Big blunder

SECOND EDIT

It is 25 years since the Indian army carried out Operation Bluestar. Launched to rid the Golden Temple of Sikh terrorists holed up there, the operation was a military success in that it freed the shrine from the grip of terrorists and eliminated several top terrorists including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. But the operation was a political disaster, a deeply controversial blot on India’s secular-democratic credentials.  The use of military force on a shrine that is deeply revered by Sikhs and that too on a day of religious significance to the community hurt their religious sentiments. Ordinary Sikhs felt alienated by the Indian state and scores of Sikhs in the armed forces mutinied. It triggered a series of events that left India scarred, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and other cities. Operation Bluestar might have flushed the Golden Temple of top terrorists but the anger it generated breathed new life into the Sikh secessionist movement. It resulted in youth flocking to taking up arms against the Indian state. India found itself battling terrorism in Punjab for at least a decade after Operation Bluestar.

It clearly was  a blunder which  left India wounded. Pointing to the decline in Sikh secessionist sentiment, some claim that the wounds inflicted on the community have healed somewhat. However, Sikh anger with the Indian state persists especially with regard to the failure of the government to punish those guilty for the riots of 1984. The trauma left behind by Bluestar remains. Operation Bluestar holds out lessons on how not to fight terrorism. The use of force against terrorists may bring immediate results but is not rewarding over the long run. And a strategy that wounds the sentiments of a community is a recipe for disaster. Has India learnt from the blunders of 1984? The record is mixed. Operation Black Thunder, a series of military operations on the Golden Temple carried out in 1988 was executed more carefully and involved wearing out terrorists through blockades rather than an all-out offensive. It was more effective. In Kashmir, the armed forces have been confronted repeatedly by militants operating from mosques. Soldiers have responded cautiously with mixed results. The threat of terrorists striking from places of worship has grown over the past 25 years. In dealing with them, India must remember the blunders of Operation Bluestar.