KashifAsrar
SENIOR MEMBER
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- Jul 8, 2006
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BLUESTAR VS SILENCE
OPERATION BLUESTAR:
June 3-6, 1984
Mission:
To flush out militants headed by J S Bhindranwale, who had holed up in the Golden Temple
Build-up:
The militant held hundreds of devotees hostage and killed some senior Sikh leaders. They ignored calls to surrender. Troops surrounded the temple and curfew was imposed
Assault:
Led mostly by Sikh troops, all of whom refused offers to stay away from the operation. Also led by a Sikh, Lt Gen K S Brar. The first troops entered with handkerchiefs on their head, and without helmets or boots. Rooms had to be cleared by hand-to-hand combat.
Tanks used:
The militants were dug in well and were commanded by a former Army general. Indian troops took casualties and had to use tanks. This left Akal Takht damaged
Casualties:
Army: 83 dead and 248 wounded; Militants: 492 killed, including Bhindranwale, and 86 wounded
Aftermath:
Indira Gandhi assassinated by Sikh bodyguards on Oct 31, 1984; Gen A S Vaidya, who was Army chief during Bluestar, assassinated by Sikh militants on June 31, 1986 Op Bluestar stoked the Khalistan embers and the militancy raged on for more than a decade
OPERATION SILENCE
Mission:
To flush out militants led by Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who had turned it into a citadel of Talibanism
Build-up:
Militants held nine Chinese citizens and hundreds of devotees hostage in the mosque. They ignored calls to surrender. Week-long skirmishes killed 21 people. Curfew imposed in Islamabad
Assault:
Heavily armed commandos stormed the mosque at dawn and room-to-room fight ensued. Militants used rocketpropelled grenades and machine-guns. Troops retaliated with armoured carriers
Casualties:
160 dead, including Ghazi, who made a last stand with some militants in the madrassa basement
