Operation BLUESTAR..Bold Initiative Or A Black Mark..

"We went inside with humility in our hearts and prayers on our lips." General K. Sundarji

Operation Blue Star (June 3-6,1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India to remove Sikh militants (fighting for a seperate state,Khalistan) who had established a stronghold in the Golden Temple in Amritsar.The operation was launched in response to a deterioration of law and order in the Punjab due to the unprecedented killing of Hindus and the assasination of those opposing militants.

Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha, then Vice-Chief of Indian Army and who was to succeed as the Army chief, advised against any such move. He was replaced with Gen. Arun Vaidya as the Chief of the Indian Army. Gen.Arun Vaidya was assisted by Lt. Gen. K. Sunderjee as Vice-Chief Operation. Blue Star was eventually planned and controlled by them.

On June 3, a 36 hour curfew was imposed on the state of Punjab.Electricity supplies were also interrupted, creating a total blackout and cutting off the state from the rest India and the world.
The Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple on the night of June 5 under the command of Major General Kuldip Singh Brar. The forces had full control of the Golden Temple by the morning of June 7. Bhindranwale, Shahbeg Singh and several other militant leaders were killed.

The action became inevitable when on October5, 1983 and November18,1983, Sikh extemists hijacked two buses, Sikh and Hindu passengers were separated and the Hindus murdered.
Shiromani Akali Dal,the Sikh political organisation,which supported the militants went against them after this masssacre.Faced with imminent army action and with the foremost Sikh political organisation, Shiromani Akali Dal abandoning him, Bhindranwale declared

"This bird is alone. There are many hunters after it ".

Former Major-General Shabeg singh MVC,who had resigned from the Indian Army,mobilised the militants military strategies.

The Indian Army suffered 83 deaths, which included four officers in the operation. Indian army recorded 492 civilian deaths inside Golden Temple with 433 persons segregated as "separatists" amongst 1592 persons apprehended.The operation led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. On October 31 of that year, two of her armed Sikh security officers murdered her.General A S Vaidya, the Chief of Army Staff at the time of Operation Blue Star, was assassinated in 1986.

The timing of Operation Blue Star had baffled the Sikhs. It was a religious day, regarding the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev(the founder of Golden Temple), and Sikhs from all over the world visit the temple on this day.The use of artillery in the congested inner city of Amritsar proved deadly and reckless considering many civilians lived near the Golden Temple.The Army simply stated that they,

"answered the call of duty as disciplined, loyal and dedicated members of the Armed Forces of India....our loyalties are to the nation, the armed forces to which we belong, the uniforms we wear and to the troops we command".

John F.Kennedy,,Assasination or Global Conspiracy?

"All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days,nor in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration. Nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let

us begin."

These were the words of the inaugural speech of the most charismatic President of United States of America, Mr.John F.Kennedy.The 35th President was assasinated on 22 November,1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald,but there are controversies that are yet to be laid to rest.On the morning of his assasination President made an uncanny observation to his advisor kenneth O' Donnell."If anyone wants to shoot a president," he said, "it's not a very difficult job. All one has to do is get on a high building with a telescopic rifle, and there is nothing anybody can do."

The preserved brain and other autopsy materials given to Kennedy's secretary were deposited with the National Archives in 1966.But the brain was missing.this went unnoticed.The Warren commission which was formed to investigate the tragedy,established that two shots were fired by Oswald.Later in 1970,after fresh investigations using advanced acoustics techniques it was confirmed that four shots were fired.Three empty cartridges were recovered from where Oswald shot.The fourth shot had been fired from close range.

Some locals testified that they had spotted men with FBI identifications driving off in a car,but FBI denies posting anyone there.These loopholes led to various suggestions.Conspiracy of foreign powers like Cuba and the Soviet Union,internal power struggle within the state,mafia links were suggested.The testimony of Oswald's wife Marina Oswald even stated that the real target could have been Governor Connally.

In a New York Times/CBS poll taken shortly before the 25th anniversary of the assassination,46 percent of those polled felt that it was then too late to establish the truth.Thus controversies remain even after 45 years of the tragedy.Louis Stokes, former head of House committee said"I think it's more likely than not that we'll never know the truth."