The Ghallughara of June 1984 at Sri Akal Takht Sahib: what is remembered

In the first week of June 1984 the Indian Army entered the complex of Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar in a military operation, codenamed Blue Star, that also struck dozens of other gurdwaras across Punjab. Sikhs remember it as the Teeja Ghallughara, the Third Great Massacre, after the two of the eighteenth century.

The days of the operation

The operation began during the Shaheedi Gurpurab of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, when the complex was full of pilgrims, many of them families who had come for the day. Punjab was placed under curfew and cut off from the outside world. Armed militants, led by Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale and the former general Shabeg Singh, had fortified Sri Akal Takht Sahib, and the fighting lasted several days, with the army bringing in tanks. Sri Akal Takht Sahib was heavily damaged, the Sikh Reference Library, with its handwritten manuscripts and historical records, was burned, and Sri Harmandir Sahib itself was struck by gunfire.

The cost

The government's figures counted several hundred civilians and militants killed and many soldiers; other estimates are far higher. Among the dead were pilgrims, women and children, and sevadars. Many Sikhs who had no part in the fighting were held for long afterwards. The operation, and the killing of Sikhs in Delhi and other cities that November, left a lasting wound.

How the day is observed

Sri Akal Takht Sahib was later rebuilt by kar seva of the Panth. The anniversary is observed with Akhand Paath and Ardas at Sri Akal Takht Sahib, and with remembrance in gurdwaras around the world. Views of the political events differ widely; the day itself is kept as one of mourning and remembrance.