14 HIDDEN FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT OPERATION BLUESTAR

OPERATION BLUESTAR HIDDEN FACTS

WHAT I HAVE COVERED IN THIS BLOG POST

• What is operation Blue Star, when this operation was launched, why Indian Army launched this operation against the Indian Sikh - OPERATION BLUE STAR
• Operation Bluestar hidden and very lesser known facts every citizen should know - 14 HIDDEN FACTS OF OPERATION BLUESTAR
• The impact of the operation Bluestar on sikh people - CONCLUSION

OPERATION BLUE STAR

Not everyone knows about Operation Blue Star.

Operation Blue Star was launched by the Indian Army between 1 June and 6 June, 1984 on the orders of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to eliminate militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant armed followers from the Harmandir Sahib Complex in Amritsar, Punjab.

The roots of Operation Blue Star can be traced from the Khalistan Movement. The Khalistan Movement was a political Sikh nationalist movement that wanted to create an independent state for Sikh people.

14 HIDDEN FACTS OF OPERATION BLUESTAR

1. The idea to name this operation as ‘ Operation Blue Star’ has connections with the number of casualties in military operation. It meant an operation with minimum loss of lives.

2. The main political aim of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers was to pass the Anandpur Resolution and appeal for a separate country of Khalistan.

3. The rebels even put out their own currency, which scared the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of Punjab being ripped from India.

4. The militants were trained by former Major General Shabeg Singh, who was killed in this military operation along with the kingpin Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

5. Major General Shabeg Singh, who trained militants was noted for his service in training of Mukti Bahini volunteers during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

6. Then Army Chief Lt. Gen. S. K. Sinha opposed military operation and suggested the government to adopt an alternative solution, following which he was replaced by General Arun Shridhar Vaidya as the Chief of the Army.

7. The Akal Takht, Gurdwaras and various other religious buildings were heavily damaged.

8. The Indian government began to rebuild the Akal Takht. Sikhs named it ‘Sarkari Takht’ to indicate it had been built by the government and was not Akal (sacred).

9. Later in 1986, Sikhs decided to demolish the sarkari takht and build a new Akal Takht through the Sikh tradition of self-service and in 1995, a new, larger Takht was completed.

10. 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 were deployed for this complete operation.

11. The operation was carried out by Indian Army, using tanks, artillery, helicopters and armored vehicles.

12. The Indian Army used seven Vijayanta tanks during Operation Bluestar.

13. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31st October, 1984, four months after the Operation Blue Star by her two bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. 33 rounds of bullets were fired on her.

14. General Vaidya retired and took residence in Pune, India. In 10 August 1986 he was shot to death by militants as a retaliation for Operation Blue Star.

CONCLUSION

Operation Blue Star has taken on considerable historical significance and is often compared to what Sikhs call 'the great massacre’, following the invasion by the Emir of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Sikh holocaust of 1762.