikhs, the storming of the Golden Temple was not merely a military event—it was religious desecration. The killing of civilians inside the sanctum, the destruction of holy scriptures, and the occupation of the temple complex by soldiers turned it into a symbol of deep state hostility towards the faith.

The aftermath saw widespread surveillance and harassment of Sikh communities. Thousands were detained without trial under draconian laws like the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). Many disappeared in extrajudicial killings, a pattern documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Violations of International Law

Under international humanitarian law, specifically Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, religious sites are protected from military attack unless they are used for hostile purposes. Even then, the principle of proportionality prohibits excessive civilian harm. The Golden Temple assault, with its high civilian death toll and destruction of cultural heritage, is widely viewed as a breach of these obligations.

Moreover, the UN Genocide Convention defines as genocide any acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a religious group. The systematic targeting of Sikhs during and after the operation—through killings, mass arrests, and pogroms—arguably meets this threshold.

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From Blue Star to Hindutva Politics

Operation Blue Star was not an isolated incident—it foreshadowed a political climate increasingly shaped by Hindu majoritarianism. Today, the RSS and its ideological affiliates hold unprecedented influence over state policy. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hindutva ideology has moved from the political fringes into the heart of governance, often at the expense of minority rights.

Sikh grievances over 1984 remain unaddressed, while other minorities—Muslims, Christians, Dalits—now face similar patterns of marginalization. Laws like the Citizenship Amendment Act and policies targeting Muslim personal law mirror the same ethos: a nation where Hindu identity dominates and dissenting religious communities are suspect.

Source: AP

The Golden Temple as a Living Wound

Forty years later, the memory of tanks rolling into the Harmandir Sahib remains seared into Sikh consciousness. Every June, diaspora communities hold vigils and processions, not only to honor the dead but also to demand recognition of 1984 as an act of state repression.

In India, however, public discussion of Operation Blue Star is muted, often sanitized in school textbooks. Survivors still live with trauma, and justice remains elusive. This silence serves the interests of a state eager to preserve its narrative of necessity and legitimacy.

Conclusion

Operation Blue Star was more than a military operation—it was a calculated act of violence against a religious minority, cloaked in the rhetoric of national security. It desecrated the holiest site in Sikhism, unleashed pogroms, and deepened communal divides.

By examining it alongside today’s rise of Hindu nationalist ideology, the pattern is unmistakable: religious pluralism is under siege, and communities outside the Hindu fold face systemic suppression. The lessons of 1984 are clear, but as long as the perpetrators remain unpunished and the state narrative goes unchallenged, the risk of history repeating itself looms large.