Kuldip Singh Brar - Views On Operation Blue Star

Views On Operation Blue Star

It is easy to be critical when you are ignorant about what actually happened, why it happened and whether or not the action was avoidable.

Operation Blue Star was militarily successful, but it is criticized by many for being badly planned. It is considered to be a political disaster and an unprecedented act in modern Indian history, and was followed by events like the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the subsequent 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and the Punjab insurgency.

Although General Brar later described Operation Bluestar as "most traumatic, most painful", he insisted that it was necessary. He compared Operation Blue Star to Grand Mosque Seizure of 1979.

When questioned about why Operation Blue Star was not as efficient as Operation Black Thunder, General Brar said that the situation during the Operation Blue Star was much more difficult due to the involvement of popular figures like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and General Shabeg Singh:

General Brar accepted that Operation Blue Star had hurt the sentiments of many Sikhs, including those who opposed the pro-Khalistan militants. However, he insisted that the act was not against any religion, but against "a section of misguided people", who held the country to ransom. He said, "I respect religion, and respect the fact that I am a Sikh."

After Operation Blue Star, General Brar's maternal uncle, who lived in London, refused to have anything to do with him. According to General Brar, his uncle wasn't very religious earlier—he smoked, visited pubs, and didn't maintain long hair (kesh). But after Operation Blue Star, he suddenly changed and started growing his hair and beard. He started participating in pro-Khalistan functions, and even visited Pakistan. In 1997, while he was dying of cancer, General Brar paid him a visit in a hospital. General Brar stated in an interview that his dying uncle had "tears rolling down his cheeks", and now understood his actions during Operation Blue Star.

In the 1990s, General Brar authored a book on his version of Operation Blue Star, titled Operation Bluestar: The True Story. In an interview, he said that after reading his book, a Canadian Sikh who had earlier threatened him with death, realized that "the people who had let the Sikhs down were some Sikhs and the internal politics of the Akalis", and told him that he had "cleaned the temple". He also offered to pay for translating the book into Punjabi language so that more people could read it. The book's publishers did the translation later, and the book ran into several reprints.