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On the 40th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by members of the Sikh community inside the Golden Temple premises. Protestors also displayed posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who led the pro-Khalistan movement in Punjab in the 1980s and was killed in the military operation in June 1984.
Among those raising pro-Khalistan slogans was Simranjit Singh Mann, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Sangrur in the 17th Lok Sabha. Security has been beefed up in Amritsar, particularly around the Golden Temple, in response to the protests.
Operation Blue Star was a military operation ordered by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to flush out Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, including Bhindranwale.
The anniversary of Operation Blue Star is a sensitive issue for many Sikhs, who see it as an attack on their religion and culture. The raising of pro-Khalistan slogans at the Golden Temple on the anniversary of the operation is likely to further inflame tensions between Sikhs and the Indian government.
The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement that seeks to create an independent Sikh state in Punjab. The movement has been largely dormant in recent years, but it has been revived in recent months by a new generation of Sikh activists.
The raising of pro-Khalistan slogans at the Golden Temple is a reminder that the Khalistan movement is still alive and that it has the potential to cause further unrest in Punjab.
Source: Operation Blue Star anniversary: Pro-Khalistan slogans raised at Golden Temple | Video