Assassination Of Indira Gandhi
On the morning of October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi,' the Iron Lady' of India, was assassinated. She was India's then Prime Minister. The assassination was carried out by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, her 'Sikh bodyguards.' The assassination was the result of the 'Blue Star' operation carried out at the behest of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by the Indian Army.
The attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Indian Army in June 1984 left the Sikh temple heavily damaged. Hundreds of people lost their lives, including the terrorists as well as the Army. What followed the assassination, however, was brutal, and the recovery was huge. The nation was engulfed in the flames of riots for the next four days. The capital of the nation bore the majority of its brunt. More than 3000 Sikhs have been killed nationwide. The anger against the Sikh community was evident after the assassination.
Indira Gandhi was the country's first lady prime minister. She was popular among the masses, despite the emergency and Operation Blue Star. "There were scores of people grieving her loss, the loss of a great leader who should have avoided the mistakes just the way that Rajiv Gandhi could have avoided making the famous line,"The earth shakes when a large tree falls".
WHY WAS INDIRA GANDHI ASSASSINATED?
Between 1 and 8 June 1984, Operation Bluestar was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi to evict leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the buildings of the Amritsar Harmandir Sahib Complex.
Due to her role in the operation that destroyed portions of the Akal Takht and caused casualties, Indira Gandhi was unpopular among Sikhs.
In the temple, library that caught fire caused the alleged destruction of Sikh scriptures and manuscripts.
Consequently, out of fear of assassination, Sikhs were removed from her private bodyguard by the Intelligence Bureau. She also ordered her Sikh bodyguards to be reinstated by the Special Protection Group, including Beant Singh. He was considered her personal favorite.
WHAT WAS OPERATION BLUE STAR?
- It is a code name given to an Indian military operation to remove the separatists hiding within the Amritsar Golden Temple on June 5, 1984.
- Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, ordered the operation, primarily to take possession of the Amritsar Harmandir Sahib Complex (popularly referred to as the Golden Temple).
- To drive out the Sikh extremist religious leader, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and his armed followers, the Indian military entered the premises of the temple.
- There were two components to the operation, Operation Metal, which was the invasion of the temple complex, and Operation Store, which was restricted to the state's countryside.
- Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale wanted the Indian government to pass the Anandpur Resolution, and thereby agree to the formation of a separate state of Khalistan for Sikhs.
- This radical leader of Sikhism had managed to gain ample support for his cause since 1982 and had set up a base with ammunition and his followers within the Golden Temple complex by mid-1983.
- Operation Blue Star was then launched to get rid of Bhindranwale and his demands between 1 June and 6 June 1984.
- This operation helped to eradicate Khalistani extremism, resulting in the death of Bhindranwale.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF INDIRA GANDHI?
The 1984 Sikh Riots broke out which left the country shaken to its foundations right after Indira Gandhi was assassinated.
- The riot lasted for three days, raping and murdering Sikhs, torching their homes and businesses, especially in Delhi.
- In the case of Mahilapur, Delhi, a mob of about 500 people, led by two convicts, surrounded the victims' homes and killed them.
- It was only one of several other accidents in Delhi.
- Of the 650 cases reported in Delhi in connection with the anti-Sikh riots, 267 were closed by the Delhi Police as untraced.
- The number of deaths is estimated by independent sources at around 8,000-17,000. Around 2,800 Sikhs were confirmed killed in Delhi by the official Indian government data.
- Political officials' complicity in the violence and judicial failure to penalize the perpetrators alienated Sikhs and raised support for the movement in Khalistan.
- This has culminated in more abuse and the rise of various extremist Sikh outfits.