Above: Innocent victims of the military assault seen lined up along the parikarma of The Darbar Sahib. Below, 1st from bottom - angry young men vent their anger in New Delhi. 2nd: Indian ambassador is pelted with eggs in Winnipeg, Canada.
1984
Online Sikh Exhibition Launched to Commemorate 1984 Anniversary
by SANDEEP SINGH BRAR
A new major exhibit on Operation Blue Star has been launched at www.SikhMuseum.com to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 1984 Indian Army attack on the Darbar Sahib Complex in Amritsar, and other major and historic gurdwaras across India.
Major components of the exhibit include a chronology of events with eyewitness accounts, a photographic archive of the highest resolution images of Operation Blue Star to date, and a unique archive of newspaper and magazine articles from 1984. One of the earliest detailed report of events according to the Indian government, released almost one month before their official White Paper, also forms part of the exhibit.
Photographic Archive
During Operation Blue Star, Indian army photographers took photographs of the military operation and its immediate aftermath. Thousands of photographs were taken, but have never been released to the public.
On the other hand, all independent and foreign journalists were also expelled from Punjab.
One high ranking Indian Army officer made the fateful decision to get a roll of film with Blue Star photographs that he had taken developed by a local Amritsar camera shop. Realizing what they were looking at, the shop owners made a secret copy of those prints. Second and third generation copies of those copies were smuggled out of India in 1985 and form the only existing photographs of the military operation and conditions in the Darbar Sahib complex immediately after the initial combat phase of Operation Blue Star.
As the state of digital imaging technology has advanced over the years and working with a set of early generation images, some of the clearest high resolution images from that one roll of film can now be seen online as part of the exhibit.
These photographs have been combined with rare images of the Akal Takht before its destruction, including seldom seen images of the original Akal Takht interior and rare artwork now lost.
To provide a better contextual frame of reference when viewing the army photographs, contemporary photographs of the same buildings from relatively similar vantage points also form part of the exhibit.
News Reports Archive
A time-capsule of the news archive component of the Operation Blue Star exhibit provides a historical record of the international media's reporting of the tragic events of 1984. The exhibit features articles complete with their original photographs, as well as downloadable PDF files of every article.
No foreign or independent journalists were allowed into Punjab for over a month and those already in the State prior to Operation Blue Star were expelled. Most of the news accounts from Punjab were provided to journalists by the Indian government and hence provide, for the most part, a very one-sided view of events. Very few independent news reports telling a different story from the government position were ever reported.
A classic example of strategic misinformation can be found in an article reporting that huge quantities of heroin and drugs had been recovered within the Golden Temple complex and that they had been used by the militants to illegally fund their operations. This story was picked up internationally based on a June 14 Press Trust of India news report from government sources.
One week later, the initial report was officially retracted by the government and it was revealed that the drugs had been recovered from the India-Pakistan border and not from the Golden Temple complex.
But, the damage intended by this fraudulent propaganda had already been done!
Moreover, this retraction was not picked up by most international news agencies and the damage done by the initial news story was never undone.
The anguish and rage felt by the international Sikh community is also captured in many news reports about mass demonstrations and individual expressions of anger. Irrespective of their past feelings or political affiliations prior to Operation Blue Star, the vast majority were now united in calling for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh country, as they no longer wished to be part of India.
Only a small minority supported the Indian government.
One such example is an article about a 10-year-old girl, whose letter - written in childish naivety by Toronto's Ruby Dhalla - to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, professes support for her government's crimes. It was promptly used by the Indian Prime Minister for propaganda purposes.
As well, writer Patwant Singh in India, too, voiced support for the Indian Army and was critical of the protests by Sikhs worldwide. Patwant Singh ultimately changed his tune, but not until a few months later, when a mob of Hindu hooligans marched on a charity medical clinic run or supported by him and razed it to the ground!
On the other hand, a protest march in Amritsar by a group of elderly Sikh women nearly a month and a half after Operation Blue Star, to try to force the Indian government to leave the temple complex, provides a rare example of individual courage in the face of express and implied threats by the Indian authorities against anyone who raised his or her voice against the criminal operation.
A hint of the decade-long darkness that was to descend on Punjab as the Indian army and police began a new phase of arbitrary arrests, torture and killing can be seen taking shape in the months following Operation Blue Star.
One of the earliest official government of India's accounting of events also forms part of the exhibit. This rare document presents a detailing of events according to the Indian government and was released on June 15, one month before the release of their White Paper.
About SikhMuseum.com
SikhMuseum.com is focused on building a world-class online repository of the Sikh experience in the form of ground-breaking virtual exhibits about various aspects of Sikh heritage. Unlike a physical museum or exhibit which has a very limited reach, SikhMuseum.com's online exhibits have a global reach and are open to the public, researchers, students and teachers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to showcase Sikh heritage.
Preserving a people's heritage through high quality exhibits requires a tremendous amount of effort, research and funding. To contribute funding or share resource material for an exhibit, please contact the Museum online.
June 11, 2009
Conversation about this article
1: Harman Singh (Philadelphia, U.S.A.), June 11, 2009, 4:43 PM.
A herculean effort! This is what the panth needs ... preserve for posterity. Horrific, mind numbing images and witness accounts. May Waheguru bless Sandeep Singh for documenting this historic event.
2: Radhika Dubey (Gurgaon, India), June 11, 2009, 5:38 PM.
I worry that our government thinks it can crush legitimate demands for rights and freedoms by sheer might. God has now given the world an instrument which levels the playing field somewhat: the internet and its many wonders. The Indian government can silence local Sikhs through coercion, but how are they going to counter sikhchic.com and www.SikhMuseum.com? More mischief? More oppression? It is time, O petty politicians, to read the writing on the wall - YOUR JOB IS TO GOVERN LIKE RANJIT SINGH, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT YOU HAVE THE GIFT OF A MANMOHAN SINGH. Otherwise, you're squandering your blessings!
3: Malkiat Singh (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), June 11, 2009, 5:42 PM.
This is a real eye-opener, especially reading the propaganda filtered through a compliant and unquestioning media. The poison has been spread deep and wide ... but remember, it is in the poison that one finds the antidote! Thank you for all the work you have put into this. It will inevitably bear fruit!
4: Baljinder Kaur (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada), June 11, 2009, 5:46 PM.
This is the route to go! Let's inform and educate ourselves, and arm ourselves with facts ... and then go out and tackle the goons. 'Might is Right' only in the short term. Ultimately ... as Nanak says, Truth and Truthful Living will overcome all else.
5: Manjit Singh Dosanjh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), June 11, 2009, 6:00 PM.
True, we've had our fair share of idiots in our midst ... Ruby Dhalla is not the only one! I recall: immediately after the attack on the Darbar Sahib, an unknown name but claiming to be a "community leader" - a certain Suresh Bhalla - went on Canadian national TV to support the Indian government's actions and chiding Sikhs here in Toronto and elsewhere for protesting. It got him a few invites to mango parties in the Indian Consulate, but mercifully he has being lying low since, a pariah in the community!
6: Kabir Singh (Patiala, Punjab), June 12, 2009, 9:13 AM.
Just what we need today to counter the misinformation about 1984 that pervades this country, including Punjab. Please make it permanent and expand it to cover other Sikh chapters. Thank you and God Bless.
7: Amitoj (U.S.A.), June 12, 2009, 12:35 PM.
Great idea to create this online museum. Another idea is to include recordings of historical speeches and lectures on Sikh issues.
8: Gurjender Singh (Maryland, U.S.A.), June 13, 2009, 10:32 AM.
Thank you, Sandeep, for your effort for putting together the unseen truth for the public, media and Sikhs and specifically, the younger generations. In 1986, I visited Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran in Patiala, Punjab, and I was shocked to see fresh marks and holes of bullets in all the rooms walls and doors of the visitors' rest houses and the gurdwara's rooms (where any visitor can stay and sleep during day or night). When I asked one of the sevadaars at the gurdwara, he mentioned that this is due to the little-known attack on the Gurdwara Dukk Nivaran by Indian troops in 1984!
9: Amardeep (U.S.A.), June 15, 2009, 1:10 PM.
These are very important small and big steps. Good wishes for this seva. May we all be able to do meaningful work for Quom and humanity.
10: I.J. Singh (New York, U.S.A.), June 17, 2009, 8:22 AM.
Sandeep Singh, thank you for this wonderful and much needed initiative.