Sikh Reference Library

The Sikh Reference Library was a repository of over 1,500 rare manuscripts located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) at Amritsar, Punjab which was destroyed during Operation Blue Star. In 1984, the library's contents were confiscated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the empty building allegedly burned to the ground by the Indian Army. In recent years the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has attempted to recover the looted material but has not yet recovered substantial materials. To date, the status of library manuscripts and artifacts is unclear; the vast majority remain in the hands of the government, a few office files and passports were returned, and as many as 117 items were destroyed for being "seditious" materials.

The Sikh Reference Library was established by the SGPC with a resolution dated October 27, 1946. The library had its roots in a meeting of the Sikh Historical Society under the presidency of Princess Bamba on February 10, 1945 at Khalsa College, Amritsar which established the Central Sikh library. The Central Sikh library was then folded into the Sikh Reference Library.

Before its destruction, the library contained rare books and manuscripts on Sikh religion, history, and culture. It also contained handwritten manuscripts of the Guru Granth Sahib and Hukmnamas containing signatures of Sikh Gurus. The library also held documents related to the Indian Independence Movement.

According to the Indian Army white paper on Operation Blue Star, the library was destroyed on the night of June 5, 1984 in the midst of a firefight. However, according to V. M. Tarkunde, the library was still intact on June 6 when the Army had gained control of the Golden Temple, and was in fact burned down by the army at some point between June 6 and June 14. Although the Indian Army has maintained that the library's contents were completely destroyed on June 5, the SGPC has contradicted their version of events. By using witness accounts, the SGPC has alleged that material from the library was taken in gunny sacks on military truck to Amritsar's Youth Club, a temporary office of the CBI , and the empty library was burned by the army afterwards. At that location, the CBI catalogued the materials until September 1984, when in light of a Sikh convention being held in the city, the library's contents were moved to an undisclosed location.

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