Kin of militants killed in Operation Blue Star honoured

Kin of militants killed during the Army Operation Blue Star in 1984 were honoured by the Akal Takht head priest Giani Gurbachan Singh inside the sacred Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The congregation termed Khalistan ideologue Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who took to guns seeking a separate state of Khalistan, as a martyr. The Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of Sikhism.

The event was held at the Bluestar memorial inside the Golden temple to mark the culmination of the “Akhand Path” (uninterrupted recitation of the Sikh holy scripture of Guru Granth Sahib) that was started nearly two-and-half years ago in the memory of all those killed in the military operation inside the revered Golden temple in 1984.

The congregation lauded the deeds of Bhindranwale for the role he played for the community. The military had launched an operation 34-year ago to flush out militants who were holed up inside the temple compound.

The kin of militants were given the traditional robe of honour and facilitated. The Blue Star memorial inside the temple premises has been set up in the memory of those who were killed in the military operation. A proposal was put in place to urge the SGPC- the Sikh body managing among other majority of Sikh shines across the nation - to establish a gallery in the basement of the memorial where portraits of slain militants killed in the operation can be displayed as planned earlier.