Guest Column| Op Black Thunder-1: Power of persistent persuasion

April 29, 1986, was a defining day in the volcanic decade of the ’80s in Punjab.

After the death of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a five-member Panthic Committee, an underground militants’ executive body, was formed by the Sarbat Khalsa in 1986. On April 29 that year, this committee held a press conference in the Golden Temple precincts, and proclaimed the formation of a sovereign state of Khalistan. The committee notified the formation of its armed force – the Khalistan Commando Force – for Sikh struggle. It appealed to the United Nations and foreign countries to recognise the new state.

Bhindranwale had refrained from recognising Khalistan. For, he was conscious that it had no popular base among Sikhs. However, he did say that the foundation of Khalistan would be laid the day the state defiled the sanctity of the temple (by ordering security forces into it). Two years after Operation Bluestar in June 1984, the Panthic Committee’s declaration was to carry Bhindranwale’s pronouncement forward.

The administration was oblivious of the declaration, till the media flashed the news. The first response of the government was disbelief. I was deputy commissioner of Amritsar. Chief secretary PH Vaishnav quizzed me, “Have you understood what the chief minister wants?” I responded, “Yes sir, no entry into the temple.” He added, “Double your chase outside, these guys cannot disappear into thin air.”

The entry of troops into the temple complex would have been viewed by the Panth as then chief minister Surjit Singh Barnala’s iteration, an affirmation of (former PM) Indira Gandhi’s military Operation Bluestar. Hence, that option was considered taboo.

Barnala’s caveat

That day, Barnala was in Delhi and the central leadership prevailed upon him to act – a signal must go to the secessionists of the state’s zero tolerance of separatism. He was ‘persuaded’ to order action. Accompanied by then Union minister of state for defence Arun Singh, former Punjab governor Arjun Singh, and then National Security Guard (NSG) director RT Nagarani, Barnala landed at Raja Sansi airport at an unearthly hour of 12.30am on April 30 and directed the district administration to clear the Golden temple complex of the extremists.

Barnala, however, laid a caveat: The forces shall not enter the sanctum sanctorum, Golden Temple or fire towards it. The memory of the destruction caused to Akal Takht and other parts of the complex in Operation Bluestar and the adverse reaction it had evoked, was too fresh and its repeat had to be avoided at all costs.

To strengthen the local police force, NSG commandos led by two Major Generals and paramilitary troops were flown in, starting early on April 30 morning. Punjab Police were tasked with clearing the Sarai complex, while the NSG was to operate in the sacred spaces in and around the Parikrama.

To avoid bloodshed, appeals were made on the public address system to pilgrims to come out of the precincts. However, these calls met with counter announcements from the militant-appointed jathedar of Akal Takht, Gurdev Singh Kaunke, asking the pilgrims to resist the forces and if need be sacrifice their lives. To complicate matters further, the jathedar moved from Akal Takht to the sanctum sanctorum, along with all his men.

No entry, no fire

The NSG Generals were, therefore, cautioned by PC Dogra, the then deputy inspector general of police, that the commandos would be vulnerable to sharpshooters from the rooftop but the troops should not fire back towards Golden Temple; they were asked to brief and sensitise their men. This, however, invited a sharp reaction from the Generals, who were not willing to constrict the options of the troops. An argument followed, with a General telling us that his men were not statues – if fired upon, they would fire back.

The Generals were not wrong, but as the tempers rose, I had to tell them that as district magistrate, I withdraw the state government’s requisition of the NSG and the troops could go back from where they came. Then Punjab DGP Julio Ribeiro, who was with us in the control room, was wiser. He called up Barnala and Delhi for instructions and they endorsed the caveat of ‘no-entry’ and ‘no-fire’ towards the sanctum sanctorum.

The Generals now fell in line with the caveat. It did not take long for them to complete the operation – the Parikrama, the multi-storeyed rooms around it, and other sacred buildings were all cleared of the civilians, but according to the instructions given to them, the NSG did not enter the sanctum sanctorum or fire towards it. In the entire operation lasting over three hours, only few shots were fired, resulting in the unfortunate death of a civilian and bullet injuries to four others.

However, the men ensconced in Darbar Sahib were yet to be dealt with, but the NSG wanted to hand over the rest of the operation to the civil administration. Their mandate was not to enter the sanctum sanctorum or fire towards it and they had complied with it.

Leap of faith

This mandate applied equally to us. We had two options – to continue the siege in the hope to wear out those inside Golden Temple, or withdraw the caveat and permit the NSG to proceed. Stuck in this precarious situation, the then senior superintendent of police, SS Virk, and I decided to take a risk. Carrying a handheld hailer and unarmed, we climbed down the stairs from Ghanta Ghar Deori to the Parikrama. In the open white marbled expanse, two of us stood exposed from all sides in direct line of fire of the militants.

I rested the loudspeaker on the edge of the sarowar and in chaste Punjabi disclosed our identities. Announcing our intent, I emphasised the imperative of maintaining the sanctity of the sacred place. We assured the militants that no harm would come to anyone and appealed to them to come out of the sanctum sanctorum. Repeated announcements, however, did not evoke any response.

In the still of the night, we feared the worst, but kept repeating the appeal – “Mein sangat nu benti kar da ha ke Darbar Sahib to bahar aa jaan (I request the congregation to come out of Darbar Sahib)”. Suddenly, around 4am we saw movement on the roof of the sanctum sanctorum. Waving a cloth to catch our attention, someone yelled, “We have no faith in you. Call Giani Puran Singh (a temple priest, who was held in high esteem by the radicals.”

Giani Puran Singh was persuaded to go inside the sanctum sanctorum as an emissary. To his credit, he was able to convince the radicals to send a few representatives to negotiate with us.

Sitting in the Parikrama and assisted by Puran Singh, we impressed on the five representatives of the militants the futility of holding on inside the Darbar Sahib. The religious ceremonies had been disrupted and Waheguru would hold them accountable, we said.

Peaceful end to crisis

The persistent persuasion finally paid off. As many as 135 people came out of Golden Temple in a single-line formation, without anyone firing a shot. It was a peaceful end to a perilous situation. The operation was over by 6am and the temple’s religious ceremonies were restored.

In a signed press statement, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)-appointed high priests welcomed the restoration of maryada (religious dignity and ceremonies) in the temple. The security forces withdrew from the precincts. The operation led to the arrest of 55 people of various hues of militancy and recovery of a few small arms.

Persuasion had proved more powerful than the guns and tanks of Operation Bluestar. rameshinders@yahoo.com

The writer is a former chief secretary of Punjab and author of the book, Turmoil in Punjab: An Insider’s Account. Views expressed are personal.