Sikh radical outfit calls for Amritsar shutdown on June 6 to mark Operation Bluestar anniversary

Sikh radical outfit Dal Khalsa has given a call for Amritsar shutdown on June 6 to mark the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.

Sikh radical outfit Dal Khalsa has given a call for Amritsar shutdown on June 6 to mark the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.

Dal Khalsa’s spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh on May 31 said that besides the shutdown (band), a remembrance march on June 5 would also be held in the city to commemorate the day.

The call was only for the shutdown of business, commercial, and educational institutions and there would be no stoppage of transportation, he said, adding that medical services and traffic would not be affected.

It was on June 6, 1984, when the Army had stormed the complex of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Punjab’s Amritsar— Sikhism’s holiest shrine— to flush out extremists led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

“The pain of the attack is still fresh and the wounds of the attack still simmer,” he said, adding that the government files pertaining to the Army action should be made public.

Party leader Paramjit Singh Mand said the shutdown call was meant to protest against the killings of hundreds of innocent pilgrims and the demolition of the Akal Takht.

Mr. Mand appealed to the non-Sikh population of Amritsar to share the pain of the community and express solidarity by closing their business premises. “It is time for the Hindu community to show their solidarity with the aggrieved Sikhs,” he said.