CHANDIGARH: More than 100 large posters showing pictures of Amritsar’s Golden Temple, which was destroyed after Operation Blue Star in 1984, have been put up in Punjab’s Faridkot, about 230 km from the capital Chandigarh. A replica of the destroyed structure has been prominently placed at the entrance to Akal Takht, the highest shrine for Sikhs, in the revered Golden Temple, allowing visitors to revive memories of the military action.
As the border state heads into the final stages of the Indian Lok Sabha election campaign, the political discourse has changed.
The June 1 vote coincides with the 40th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, the army’s campaign to flush out militants from inside Sikh holy sites. Polls contested by the SAD (Badal) and hardline Khalistan protagonists are pushing this narrative to draw voters’ attention to the atrocities perpetrated against Sikhs and their faith under the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government.
“We can’t forget, we can’t forgive,” reads the poster in Punjabi. At least 50 such posters have been put up in districts across Punjab by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), an elected Sikh body that oversees most of the country’s Sikh shrines and is dominated by SADS (Badal).
Meanwhile, SAD chief and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal, at a rally, appealed to voters to remember the atrocities against Sikhs and Operation Blue Star.
The SAD is staring at a downward trend in this election, but bringing painful memories of 1984 to the fore may give it some boost in its chances of staying in power. The radicals may also be able to win some seats.
The race features two prominent Khalistani sympathizers: Simranjit Singh Mann, the incumbent MP from Sangrur, and controversial “Sikh preacher” Ahmritpal Singh, who has been charged with national security offences and is contesting the Khadur Sahib seat from Assam’s Dibrugarh Jail. In addition, the son of one of Indira Gandhi’s assassins is running for Parliament from Faridkot. Punjab has more extremists in the running this time.
The SGPC and Akal Takht jathedar (head) Rabir Singh have appealed to people to wear black turbans or black dupattas (scarves worn by women) from June 1 to June 6 as a protest against the 1984 military operation. Though Blue Star Day is celebrated as a low-key event by the SGPC every year, this election season is different from usual in some ways.
Published May 31, 2024 01:08 IST
