What Happened During Operation Blue Star in 1984?
After the division of India into West Pakistan (now Pakistan), and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), the idea for a Khalistan started to come up. Because there was a new border made, Punjab got divided too; this place has most people who follow Sikhism. Significant places for Sikh traditions and faith, such as Lahore and Nankana Sahib, were included in the territory of Pakistan.
Army Operations
Operation Bluestar was divided into two parts: Operation Metal and Operation Shop.
Operation Metal
The initial operation started on the first of June, and it was confined to only the Golden Temple area. During this mission, officers from the CRPF and BSF went into the temple space, and eight or ten individuals were killed by them. The military force took charge of Harmandir Sahib on June 7th, which led to the conclusion of Operation Metal by June 10th.
Operation Shop
Military power was applied again during Operation Shop, where the army searched parts of Punjab to find suspects. Then came Operation Woodrose, during which tanks, helicopters, and tear gas were deployed by Indian soldiers. As they were aiming to catch any leftover suspects.
Operation Blue Star
Operation Blue Star was started by the Indian Army in June 1984 to conduct an operation on Harmandir Sahib, which is usually called as “Golden Temple” by many people. They also attacked 41 other Gurudwaras across Punjab state.
The Army managed to succeed, yet certain Sikhs became very angry because they saw this mission as an assault on their religion. It started at a time when human rights were not respected much in Punjab, and this situation is still affecting how laws work in India today.
In this article, we will look into the background history, meaning, key points, and the aftermath of Operation Blue Star in detail.
Table of Content
- What was Operation Blue Star?
- Background of the Khalistan Movement
- What Happened During Operation Blue Star in 1984?
- Key Points of Operation Blue Star
- The Aftermath of Operation Blue Star