Asia’s most prosperous agricultural state closed for business on Thursday as the people stayed at home to mark the 1984 storming of Sikhs holiest shrine, the Golden Temple at Amritsar.
The strike call given as part of the “ghallughara week” (genocide week) by the five member Panthic Committee a religious body, disrupted rail and road traffic and halted commercial activities in the state Thursday. The strike was supported by all the Sikh organizations All India Sikh Students Federation, four militant outfits of Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan Liberation Front, Babar KhaIsa, Bhinder wale Tigers Force of Khalistan and Badal and Mann factions of the Akali Dal.
Bombs exploded at eight places on the three main line sections of Ambala Jalandhar, Jalandhar Amritsar and Jalandhar Pathankot Jammu hitting rail traffic. State authorities cancelled all but main line train and bus services
On June 6 authorities foiled attempts by some militant organizations to hold a “Shaheedi Samagam” martyrs convention at the Akal Takht supreme religious body of Sikhs, to mark the sixth anniversary of operation blue star.
Operation Blue Star on the night of June 67, 1984, was launched by the Indian army and 20000 innocent women and children were killed. They had come to observe the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev.
High security around the Golden Temple complex and other preventive steps kept away the organizers of the convention.
“We have successfully achieved our aim to thwart gathering of people at Akal Takht,” Amritsar deputy commissioner, Sarabjeet Singh said.
He said the devotees were not prevented from going to the temple to pay obeisance. Over 500 Sikhs were arrested in Amritsar on their way to the GoIden Temple. Among those arrested were Justice Ajit Singh Bains, chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization, General Narendra Singh, Bhai Manjit Singh, leader of the Sikh Student Federation; Simranjit Singh Mann, member of Parliament and just recently released from one of the many Indian government torture centers, and Bimal Kaur Khalsa, also a member of Parliament and many other prominent Sikh leaders.
The leaders were released on June 9.
The Golden Temple itself is sealed by armed Indian security forces preventing those who wish to worship the temple in remembrance of the June 1984 attack from entering. Sikh youth already inside the temple before Indian forces sealed off all entrances made speeches demanding Khalistan.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 15, 1990
