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Operation Bluestar’s anniversary was observed peacefully at Akal Takht on Tuesday amidst the pro-Khalistan slogans and flashing of posters of slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and others under the heavy security cover at the Golden Temple.
 
Sikh activists and the people from the community gathered at the Golden Temple — Sikhs’ holiest shrine — to participate in the ceremony organized by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), following which the bhog (last prayers) of Sri Akhand Path Sahib was performed. SGPC bestowed siropa (robe of honour) upon Ishar Singh, son of Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwala and others.
 
The Operation Bluestar took place on this day, 39 years back, under which the Indian Army attacked the Golden Temple to flush out the militants taking shelter in the Sikhs’s holiest shrine.
 
On the bandh call given by the Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh organization, Amritsar city largely remained shut on Tuesday morning.
 
Apart from the heavy police deployment to avert any untoward incident, the members of SGPC task force and cops in plain clothes were also present in large number in and around the Golden Temple.
 
In his customary address, the Akal Takht’s officiating Jathedar (head priest) Giani Harpreet Singh gave a call of unity to all the Sikh sects to join hands to work in the direction of strengthening the ‘Sikh shakti’, especially from the rural belt.
 
Giani Harpreet Singh appealed to the Sikh organizations to come together under the Akal Takht Sahib — Sikhs’ highest temporal seat — and start a movement in villages. “1984 has left deep wounds on our hearts and these wounds cannot be healed. Sikhs cannot forget 1984. No ruler tried to heal wounds. Also, it is not wise to expect the government to heal these wounds,” he said.
 
“It is not that we (Sikhs) do not have strength but it is scattered. We have to get our strength together. We have not sat together since 1984. We should rise above these small differences. We should come together under the Akal Takht Sahib. It is not about me individually, it is about the institution of Akal Takht,” he added.
 
He further said: “I beg all the institutions to get our strength together under the Akal Takht Sahib. We do not have to seek justice. They are not going to give it. They have been building a narrative against Sikhs. I appeal to all organisations to start a movement in villages, which are our core strength and which are polluted with drugs and social evils. We should bring them all back to Akal Takht. We should make the youth reconnect with Akal Takht.”
 
He pointed, “We gather on certain occasions to express our sentiments and then we often disperse and return home, the urgent need for scattered Sikh power is to come together and rise above the minor differences.”
 
The parallel officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Dhian Singh Mand, also delivered a message from near Akal Takht, stressing the urgent need for unity within the Sikh community to confront the challenges they currently face. Mand emphasized the critical importance of solidarity and collective strength in the face of present-day adversities.
 
SAD (Amritsar) president and Sangrur MP Simranjit Singh Mann, known to be a Khalistan ideologue, also addressed the gathering.
 
The saroop (copy) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, bearing the ‘wounds’ of Operation Bluestar, was also exhibited at Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj Baba Gurbax Singh ji, near the Akal Takht. The bullet that inflicted ‘injury’ to the saroop was also put on display.