14 January 2014 Last updated at 12:38 GMT
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Yesterday, David Cameron ordered a probe after recently declassified documents suggest that the UK played an active role in planning the actual operation. Made public by Labour MP Tom Watson, the documents do not just seem to reveal the extent of British involvement, they also raise serious questions about how Indira Gandhi went about conceiving this operation. While it was for Sikhs in Britain to worry about the unravelling of the na�-ve faith they have in their own government as they go about berating India, is it not time that we in this country should consider a public probe into what transpired?
Consider what the documents reveal. In a letter, written by Margaret Thatcher's private secretary from 10 Downing Street to Brian Fall, private secretary to then foreign secretary Geoffrey Howe, "Thank you for your letter of 3 February about the Indian request for advice on plans for the removal of dissident Sikhs from the Golden Temple. The Prime Minister is content that the Foreign Secretary should proceed as he proposes."
The other letter made public, dated 23 February, is written by Fall to his counterpart under the home secretary,"The Indian authorities recently sought British advice over a plan to remove Sikh extremists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar…an SAD (sic) officer has visited India and drawn up a plan which has been approved by Mrs Gandhi…the knowledge of the SAS officer's visit and of his plan has been tightly held in India and in London."
Clearly then, if the documents are authentic, and they certainly seem to be so, Indira Gandhi had already approved of a plan to remove Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple as early as February 1984. Yet, the person who commanded the operation, Lt General KS Brar, was first told about the operation less than a week before it was carried out.
In an interview, Brar has said,"I caught the morning flight from Delhi to Chandigarh. I arrived in Chandimandir and told my wife that I'll be back in the evening and we'll catch the flight (to Manila). I'm rushed to the operations room. Maps on the wall and I'm still wondering what's going on. I am told,"You know the situation in Amritsar is very bad" and I said yes."
"The Brigadier General Staff gave me a briefing and it appeared to me that I am being sent off to carry out an operation. So in the middle of all those briefings I said, "I am proceeding abroad tonight. I have been sanctioned annual leave for my honeymoon." And so he looked at General Dayal and they whispered to each other and then he said, Bulbul, your leave is off. You go another time. There's an aircraft waiting outside to take you to Amritsar. Give orders to your division to move from Meerut to Amritsar immediately. I give you 36 hours to settle down there and make your plans and I shall come there for my first briefing…"
"So I got to Amritsar and got my staff and we got down to making plans. I didn't even know the layout of the Golden Temple. I had never been there, so I did a quick reconnaissance, met the local civil administration, the police. They weren't of any help, as they were defunct for many months. Bhindranwale was in full control. They weren't able to give me any information about what was happening inside the GoldenTemple."
Once the operation was launched Brar said, "I won't say we underestimated them but the information given to us indicated that there were not so many people and that they didn't have the type of weapons that they should. Intelligence was lacking."
What was the government and the Army doing between the end of February and the end of May? How come not even the plans of the temple complex were available? No intelligence seems to have been gathered, and if the SAS officer had suggested a plan what happened to it? What were the political machinations Indira Gandhi was involved in while the actual details of the operation were seemingly ignored for three months? Why could the Indian government not even ensure that the operation was not carried out at a time when the complex was full of pilgrims because of an important festival?
So far we have been given to believe that matters unravelled so quickly in Amritsar that Indira Gandhi had no choice but to respond in haste. This effectively gave the Army little time to come up with a coherent plan. But if it is true that the operation had been cleared and planned as far back as February 1984 none of this stands, and Indira Gandhi stands accused of near criminal culpability for pushing the country into one of its worst crises since Independence.
There are those who will claim we should let such matters rest. But the ham-handed operation led to a mutiny in the Army, the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the mass killing of Sikhs in Delhi and several other parts of India as well as the rise of an insurgency in Punjab that was, perhaps, the most violent challenge to the Indian state since 1947. How do we ignore and pretend to forget the culpability of our own government in such events
India Golden Temple: UK investigates 'SAS link' to attack
British PM David Cameron has ordered an investigation into an MP's claim that the Thatcher government "colluded" with India on the deadly raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984.
MP Tom Watson told BBC Asian Network that documents recently declassified after 30 years backed up his claim.
The storming of the Golden Temple was aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists.
The controversial raid outraged Sikhs around the world, who accused troops of desecrating the faith's holiest shrine.
The Indian government said about 400 people were killed in the raid - codenamed Operation Blue Star - including 87 soldiers. Sikh groups dispute this figure and say thousands died, including a large number of pilgrims who were visiting the temple.
The Sikh separatists demanded an independent homeland - called Khalistan - in Punjab.
Mr Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, said he had seen "top secret papers from Mrs Thatcher authorising Special Air Services (SAS) to work with the Indian government".
A UK government spokesperson said these events "led to a tragic loss of life and we understand the very legitimate concerns that these papers will raise".
"The prime minister has asked the cabinet secretary to look into this case urgently and establish the facts," the statement said, adding that the prime minister and Foreign Secretary "were unaware of these papers prior to publication".
Mr Watson has cited two letters which have only just been released under the 30-year rule and published on the blog Stop Deportations.
One, dated 6 February 1984 from the prime minister's office, talks about the "Indian request for advice on plans for the removal of dissident Sikhs from the Golden Temple". It states that the prime minister is "content that the foreign secretary should proceed as he proposes".
The other letter, dated 23 February 1984, said "the foreign secretary decided to respond favourably to the Indian request and, with the prime minister's agreement, an SAD officer has visited India and drawn up a plan which has been approved by Mrs Gandhi. The foreign secretary believes that the Indian government may put the plan into operation shortly".
It appears that the writer committed a typographical error in mentioning SAS as SAD in the letter.
The attack on the temple took place in June 1984.
Mr Watson said the government appears to have "held back" some documents and must disclose more information.
"I think British Sikhs and all those concerned about human rights will want to know exactly the extent of Britain's collusion with this period and this episode and will expect some answers from the Foreign Secretary," Mr Watson told BBC Asian Network.
"But trying to hide what we did, not coming clean, I think would be a very grave error and I very much hope that the Foreign Secretary will... reveal the documents that exist and give an explanation to the House of Commons and to the country about the role of Britain at that very difficult time for Sikhism and Sikhs," Mr Watson added.
Sikhs demand inquiry into claims of British role in 1984 Amritsar attack
Documents appear to show SAS was involved in planning Indian military operation at Golden Temple in which hundreds died
Sikhs pray at the memorial at the Golden Temple in Amritsar for those killed there in 1984. Photograph: Demotix/Corbis
Sikh groups have called for a government inquiry into alleged British collusion in the bloody 1984 Indian military attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the faith's holiest shrine, after newly released documents appeared to show the SAS was involved in planning the attack.
The head of the Sikh Council UK, Gurmel Singh said he was "shocked and disappointed" at the idea the government of Margaret Thatcher may have been involved. The Labour MP Tom Watson, whose West Bromwich constituency, contains many Sikhs, has demanded the Foreign Office release further papers about any British role.
Details come in two letters reportedly among a large cache of government documents released in the new year under the 30-year rule and published on the blog Stop Deportations.
One, dated 23 February 1984, is from Brian Fall, private secretary to the then-foreign secretary, Geoffrey Howe, to Hugh Taylor, his counterpart under the home secretary of the time, Leon Brittan. It warns about "the possibility of repercussions among the Sikh community in this country" over a possible military operation to remove from the Golden Temple Sikh militants, who had seized it several years earlier.
India had sought British advice over a plan to remove the militants from the temple complex, Fall writes, adding: "The foreign secretary decided to respond favourably to the Indian request and, with the prime minister's agreement, an SAD officer has visited India and drawn up a plan which has been approved by Mrs Gandhi. The foreign secretary believes that the Indian government may put the plan into operation shortly."
The reference to SAD is understood to be a typographical error for SAS. The elite unit is referred to later in the letter, where Fall writes that the military raid could increase tensions among Britain's Indian community, "particularly if the knowledge of the SAS involvement were to become public".
He adds: "We have impressed upon the Indians the need for security; and knowledge of the SAS officer's visit and of his plan has been tightly held both in India and in London. The foreign secretary would be grateful if the contents of this letter could be strictly limited to those who need to consider the possible domestic implications."
The issue is an explosive one for Sikhs worldwide. In June 1984, the military operation took place over six days, with India's government saying around 400 people had been killed. However, Sikh groups put the death toll in the thousands, including many Sikh pilgrims. In October that year, two Sikh bodyguards to Indira Gandhi, the Indian prime minister, assassinated her, sparking anti-Sikh riots that killed more than 3,000 people.
In a statement released by the Sikh Council UK, Singh said: "Thousands of innocent men, women and children were killed in the attack, which took place on one of the holiest days in the Sikh calendar. As well as loss of life, buildings and property was destroyed and the historical Sikh reference library was ransacked. This is and remains one of the darkest episodes in Sikh history.
"I am calling for an urgent inquiry into UK government involvement in the events of 1984 including a full disclosure of all documentation. The letters date from February 1984 yet the attack took place in June 1984 and then there was the subsequent genocide of Sikhs following Indira Gandhi['s] assassination in October 1984. I want to know, what else were the UK government saying and doing over all that time?"
The other letter released is from Robin Butler, Thatcher's private secretary. On 6 February 1984 he wrote to Fall saying Thatcher was "content" for Howe to allow India to receive help, and that Brittan expected to be warned if India looked likely to go ahead with a raid.
According to the Stop Deportations blog, three other letters in the sequence between Butler and Fall were not released; nor was any other file from after March that year.
Watson told the BBC Asian Network the letters raised "huge questions about the role of the British government at the time". He said: "On behalf of my constituents I was also deeply upset and offended that we were involved in what turned out to be a raid that caused huge loss of life and political tensions ever since."
He said the other letters should be released: "I think British Sikhs and all people concerned about human rights will want to know exactly the extent of Britain's collusion with this period and this episode, and will expect some answers from the foreign secretary."
A foreign office spokesman said: "These events led to a tragic loss of life and we understand the very legitimate concerns that these papers will raise. The prime minister has asked the cabinet secretary to look into this case urgently and establish the facts. The PM and the foreign secretary were unaware of these papers prior to publication. Any requests today for advice from foreign governments are always evaluated carefully with full ministerial oversight and appropriate legal advice."
UK docs on Op Bluestar: Time for probe Indira Gandhi’s role
by Jan 14, 2014
#1984 #Amritsar #Bhindranwale #Chandigarh #Golden Temple #Indira Gandhi #Margaret Thatcher #Operation Bluestar
Thirty years ago Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the head of the Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal, had turned the GoldenTemple into a fortress. Firmans of violence and death were issued from the holy shrine. On the night of 4 June the Army attacked. Codenamed Bluestar, the controversial operation ran into stiff resistance, armoured vehicles were brought in and the ensuing damage to the shrine left a community and a country at odds. It took a decade for peace to be restored to Punjab, it has taken much longer to even consider the possibility of reconciliation.
The basic question of how the country blundered so badly that night has still not been answered. Who was responsible for planning the botched up sequence of events that unfolded on that night and why have we failed to address the question of responsibility in straightforward fashion? Why do we believe that some issues are best left as they are, even as they continue to fester?Yesterday, David Cameron ordered a probe after recently declassified documents suggest that the UK played an active role in planning the actual operation. Made public by Labour MP Tom Watson, the documents do not just seem to reveal the extent of British involvement, they also raise serious questions about how Indira Gandhi went about conceiving this operation. While it was for Sikhs in Britain to worry about the unravelling of the na�-ve faith they have in their own government as they go about berating India, is it not time that we in this country should consider a public probe into what transpired?
Consider what the documents reveal. In a letter, written by Margaret Thatcher's private secretary from 10 Downing Street to Brian Fall, private secretary to then foreign secretary Geoffrey Howe, "Thank you for your letter of 3 February about the Indian request for advice on plans for the removal of dissident Sikhs from the Golden Temple. The Prime Minister is content that the Foreign Secretary should proceed as he proposes."
The other letter made public, dated 23 February, is written by Fall to his counterpart under the home secretary,"The Indian authorities recently sought British advice over a plan to remove Sikh extremists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar…an SAD (sic) officer has visited India and drawn up a plan which has been approved by Mrs Gandhi…the knowledge of the SAS officer's visit and of his plan has been tightly held in India and in London."
Clearly then, if the documents are authentic, and they certainly seem to be so, Indira Gandhi had already approved of a plan to remove Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple as early as February 1984. Yet, the person who commanded the operation, Lt General KS Brar, was first told about the operation less than a week before it was carried out.
In an interview, Brar has said,"I caught the morning flight from Delhi to Chandigarh. I arrived in Chandimandir and told my wife that I'll be back in the evening and we'll catch the flight (to Manila). I'm rushed to the operations room. Maps on the wall and I'm still wondering what's going on. I am told,"You know the situation in Amritsar is very bad" and I said yes."
"The Brigadier General Staff gave me a briefing and it appeared to me that I am being sent off to carry out an operation. So in the middle of all those briefings I said, "I am proceeding abroad tonight. I have been sanctioned annual leave for my honeymoon." And so he looked at General Dayal and they whispered to each other and then he said, Bulbul, your leave is off. You go another time. There's an aircraft waiting outside to take you to Amritsar. Give orders to your division to move from Meerut to Amritsar immediately. I give you 36 hours to settle down there and make your plans and I shall come there for my first briefing…"
"So I got to Amritsar and got my staff and we got down to making plans. I didn't even know the layout of the Golden Temple. I had never been there, so I did a quick reconnaissance, met the local civil administration, the police. They weren't of any help, as they were defunct for many months. Bhindranwale was in full control. They weren't able to give me any information about what was happening inside the GoldenTemple."
Once the operation was launched Brar said, "I won't say we underestimated them but the information given to us indicated that there were not so many people and that they didn't have the type of weapons that they should. Intelligence was lacking."
What was the government and the Army doing between the end of February and the end of May? How come not even the plans of the temple complex were available? No intelligence seems to have been gathered, and if the SAS officer had suggested a plan what happened to it? What were the political machinations Indira Gandhi was involved in while the actual details of the operation were seemingly ignored for three months? Why could the Indian government not even ensure that the operation was not carried out at a time when the complex was full of pilgrims because of an important festival?
So far we have been given to believe that matters unravelled so quickly in Amritsar that Indira Gandhi had no choice but to respond in haste. This effectively gave the Army little time to come up with a coherent plan. But if it is true that the operation had been cleared and planned as far back as February 1984 none of this stands, and Indira Gandhi stands accused of near criminal culpability for pushing the country into one of its worst crises since Independence.
There are those who will claim we should let such matters rest. But the ham-handed operation led to a mutiny in the Army, the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the mass killing of Sikhs in Delhi and several other parts of India as well as the rise of an insurgency in Punjab that was, perhaps, the most violent challenge to the Indian state since 1947. How do we ignore and pretend to forget the culpability of our own government in such events
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/uk-docs-on-op-bluestar-time-for-probe-indira-gandhis-role-1338879.html