Pro-Khalistan slogans were on Friday raised by supporters and activists of radical Sikh outfits at the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs, while a peaceful bandh was observed around the Golden Temple and interior walled city on the 41st anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
Once the OS layer is opened to the State, it doesn't close, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Developing relations with the Taliban is needed, but plunging headlong into Afghanistan without due thought will be akin to the rooster entering a KFC outlet, warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
The post, which has now been deleted, read, "June 1, 1984'?' 'Saka Neela Tara'. A humble tribute to all the martyrs of the day one of the attack on the Darbar Sahib by the Congress government."
Having control over both digital media and NGOs, it was easy for the US to topple the government and destabilise Nepal -- to undercut Chinese influence and pressure India, argues Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
'Why have we failed to address the issue of ensuring a requisite buffer zone in J&K, given that cross-border links of some J&K politicians are known?', asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
What was the aim of Operation Sindoor? Why was the operation halted so soon? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
As temperatures shoot up this month signalling an early onset of summer, sales of air conditioners (AC) are set to increase, with companies expected to hike the prices of ACs by 4-5 per cent due to component shortages. Leading players like Haier and Bluestar and suppliers like EPack Durables have raised their production capacities to meet the 25-30 per cent rise in demand expected in the coming months.
On the fateful morning, the then prime minister was shot at by her two Sikh bodyguards in revenge for Operation Bluestar, when the army had stormed the Golden Temple under orders from Gandhi. Bhargava, 54 at the time, recalls the decision to take Gandhi to the operating theatre even though there was no pulse.
Hundreds of Sikh youths, led by the Dal Khalsa, were carrying Khalistani flags and photographs of damaged Akal Takht.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by supporters of radical Sikh outfits as well as that of Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar at the Golden Temple on the 38th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Describing the event as "da ghallughara (holocaust) of 84", Jathedar Akal Takht Gyani Harpreet Singh stressed on maintaining unity among the Sikh community.
B D Pande was Punjab's governor during Operation Bluestar. In this excerpt from his memoir, In the Service of Free India: Memoir of a Civil Servant, Pande reveals what really went on behind the scenes during those dark days in India's history.
The float glorifying Indira Gandhi's assassination was part of a parade that was taken out in Brampton to mark the 40th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
British minister Greg Barker on Friday said that Britain's involvement in Operational Bluestar in 1984 was minimal.
He was colourful. He was dramatic. He was The Master of His Craft. There never will be an editor as versatile as Pritish Nandy, notes Nikhil Lakshman.
Some people in the gathering were also seen brandishing swords and wearing t-shirts and carrying banners with pictures of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
The man, identified as Narain Singh, was overpowered by some people standing outside the Golden Temple.
'Our politicians solely depend on bureaucrats who are unaccountable and follow their own agenda.' 'Our politicians would dare not dream of establishing a DOGE,' argues Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The 31st anniversary of Operation Bluestar on Saturday went off peacefully amid tight security arrangements here even as Shiromani Akali Dal.
China does not have to give up what it took in 2020, it will never give up its claim to Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and other areas, and it has all the time now to plan its next surprise, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Thirty years ago almost to the day, an event in Punjab shook India to its very foundations. Called Operation Bluestar, it was a military exercise to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple, the holiest of holy Sikh shrines in Amritsar, Punjab.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal exhorted the people to exercise restraint and observe the 32nd anniversary of Operation Bluestar peacefully.
The home ministry is expected to ask the state government to use the religious institutions (prevention of misuse) Act, 1988, under which authorities can ban misuse of religious institutions for political and other purposes and any activity which promotes or attempts to promote disharmony in society.
As a consequence of prominence given to the brutality during those few days, a very important aspect of that episode got almost glossed over. This was the intervention by a very significant section of people who restored faith in humanity, and conveyed the message that only a small section of Indians, that too politically backed, were consumed by anti-Sikh majoritarianism. The overlooked facet of the events of 1984 was the story of significant sections of the city's populace, public figures and nondescript ones, stepping out hand-in-hand, to first stand with little but bravery in hands, in the way of attackers, and thereafter to provide immediate relief to those who lives were uprooted and who lost family members in the violence, recalls Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Security forces in Amritsar and other areas of the state have been asked to remain on alert ahead of the 31st anniversary of Operation Bluestar on Saurday.
'Every army chief has told the government that it is not in the interest of the army for it to enter civil situations,' says General K S Brar.
Foreign Secretary William Hague is set to inform parliament on Tuesday about Britain's alleged involvement in planning Operation Bluestar to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple in 1984, with Sikh groups criticising the probe conducted by the government.
Amid separatist slogans and "honouring" of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, the 28th anniversary of Operation Bluestar to flush out militants from Sikh holy shrine the Golden Temple, was on Wednesday observed at Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat, an event from which Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal kept away.
The 12-page report that Foreign Secretary William Hague tabled in the British Parliament sheds more light on the "limited support" that his country gave India
An iconic statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the UK has been vandalised in the city of Leicester apparently in protest against the 1984 Operation Bluestar military raid on the Golden Temple.
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
British Prime Minister David Cameron has asserted that there was "absolutely no" involvement of the Margaret Thatcher-led United Kingdom government in Operation Bluestar -- when the Indian Army conducted a raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple.
The meeting, to be chaired by Union Home Secretary RK Singh, and to be attended by Army, Maharashtra police and others, will also review whether there was any security lapse anywhere leading to the assassination attempt on 78-year-old Brar on Sunday
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Disengagement from the LAC will remain a chimera because China has given enough indications that the PLA will not move back any more. China has even deployed drones to monitor and deny any patrolling by Indian troops even in the buffer zones which are all in Indian Territory, explains Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Congress candidate from Amritsar Amarinder Singh on Friday held Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal allegedly accountable for Operation Bluestar. At a press conference, he said, "It was Parkash Singh Badal who during the troubled period had instigated the innocent youth to disturb the peaceful situation of Punjab and later he met the then home minister urging him to go ahead with Operation Blue Star."
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