Return treasures taken from Golden Temple: Akali Dal

Akali Dal on Thursday asked the government to give back treasures of Sikhs seized by the Army during Operation Blue Star held in 1984, and provide pension to those who left the forces following the armed intervention to flush out pro-Khalistan activists from the Golden Temple.

These issues were raised by Akali Dal delegation, led by the party chief and Lok Sabha MP Sukhbir Singh Badal during a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Badal said that the Sikh community was “eagerly waiting for the precious treasure” which the Army seized and took away during the attack.

"It includes important holy scriptures, artefacts, thousands of historical books, collection of the Sikh Reference Library and relics belonging to Sri Guru Sahib and other Sikh personalities. These should be located and returned to the community with due honour," Badal told reporters after the meeting.

The delegation also told Shah that 309 serving Sikh personnel had left the Army after the security forces attacked their most revered religious place under Operation Blue Star, and all of them were dismissed from the service. "Around 100 of them are still alive. We request for their rehabilitation and pension benefits. This will give a positive message to the aggrieved Sikh community," Badal said.

The Operation Blue Star, which led to the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi, was carried out in June 1984 to remove militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. The government had put the casualties at 576, which included 493 Sikh militants and civilians.

He said several programmes will be organised by the central government to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak and one of the programmes scheduled is 'Nagar Kirtan' from India to Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of the founder of Sikh religion, in Pakistan.

Badal said they have requested that this event be organised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (DSGMC). "We have requested the Government of India to liaison with the Pakistan government for a successful organisation of this 'Nagar Kirtan'," he said.