OCTOBER 31, 2026, MARKS THE 42nd year of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. On the morning of October 31, two of her bodyguards opened fire and shot 30 bullets at her. However, the root of this ghastly event lies five months prior to her assassination. And that is the "Operation Blue Star."

In June 1984, the Indian Army carried out “Operation Bluestar” against the militants who had taken refuge in Amritsar’s Golden Temple. The militants were led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale — the leader of the Sikh organization Damdami Taksal, and the face of the separatist Khalistan movement in Punjab. While demands for autonomy prevailed in the state  since 1966, separatist demands — particularly that of Khalistan, began to take shape after the separation of East and Pakistan — present-day Bangladesh and Pakistan. 

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The military operation was carried out inside the temple premises against Bhindranwale and his supporters, leading to an immense tension within the members of the Sikh community, who viewed this operation as an attack on their religious faith, customs and practices. 42 years later, the event still lingers as a deep wound within the community and has greatly shaped the trajectory of Indian politics since then. 

What was Operation Blue Star? 

Jarnail Bhindranwale and his supporters had turned the Golden Temple into an armed fortress. They gathered and smuggled a huge repository of arms inside the temple, in order to ensure their defence and also run their operations. Bhindranwale’s men were also trained by former Major General Shahbeg Singh, who was sacked from the army over corruption charges.  

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In the initial days, Bhindranwale was a close ally of the Congress to counter Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) influence in Punjab. However, his aggressive campaigns and violent means soon became an issue with the Congress and he found himself closer to the Akali Dal. This background is important because, what took place in the summer of 1985, has its roots in the 1982 civil disobedience movement launched by SAD. Bhindranwale was a part of this movement and he had taken refuge at the Akal Takht inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Since then, Bhindranwale and his men began to run their operations from inside the temple and there was a spree of killings across the state. In 1983, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), AS Atwal was shot dead outside the Golden Temple premises, and his body was left to rot there.

Finally, in 1984, the government decided to take action against Bhindranwale and his supporters, and launched a siege to remove them from the Golden Temple.  

On June 1, 1984, shots were fired by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at the temple in order to understand the armed capabilities of the militants inside.  Two days later, on June 3, the government imposed a 36-hour curfew in the state, thereby, suspending all forms of communication, electricity, travel routes, as well as the media.

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The concluding part of the operation commenced on June 5, 1984. On the night of June 5, the army began its operation to nullify the defensive perimeter set-up by Bhindranwale and his men inside the temple. They had accumulated a large amount of arms, hence, making it pertinent for the army to neutralize those before launching any offensive inside the temple. 

The Militants had put up a solid resistance, forcing the Operation Commanders to call in tank support. Tanks were called in, and began to shell the Akal Takht, where Bhindranwale had taken refuge. 

The shelling proved to be helpful for the army, as they nullified the major armed defence points inside the temple. 

The next day, on June 6, 1984, at around 11 a.m. in the morning, the army officials saw 25 militants randomly firing their guns and rushing from inside the temple. They were pinned down, and the operation came to a halt.  

The officers found Bhindranwale dead amid a heap of 40 other dead bodies. With Bhindranwale dead, his remaining supporters also yielded and surrendered or were killed by June 10.

Aftermath of this violent episode

Operation Blue Star concluded with the government reporting a death toll of 554 militants and civilians, 83 army troops, and 236 wounded government forces. A number of research groups, and civil society bodies, however, estimated the actual casualties to be much higher. 

While the political executive and the administration took a sigh of relief by taking out Bhindranwale, the entire episode in the ten days of June 1984 had left a deep void in the hearts of the Sikh community, who saw their religious faith and community being attacked.

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Within five months, the country witnessed another major incident that sent shockwaves from across Kashmir to Kanyakumari. On October 31, 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her bodyguards.   

Like every other day, the then PM Indira Gandhi set her foot out of her residence at the 1 Safdarjung Road in Delhi to attend a meeting with an Irish television.  No sooner had Gandhi walked out of her bungalow and began walking towards the Prime Minister’s complex at 1 Akbar Road, two of her Sikh bodyguards — Satwant Singh and Beant Singh — opened fire and shot 30 bullets in her body. Mrs. Gandhi was rushed to the AIIMS, but could not be revived.

Indira Gandhi’s another security personnel shot Beant Singh on spot, while Satwant Singh survived the wounds. He was convicted in a trial in 1986, and was later executed in 1989. 

The death of Indira Gandhi marked the beginning of another violent episode in the National Capital, as targeted violence on the Sikhs was unleashed. People were killed mercilessly.  Congress Leader Sajjan Kumar was found to play an active role in the anti-Sikh riots of 1985, and was sentenced to life in prison by the Delhi High Court in 2018. He recently passed away in August 2026.

[OG/AR]

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