Chidambaram: Operation Blue Star a ‘Mistake,’ Indira Gandhi Paid the Price

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has described Operation Blue Star, the controversial 1984 military action at the Golden Temple, as a significant ‘mistake’ and the ‘wrong way’ to handle the situation. Speaking at the Khushwant Singh Literature Festival in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, Chidambaram stated that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ultimately paid with her life for this decision. The operation, aimed at flushing out militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, resulted in damage to the Akal Takht and widespread anger within the Sikh community, ultimately leading to Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards months later. Chidambaram, a former Union Home Minister, emphasized that while Gandhi bore the ultimate consequence, the decision was a ‘cumulative’ one involving the army, police, intelligence, and civil services. He suggested there were alternative, less destructive methods available to resolve the crisis without involving the army, noting that a different approach was demonstrated years later to retrieve the Golden Temple. He also identified the economic situation in Punjab as the ‘real problem’ plaguing the state, suggesting the demand for Khalistan had diminished significantly.