New Delhi: Dal Khalsa has called for a ‘Bandh’ in Amritsar on June 6 and a Swatantrata Marc on June 5. The Amritsar-based organisation has put up hoardings and posters across the city in light of the anniversary of Operation Blue Star which took place between June 1 and 8 in 1984.
Dal Khalsa has also urged the people of Amritsar to cooperate in the bandh. It assured that medical services and traffic would remain open during the bandh.
A leader from Dal Khalsa Kanwar Pal Singh Bittoo and spokesperson Paramjit Singh mand said that the march of June 5 is being organised to remember those who lost their lives in 1984 and hold a peaceful protest against those atrocities.
Dal Khalsa also criticised the extra police force being deployed in Amritsar claiming that the police force has been deployed to intimidate the people who will be coming to Amritsar on June 6.
Operation Blue Star
Operation Blue Star was the biggest internal security operation conducted by the Indian Army that was carried out inside Harmandir Sahib Complex (Golden Temple) between June 1 and 8 on the orders of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The operation was a result of the Khalistan movement in India that gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s.
During these decades, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and the supporters of Khalistan had taken over the Akal Takht and the Harmandir Sahib complex. The main motto of Operation Blue Star was to eliminate Bhindranwale and regain control of Harmandir Sahib.
Official reports have put the civilian deaths at the number of 492 and 83 army personnel. However, independent reports run the numbers to be much higher.
After the end of Operation Blue Star, the anger in the Sikh community rolled out in November when Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguard leading to anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and other parts of the country resulting in the deaths of thousands more.