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Sonia Deol was forced to delete her page on Facebook web site amid a barrage of criticism from fellow Sikhs.
During ‘Operation Blue Star’, some 500 Sikh separatists and their controversial religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who were in favour of an independent state (Khalistan) for Sikhs, were holed up in the Golden Temple.
The assault was carried out at the order of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi on June 4, 1984. During the attack Indian soldiers stormed inside the temple premises killing many separatists, “Daily Mail” reported. Now, protesters are planning a mass boycott of the licence fee in protest against what they claimed a slur on Bhindranwale, who was killed in the raid, saying he was depicted in the film in a similar way to Osama Bin Laden.
Many Sikhs, particularly supporters of Khalistan, consider him a saint and are furious that in Deol’s documentary, “1984: A Sikh Story”, he was described as a militant.
Bhindranwale and the armed supporters took refuge in the holy place, fearing arrest amid rising Sikh-Hindu tensions.
Deol, who hosts BBC Breakfast at weekends and News 24 bulletins, deleted her Facebook profile on Wednesday after the row escalated.