Pro-Khalistan Slogans Raised at Golden Temple on 40th Anniversary of Operation Blue Star

On the 40th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by members of the Sikh community at the Golden Temple. Protestors displayed posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the leader of the 1980s pro-Khalistan movement, who was killed in the military operation in June 1984. Visuals shared by ANI showed Simranjit Singh Mann, former MP from Sangrur, participating in the demonstrations.

Operation Blue Star, ordered by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, targeted Bhindranwale and his followers. The operation led to significant casualties and was followed by Indira Gandhi’s assassination on October 31, 1984, by her Sikh bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh.

Beant Singh’s son, Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, and radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, will both be members of the 18th Lok Sabha. They are among the seven independent candidates who won in the recent elections. Sarabjeet won the Faridkot seat, defeating AAP’s Karamjit Singh Anmol by 70,053 votes, while Amritpal, currently jailed in Assam’s Dibrugarh, won the Khadoor Sahib constituency by a margin of 197,120 votes against Congress’s Kuldeep Singh Zira.

In response to the anniversary events, security has been heightened in Amritsar, especially around the Golden Temple. Senior Superintendent of Police SS Randhawa Singh confirmed that forces have been deployed and barricading implemented to prevent any untoward incidents.

Operation Blue Star remains a significant and sensitive chapter in Indian history, with ongoing impacts on the region’s political and social landscape.