The Ghallughar of Operation Bluestar 1984 is coming soon. We all remember this horrific attack by the Evil India Regime. But there is one thing that is not highlighted enough after Bluestar. Which is Operation Woodrose,
this was a direct attack on Gursikhs to kill, hunt and torture, in there attempts to destroyed Sikhee. .
The Army revengefully let loose a rein of terror in every nook and corner of all villages of Punjab. Like hunting hounds they rounded up thousands of Sikhs especially the youths, detained them in military camps, tortured them brutally, and in many cases shot them dead. Many were crippled and maimed permanently. The reckless oppression forced hundreds of those Sikh youths, at whom the Army could not lay hands, to flee their villages.The mothers, sisters and wives of those Sikhs who went under ground for fear of arbitrary arrests, were arrested, detained in the military camps. Tortured and in many cases molested in order to force their fleeing relatives to surrender. There was none to hear their wails and woes: their was none to give them healing touch. Only wild wolves were let loose to howl and growl at them. The fanatic Hindus slyly smiled and gleefully rejoiced at the pitiable plight of the Sikhs in Punjab.
Below is information on this Operation and some raw images of our Brothers and Sisters
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Operation Woodrose[/b] was a follow up to Operation Bluestar, taking place from June to September 1984. It was an operation in which the Indian Army unsuccessfully attempted to wipe out Sikh militancy. The Indian Army went to every village and town to detain suspected militants. In the process, the army detained thousands of young Sikhs in the countryside, many of whom were tortured and murdered. This event is largely unknown because of the strict media censorship imposed by the then ruling government of Indira Gandhi, which was fearful of the instability of the nation and the censorship of the congress party. In the Punjab the operation caused the Indian Army to became very unpopular.
During the operation, General Jamwal was assigned the responsibility to seal the border and General R.S. Dayal was instructed to oversee the apprehension of militants in state of Punjab. Woodrose involved forced entry into thousands of Sikh homes, most of whose inhabitants had committed no crime.
Many Sikhs believe that the aim of 'Woodrose' was not to wipe out 'militancy', but was really aimed at wiping out Sikhism by riding Punjab of its Amritdhari's (baptized Sikhs), especially young men.
The way in which the operation was conducted is as follows:The Indian army would go to villages and pull out the Sikhs, then publicly humiliate Sikhs and then kill most males or detain them. Women also were dishonoured in many ways. The army particluarly targeted young Sikhs and on some occasions were embaressed when just a handful of Sikhs would repel army units, however on the whole the superior numbers of troops and their superior arms kept such successes down. The result was the death of thousands of Sikhs.
Before Operation Woodrose started, Indian PM Indira Gandhi had the following published in magazines:
"Any knowledge of dangerous Amritdhari's who are pledged to commit murders, arson and acts of terrorism, should immediately be brought to the notice of the authorities. These people might appear harmless from outside but they are basically commited to terrorism. In the interest of all of us their identity and whereabouts must always be disclosed."
Operation Woodrose was similar to Operation Bluestar except that the Gurdwaras were now under the control of the Army and hunting down any Amritdhari (baptised) Sikhs in the countryside throughout Punjab became the sole objective.
The Army stated in it’s publication, known as ‘baat cheet’ or talking points, that any baptised Sikh (bearded) was effectively a terrorist. It blamed Guru Gobind Singh for militancy among Sikhs and to all intents & purposes waged war on him personally. This was the third time in history that a decree of this kind (re. mass annihilation of Sikhs) was declared; the first two being by Emperor Bahadur Shah (1707-12) and Emperor Farukh Siyar (1713-19).
During both Woodrose & Bluestar any Sikh wearing a turban was dishonoured and summarily shot at point blank range with their hands tied behind their backs, with their unwound turbans. Any youth aged between 15 and 35 were particularly targeted for eradication.
The Army
worked very closely with members of the Congress Party, BJP and CPM activists to ensure that every village and town was combed for baptised Sikhs. Those that were not shot were indicted for being members of opposition Sikh political parties. The mopping up operations truly involved the infliction of terror upon a community that had until now been unquestionably patriotic.
Even by conservative estimates the numbers of Sikh youth taken into custody during the first 4 to 6 weeks of Operation Woodrose amounted to 100,000. Even the most the patriotic nationalist Sikhs accepted there was no choice left to somehow find a way of defending itself against the ever growing use of the Army, para-military forces and state-sponsored terrorism.
References Sikhwiki.org from Various Books & Independent Sources
If anybody has there experience or stories during this Woodrose please share.
Jhool De Nishaan De Panth Maharaj De!
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਬਚਨਕਮਾਵਣੇਸਚਾਏਹੁਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥
