Moon Desk: Month of June is known for two ironic state-sponsored massacres in India – one each against the Sikhs and the Kashmiri Muslims in Amritsar and Srinagar respectively. BJP, with her third term in power, has made minority persecution more intense and systematic. However, India was never a normal secular state prior to the BJP tenure as well.
In the first week of June 1984, Indian forces attacked sacred Sikh Gurdwara ‘Golden Temple’ with military grade weapons during operation ‘Blue Star’. Thousands of Sikh worshippers gathered on the anniversary of Guru Arjun Dev lost their lives. On 11 June 1991, Indian troops mercilessly killed 32 Kashmiri innocent civilians in Chotta Bazar Srinagar in a fire raid.
Victims of both incidents are still awaiting justice.Consequences of Golden Temple massacre were severer than the assessments. Though government accepted approximately 455 causalities in Golden Temple however death toll claimed by Sikh community crossed the figure of 5000.
Chilling facts about post- massacre inhuman disposal of dead bodies from Golden Temple have been revealed in a story published by BBC Urdu on 7th June 2025. Shocking disclosures of Municipal corporation official Keval Kumar have further dented the already dubious claims of Indian government about operation Blue Star.
Nobody could have imagined that iconic congress leader Indira Gandhi would pay the price of violent misadventure with her life. Not only the India but whole world was shocked with the assassination of sitting Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Unexpectedly, two of personal Sikh body guards killed Indira Gandhi in retaliation to the desecration of Golden Temple and merciless killing of Sikh worshippers.
Subsequent violence from extremist Hindu quarters compelled the oppressed Sikhs to migrate from birth places. Thousands of victim Sikh families got settled in UK, US and European countries. Victim Sikhs are now striving to seek freedom from Indian occupational regime and conducting Khalistan Referendums across the Europe.
Srinagar Chotta Bazar massacre, which took place on 11 June 1991, is one of the most blatant acts of extra judicial killings committed by security forces in the IIOJK. During fake security operation, CRPF troops went berserk and opened indiscriminate firing all the way from their camp to the densely populated downtown area of Chotta Bazaar.
Troops barged into the shops, gathered people on the streets and killed them randomly. Four people were shot in a motor mechanics’ workshop and four others were shot outside a medical college. Some rickshaw drivers and bystanders were also shot by the troops. The indiscriminate firing took lives of 32 innocent civilians whereas 22 persons got critically injured.
As a cover-up measure, a probe under Justice Mufti Jalaluddin was ordered .Advocate Jaleel Andrabi pursued the case vigorously for which he was also killed by Indian forces. The inquiry went into oblivion with the transfer of Justice Mufti Jalaluddin.
Millions of Kashmiris and Sikhs are striving hard to get rid of majoritarian Hindu State. Bleak history of June massacres is more relevant for Sikhs and Muslim Kashmiris who are living under the Hindutva influenced extremist rule of BJP.
