When the Shiromani Akali Dal resolved to built a suitable memorial to the “martyrs of Operation Bluestar” immediately after the army operation against the militants holed up in the Golden Temple complex in 1984, the party perhaps had not visualized its implications. The Akali Dal has the history of adopting resolutions which are subsequently forgotten by the party but have long term repercussion on the Sikh political stream and come to haunt the party years later. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the statutory body entrusted with the management of the Golden Temple complex and other historical Sikh shrine in the region, which has been under the control of the Akali Dal over the years, also subsequently decided to construct the memorial to cater to the political exigencies of the Akali Dal but the decision was never taken to the logical conclusion. However, it has now been left to the radical Dal Khalsa to put pressure on the SGPC to construct the memorial and coinciding with the Operation Bluestar anniversary, the organization staged a 72-hour dharna outside the shrine complex near one of the gates.

However, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh has now given a new twist to the demand for memorial which rather suits the radical Sikh organizations while the SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar has maintained a studied silence to the implications of the message read out on this occasion by the chief of this supreme religio-political seat of the Sikhs for prayer and politics. Of course, Makkar had maintained that the radical Sikh organizations would not be allowed to stage the dharna within the shrine complex to force the SGPC to implement its own resolution to build the memorial. The Jathedar emphasized in his address during the Bluestar memorial function that more important than the physical structure were the ideals of the martyrs of Operation Bluestar. “Building memorials is the responsibility of the followers of the martyrs. The real tribute, however, would be to follow their path for the achievement of the objective set by them rather than politicizing the memorial issue”, said Akal Takht Jathedar.

“We fully agree with what Jathedar Gurbachan Singh says and we plead with him to lead us on that very path”, said Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwarpal Singh. Though Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who led the militants never formally raised the demand for Khalistan till the end, he had maintained that the foundation of Khalistan would be laid the day the army attacked the Golden Temple complex. Khalistan came on the agenda of the militants about two years after Operation Bluestar. Dal Khalsa continues the struggle for Khalistan, though this once militant organisation now subscribe to democratic methods for the attainment of this political goal and this precisely is the reason the statement of the Akal Takht chief has been welcomed by it. It may be mentioned here that it was Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal, presently the Chief Minister for the fourth time, who was the first to accord the status of martyrs on those who had died in the Golden Temple complex during the army action before his arrest in the second week of June, 1984. However, he has attended the Bluestar memorial function only twice during all these years, for the first time in 1986 when the political situation so demanded. This function has always been essentially a show of the radicals, though it is organized formally by the SGPC.

Of late, the participation of the ordinary Sikhs in this function has witnessed the declining trend. This is in stark contrast to the ever increasing flow of devotees, both from within the country and abroad, to the shrine to pay obeisance. The stream of the visitors at times become unmanageable. Though the scars of the army operation remain, the community has moved forward in line with its character. Of course, the attack on Golden Temple complex has always been avenged and Operation Bluestar was no exception. The Akali Dal revives the memories of this tragic chapter only during the elections.

Interestingly though Badal himself had described Bhindranwale and others who died in the Golden Temple complex in June, 1984 as martyrs, the stand taken by his government in the Punjab and Haryana High Court is just the opposite according to which Bhindranwale has been labeled as a militant who died in the Golden Temple complex during the army operation. This was during arguments on the petition filed by the radical Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani) seeking permission to take out a procession to mark 300th anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa Raj by Baba Gurbax Singh Banda Bahadur. The Punjab government has also organized a function on this occasion. The Akali Dal always had two faces, one when in power and the other when struggling for it.

The raising of Khalistan slogans is not unusual at such functions and this year’s function again was no exception as the now marginalized Akali Dal (Amritsar) President Simranjit Singh Mann led his party men to the venue. The slogan shouting continued for a few minutes. There has always been one miniscule section within the Sikh stream which subscribe to the radical ideology and as such, such slogan shouting is considered to be a normal affair.

Again there was the usual exercise of honouring the kith and kin of the martyrs at Akal Takht and they included Ishar Singh, son of Bhindranwale and mother of Harjinder Singh Jinda who had shot General A. S. Vaidya in Pune and was awarded capital punishment along with Sukhdev Singh Sukha. General Vaidya was the Army chief at the time of Operation Bluestar. One again demand was made that the names of martyrs of this action including Bhindranwale should be included in the daily prayer of the Sikhs. This had come from Akali Dal leader Manjit Singh, brother of Amrik Singh who died along with Bhindranwale.

The activities of various Sikh organizations would have to be seen in the context of the forthcoming elections to the general house of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for which the process for the listing of voters has already started. The anti-Akali Dal Sikh organisations are trying to mobilize Sikh voters. Former Congress chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh and his associates are also active in the capacity as Sikhs, calling upon the Sikhs to defeat Badal’s Akali Dal. In case the Akali Dal is weakened in this election, it would be easy for the Congress to humble Badal in the Assembly elections due in February, 2012. However, a section of the Congress leaders including state party chief Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal does not subscribe this thinking of Capt Amarinder Singh. But then it is Capt. Amarinder Singh who has his base in the Sikh peasantry.

It is a long race and various Sikh organizations and individual leaders are all set to cash upon every situation and developments including the Bluestar anniversary and the demand to construct memorial for martyrs. It may be mentioned that a gallery had been constructed in the basement of the new Akal Takht building which was to house the pictures of those killed during the army action. The SGPC never allowed this gallery to become functional and this part of the building has remained locked.