The Prize Winning Story By Kirandeep K. Kang 7th Grade
Alta Loma Jr. High School South San Francisco, Calif.
On June 4, 1984, thousands of Sikhs lost their lives when the Indian Army launched a vicious and unprecedented attack on the Golden Temple, the holiest place: of the Sikhs in Amritsar, Punjab.
The Sikh religion is about S00 years old. The religion was started by Guru Nanak, the first Guru, The teachings were continued by the next nine Gurus until Guru Gobind Singh, who was the tenth and the last living Guru. All their teachings are written in Guru Granth, Guru Gobind Singh ordained Sikhs to regard the Sikh Holy Book as their Guru.
A true Sikh is required not to take any alcohol, tobacco, and look-at any man or woman with bad intentions. It is forbidden to tell lies and eat Halal meat (Halal meat is prepared the Muslim way by slowly slitting the animals neck), The Sikhs are also required 10 defend the vulnerable but never to attack first and never to do anything that deals with injustice.
In India the Sikhs have been known as warriors, businessmen, and farmers. When India was fighting for independence, the majority Of the freedom-fighters were Sikhs. After India’s independence most of Punjab’s economy came from agriculture.
Troubles started in 1981 when the Sikhs felt they were not being treated as equal citizens. Chandigarh, which used to be Punjab’s Capital city, was taken over by the Central Government of India, Punjab’s water, which came from the rivers originating in Punjab was being given to other states by India’s Central Government while Punjab needed it the most. The Sikhs kept asking the Government for more regional autonomy. But since they were under 2% of India’s population, nothing happened.
That is when people started to protest the peaceful way by marching and courting arrest. A lot of people joined one march called Dharam Yudh Morcha, being directed from the Golden Temple Complex. The head person for the protest was Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, When Bhindranwale was not involved in the marches he would preach at the Golden Temple. Because he preached about Sikh Fundamentalists and rights he made his home in the Golden Temple,
The Government had other ideas about making a home in the complex. The Government thought of Bhindranwale as a terrorist. Without any real evidence, the Government accused him of acts he did not cause. The authorities thought he lived in the Golden Temple because he was using it for protection. The Army launched the attack to get rid of Bhindranwale and his followers. The followers were between 20 to 50 men but thousands of thousands of Sikhs were killed by the attack. The Government was wrong about Bhindranwale; He was not a terrorist but a man of peace. He only wanted “to put an end to the slavery put around the Sikhs neck.” Bhindranwale always seemed to know he was in danger when he lived in the Golden Temple, even though he was always surrounded by armed men,
Harminder Singh Sandhu was the principal lieutenant for Bhindranwales group. Three months before the attack, he said, “We do not want bloodshed and violence. But the Government does not want it that way”?
Harminder Singh Sandhu was right about what he said of the Government. Because on June 4, 1984 the Indian Army launched one of the biggest attacks on the Golden Temple. There was great damage done inside the Golden Temple, not just to the buildings, but to human life, as well.
Some of the events that occurred from June 1, 1984 to June 6, 1984 are listed below:
June 1, 1984: The security forces which had surrounded the Golden Temple for months, suddenly started shooting at the Golden Temple, The firing started at 12:30 pm and continued until 8:00 pm. The Golden Temple had 35 bullet holes on the walls. Some of them were around 3 inches in diameter.
In the evening, when the bulletin was announced, it caused great stir. “There was unprovoked firing from inside the Temple, but the security forces showed extreme restrain and did not fire a single shot,” said the Government-controlled All India Radio.
A person who was in the Golden Temple at the time said, “In the evening when I heard the news bulletin, I was surprised at the naked
June 2, 1984; during the day, five reporters came and were shown the bullet holes. As for the rest of the day, there was no shooting or curfew.
June 3, 1984: About 10,000 people came to join a function celebrating the martyrdom of the Sikhs fifth Guru, Guru Arjun, The day went fine until 10:00 pm. Anyone who left the complex after 10:00 pm was taken into custody.
June 4, 1984: At 4:00 in the morning, the army launched the attack on the Golden Temple. The Army fired from all sides and did not leave any target in the complex that seemed to shelter the people who either lived there or had come to join the function on June 3, One of the witnesses who survived the attack said, “Through a slit in the shutter window, we saw a large number of dead bodies. They included women and children. We could not leave the room. Coming out would have exposed sure death.”
Another one said, “The helicopter hovered above us and continued to fire. Some of these helicopters also guided the firing squads of the army by making a circle of light around the targets. Immediately after these circles, a cannon ball would land on a target causing havoc. We saw a large number of bodies blown to pieces.”
After going for days without food or water, many Sikhs surrendered when told by the Army that they would be taken to their homes without being hurt. When they came out with their hands in the air and were in sight, they would be shot by the Army Commandos. Those who did not surrender that were found would be brought outside. Their hands would be tied behind their backs. They would then be called terrorists, and if they moved they would be shot. Taking advantage of the situation, the Army would then beat the men, women and even children without any mercy until the Sikhs fell to the ground. Then the Sikhs would be shot.
The Army treated the Sikhs in a very cruel way. Whenever there was any person wounded because of the shooting, no Red Cross people were allowed to enter.
June 5, 1984: The firing continued. The only ammunition the Sikhs had were rifles used in World War II, and stun-guns. The only people to use the guns were 100 to 150 men. They fought the Army bravely until they were either killed or their ammunition ran out.
Around 10:00 pm, eight army tanks entered the complex. The shooting by the Army became more intense, Buildings were set on fire by the tanks. Nothing could help stop the fires but the pool of nectar surrounding the Golden Temple. The main water tank had been blown up with the Sikhs, who were hiding under it for protection.
The attack went on until 4:30in the afternoon on June 6. The people who survived the attack were either shot, brought into custody, saved by a few Sikh army soldiers, or brought into some Army camps in the Army camps people were locked up into rooms which had no ventilation. They were meant to stay there until they probably rotted. If they were not locked into the rooms, they were brought into the gas chambers. The majority of the people who were killed were young Sikhs.
During the attack, Punjab had been cut off from the rest of the world. People outside had no idea of what was really going on. They knew what they heard/from the White Paper, All India Radio and Door-Darshan television, all of them Government-owned.
The White Paper did not print all true details, but the Government banned all other sources of information from reaching the people. The White Paper made the Sikhs sound like terrorists and criminals.
The White Paper printed, “A large quantity of weapons, ammunition, and explosives were recovered including automatic and anti-tank weapons. A small factory for the manufacture of hand grenades and stun-guns was also found within the precincts of the Golden Temple.”
If this were true, why did the people fighting the army run out of ammunition so fast? The Army had no solid evidence to prove this.
The White Paper even states an underestimation of the Sikhs injured and killed during the attacks,
- Own troops killed 83
- Own troops wounded 249
- Civilians / terrorists killed 493
- Terrorists and other injured 86
- Civilians / terrorists apprehended 592
There were more than 1,200 people in the Golden Temple during the attack, and there were hardly any people that were apprehended because most of them were killed by the Army.
Why did the Government want these false articles to be printed?
The Government wanted to cover up the excesses committed by the Army and Police against the Sikhs: They didn’t want people to know of the real number of innocent men, women, and children killed.
After the attack, Sikhs began to feel left out. They felt they were not being treated as equals because their rights were being taken away from them. Their pleas for more rights and better life fell on deaf ears. They realized the Government was not going to do much.
Five months after the attack many Sikhs still had not forgiven Indira Gandhi because she was the one who called on the attack. That is why on October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards.
After her death, Hindus started to attack the Sikhs. Many Sikhs and Hindus were killed in these riots. Some riots are still going on today.
If the Army did not attack the Golden Temple, thousands of people would not have been killed by, the attack. Most Sikhs would not have felt left out. Indira Gandhi might not have been dead right now is she didn’t make the mistake for calling on the attack. But most of all, India would not have been going through such a critical time.
The attack on June 4, 1984 will always be remembered by the Sikhs. They will never forget what the Government did to them. *Foot Notes —
- Harry Reasner, “60 Minutes, CBS. News, June 1984,
- Harry Reasner, “60 Minutes, CBS. News, June 1984.
- 4. 5. 6. Rao, Ghose, Bhattacharay Ahuja and Pancholi, “Operation Blue Star, The Untold Story, Oppression in Punjab, 1985, pp. 46-74.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 27, 1986
