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Operation Blue Star

Operation Blue Star
Operation Bluestar Aftermath on Akal Takht.jpg
Akal Takht being repaired by the Indian Government after the attack. It was later pulled down and rebuilt by the Sikh community.
Date 1–10 June 1984
Location Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, India
Result
Belligerents

 India

Supported by:
United Kingdom Special Air Service (advisory role)
Flagge Khalistans.svg Khalistani separatists
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Indian Army.svg Major General Kuldip Singh Brar
Lt Gen Ranjit Singh Dyal
Lt Gen Krishnaswamy Sundarji
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale 
Bhai Amrik Singh 
Shabeg Singh 
Strength
10,000 armed troops. of 9th Division, Parachute Regiment and Artillery units
700 jawans of CRPF 4th Battalion and BSF 7th Battalion
150 Jawans of Punjab Armed Police and officers from Harmandir Police Station.
200 Sikh militants
Casualties and losses
Disputed. 83 to 87 to 136 dead and 220 to 248 wounded according to various sources. 700 dead according to some sources. Disputed. 150 combatants killed. 200 killed according to some sources. Possibly higher.
492 civilians killed(official).

 India

Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation which occurred between 1 June and 6 June 1984, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in order to establish control over the Harmandir Sahib Complex in Amritsar, Punjab, and remove militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant armed followers from the complex buildings. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had earlier occupied the Harmandir Sahib, fortified the complex and made it his headquarters in April 1983.

The operation had two components—Operation Metal, confined to the Harmandir Sahib complex, and Operation Shop, which raided the Punjabi countryside to capture possible suspects. Following it, Operation Woodrose was launched in the Punjab countryside where Sikhs, specifically those carrying a kirpan and protesting, were now targeted. The operation was carried out by Indian Army troops with tanks, artillery, helicopters, armored vehicles and tear gas. Casualty figures of Operation Blue Star given by Kuldip Singh Brar put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83 dead and 249 injured. According to the official estimate presented by the Indian government, 493 militants and civilians were killed, though numbers put forward by independent human rights organizations are significantly higher.

In addition, there were evidence, that the CBI for seizing historical artifacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library, before burning it down. The military action led to an uproar amongst Sikhs worldwide and the increased tension following the action led to assaults on members of the Sikh community within India. Many Sikh soldiers in the Indian army mutinied, many Sikhs resigned from armed and civil administrative office and several returned awards and honours they had received from the Indian government.


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