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In early June 1984 the government forces attacked the Harminder Sahib in Amritsar on the pretext of flushing out terrorists. The attack was planned well in advance and was not a decision taken late in the day because there was no other alternative. In October 1983, the Indian Army selected 600 men from different units and sent them to rehearse the assault on a replica of the Harminder Sahib (the Golden Temple) at a secret training camp in the Chakrata Hills about 150 miles north of Delhi: 2 officers of the RAW,the Indian secret service, were sent to London to seek expertise from the SAS (Mary Anne Weaver in the Sunday Times 1984)

The attack was timed to coincide with the weekend of 2nd and 3rd, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev who built the Harminder Sahib and compiled the Sikh ’s Holy book,the Guru Granth Sahib.

It was planned in the knowledge that there would be thousands of pilgrims and visitors. No warning was given to those pilgrims of the impending attack. Despite the government ‘s claims that only ‘extremists ’were killed other reports show that many visitors were killed by the army (see e.g. ‘Indian Express ’18/6/84). India today (30/9/84) reported the case of Zaida Khartton,a Bangladeshi women who stopped to get food for her five children at the Harminder Sahib and ended up in jail.

Water,electricity and telephone links to the Harminder Sahib were cut off. Many people died through lack of water.When the army entered the Harminder Sahib they told the pilgrims to drink the mixture of blood and urine that covered the ground. Even the hospital staff was threatened with death by the army if they gave food or water to Sikh pilgrims wounded in the attack and lying in hospital (as reported by the Christian Science Monitor).

On 18/6/84 Christian Science Monitor reported:
“For five days the Punjab has been cut off from the rest of the world.All telephone and telex links are cut.No foreigners are permitted entry and on Tuesday,all Indian journalists were expelled. There are no newspapers,no trains,no buses-not even a bullock cart can move.”

The Sunday Times (10/6/84)said: “About 20 million people in an area more than twice the size of Wales have had no contact with the outside world for a week.”

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