The whole thing was an election ploy. You create a situation, handle it and then win elections, says K.P.S. Gill
When Operation Blue Star took place, I was IG, BSF in Jammu. Some of my troops were there. I had gone to the Golden Temple earlier and seen the deployment of the troops. It was ridiculous.
Operation Blue Star itself was ridiculous. The BBC had a
tremendous comment on it at that time. To imagine that a few religious fanatics sitting in a corner of the country with Second World War weapons posed a threat to the integrity of India, is unimaginable. But hysteria was deliberately build up. To my mind the whole thing was an election ploy, to win the election which was coming. So you create a situation, handle it and then win the elections.
Over the years the sense of hurt gone out of Sikhs? Yes of course. This is not the first time that the Golden temple was being attacked. Muslim invaders were in the habit of doing it, but the Sikhs did not wait for historical changes to take place. They immediately tried to dislodge whoever was there and rebuild the temple. That’s why I have this whole quarrel about the demolition of the Ram temple-Babri Masjid. Why did you wait for 600 years to launch a movement? What were you doing all that time? If it was so important to Hinduism, what were you doing?
In Operation Blue Star, what could the state have done? There were two or three options. Either you sit out and wait or if you have started the process of negotiations, then you keep on negotiating. How long could they have waited? There was an era of panthic committees. Everyone was forming panthic committees, they were numbered.
So the panthic committee chaps go to Pakistan and declared a government in exile. So what would have happened if there was a government in exile? Fellows would have been sitting around anyway. For Operation Blue Star you had to first weigh the options and this was the worst option of them all. From the point of view of law and order and point of view of administration - I cannot comment on the political aspect - in the circumstances, it was the worst option possible. You cannot change horses’ midstream. You were following a horse during that period. You should have stuck to that horse and waited. Because, there were a large number of people who did not want anything to happen.
Bhindranwale was slowly going down. Occupation of the Golden Temple was achieved, but to what purpose? He would hang around in a corner of the temple, hold meetings, and ask the deputy collectors to attend meetings. So? What could possibly have happened?
But hysteria was sought to be created. I have said it repeatedly that sometimes you create hysteria about things that are not that important, but they are created. We did in 1962, the Chinese invasion. Pandit Nehru told reporters in Colombo that he had asked the army to throw the Chinese out. I was in Nowgong at that time, not very far from Tezpur. I received a large number of evacuees from Nowgong, including bits and pieces of the army. The army was not at all equipped for the operation in 1962. And you are sitting in Colombo and saying `throw the Chinese out’. Hold on, wait for some time.
Similarly, you created hysteria about the Golden Temple. Such hysteria that I heard ladies say `was there a tunnel between Amritsar and Moscow’? What have the Russians got to do with Khalistan? You just did not have the people to carry out an operation successfully. Either you create such people or you set precedents. You have a previous example or army going into Hyderabad against the Nizam after Independence, and call it `police action’. You train troops, give them khaki uniforms and send them in. Punjab is a battlefield with Pakistan in any case, till they come to their senses. Why did you create a disaffected population right there? Who are these great planners and advisers and all that? It could not have come from Mrs Indira Gandhi. Somebody must have advised her that this was the only way out. Where have they hidden themselves? How is that people are claiming success for Operation Black Thunder and not for Operation Blue Star?
Historically, these so-called advisors have no experience of the field and they get their expertise in how to manoeuver in the corridors of power. That is all they are good at. A few outstanding officers are produced sometimes. They do their work quietly; Somiah who was later Home secretary, was an excellent officer; Deshmukh who was the Cabinet Secretary and then in the PMO, he was outstanding.
After the Blue Star, the decision to keep Sikh bodyguards was Mrs Gandhi’s own. My friend Moorthy who was then looking after her security, had ordered the removal of the Sikh guards. It is on file. But Indira Gandhi ordered them back.
Just like Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s intention to downgrade his own security brought about his unfortunate end at Siriperumbudur. But someone should have put his foot down. Maybe my friend Moorthy should have put his foot down and said `no madam I will not do it.’
Now we are in a very peculiar and strange situation. People in their great desire to serve the country are fighting over ministries. During the Blue Star, the government did not even informally consult me. I was posted in Jammu, there was a lot of emotion in Jammu, a mini-revolt in the army. The BSF remained as a united force. Some disgruntled elements of the army wanted to march to Pakistan, I do not know why?
When Operation Blue Star took place, I was IG, BSF in Jammu. Some of my troops were there. I had gone to the Golden Temple earlier and seen the deployment of the troops. It was ridiculous.
Operation Blue Star itself was ridiculous. The BBC had a
tremendous comment on it at that time. To imagine that a few religious fanatics sitting in a corner of the country with Second World War weapons posed a threat to the integrity of India, is unimaginable. But hysteria was deliberately build up. To my mind the whole thing was an election ploy, to win the election which was coming. So you create a situation, handle it and then win the elections.Over the years the sense of hurt gone out of Sikhs? Yes of course. This is not the first time that the Golden temple was being attacked. Muslim invaders were in the habit of doing it, but the Sikhs did not wait for historical changes to take place. They immediately tried to dislodge whoever was there and rebuild the temple. That’s why I have this whole quarrel about the demolition of the Ram temple-Babri Masjid. Why did you wait for 600 years to launch a movement? What were you doing all that time? If it was so important to Hinduism, what were you doing?
In Operation Blue Star, what could the state have done? There were two or three options. Either you sit out and wait or if you have started the process of negotiations, then you keep on negotiating. How long could they have waited? There was an era of panthic committees. Everyone was forming panthic committees, they were numbered.
So the panthic committee chaps go to Pakistan and declared a government in exile. So what would have happened if there was a government in exile? Fellows would have been sitting around anyway. For Operation Blue Star you had to first weigh the options and this was the worst option of them all. From the point of view of law and order and point of view of administration - I cannot comment on the political aspect - in the circumstances, it was the worst option possible. You cannot change horses’ midstream. You were following a horse during that period. You should have stuck to that horse and waited. Because, there were a large number of people who did not want anything to happen.
Bhindranwale was slowly going down. Occupation of the Golden Temple was achieved, but to what purpose? He would hang around in a corner of the temple, hold meetings, and ask the deputy collectors to attend meetings. So? What could possibly have happened?
But hysteria was sought to be created. I have said it repeatedly that sometimes you create hysteria about things that are not that important, but they are created. We did in 1962, the Chinese invasion. Pandit Nehru told reporters in Colombo that he had asked the army to throw the Chinese out. I was in Nowgong at that time, not very far from Tezpur. I received a large number of evacuees from Nowgong, including bits and pieces of the army. The army was not at all equipped for the operation in 1962. And you are sitting in Colombo and saying `throw the Chinese out’. Hold on, wait for some time.
Similarly, you created hysteria about the Golden Temple. Such hysteria that I heard ladies say `was there a tunnel between Amritsar and Moscow’? What have the Russians got to do with Khalistan? You just did not have the people to carry out an operation successfully. Either you create such people or you set precedents. You have a previous example or army going into Hyderabad against the Nizam after Independence, and call it `police action’. You train troops, give them khaki uniforms and send them in. Punjab is a battlefield with Pakistan in any case, till they come to their senses. Why did you create a disaffected population right there? Who are these great planners and advisers and all that? It could not have come from Mrs Indira Gandhi. Somebody must have advised her that this was the only way out. Where have they hidden themselves? How is that people are claiming success for Operation Black Thunder and not for Operation Blue Star?
Historically, these so-called advisors have no experience of the field and they get their expertise in how to manoeuver in the corridors of power. That is all they are good at. A few outstanding officers are produced sometimes. They do their work quietly; Somiah who was later Home secretary, was an excellent officer; Deshmukh who was the Cabinet Secretary and then in the PMO, he was outstanding.
After the Blue Star, the decision to keep Sikh bodyguards was Mrs Gandhi’s own. My friend Moorthy who was then looking after her security, had ordered the removal of the Sikh guards. It is on file. But Indira Gandhi ordered them back.
Just like Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s intention to downgrade his own security brought about his unfortunate end at Siriperumbudur. But someone should have put his foot down. Maybe my friend Moorthy should have put his foot down and said `no madam I will not do it.’
Now we are in a very peculiar and strange situation. People in their great desire to serve the country are fighting over ministries. During the Blue Star, the government did not even informally consult me. I was posted in Jammu, there was a lot of emotion in Jammu, a mini-revolt in the army. The BSF remained as a united force. Some disgruntled elements of the army wanted to march to Pakistan, I do not know why?
about the imposition of a 36-hour curfew reached newspaper offices by 8.00 pm, it was not received with any sense of disbelief. The announcement made it clear that all movement had been banned in Punjab and Chandigarh during the period under curfew and this included interior rural areas.