Sikhs mark the 25th anniversary of Amritsar massacres by Indian army and call for an independent Sikh state. Panj Piyare
The rally and march was on the 25th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, in June 1984, when the Indian Army attacked the Golden Temple at Amritsar to detain Sikhs who were fighting for an independent Sikh state of Khalistan, destroyed much of the temple and, according to independent accounts, killed around 5000 Sikhs, many of them women and children (Sikh sources put the figure around twice as high.) Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi was blamed for the attack, and in October 2004 she was assassinated by two Sikhs serving as her bodyguards. Following this, there was widespread mob violence against Sikhs, particularly around Delhi, incited by prominent members of the Congress party, with police often giving their active support, and thousands were massacred. Both the fight for Khalistan and the persecution of Sikhs have continued, although attracting little news coverage in the outside world. Sikhs claim that over 250,000 Sikhs have been killed by in an orchestrated genocide by the Indian government. The largest of the Sikh separatist groups is Babbar Khalsa International, founded by Sukhdev Singh Babbar (1955-92) and one of 45 groups from around the world proscribed by the UK government by the Terrorism Act 2000 (the 45 include another Sikh group, the International Sikh Youth Federation.) One of the best-known Babbar freedom fighters is Jagtar Singh Hawara, who escaped from a maximum security jail in 2004 with two other Sikh militants. Sunday's demonstration started with a rally in Hyde Park, with speakers calling for an independent Khalistan. Police objected to placards naming prominent Indian politicians with an image of an anonymous head in a gun-sight and some particularly graphic views of the Indian atrocities, but many demonstrators carried these as well as illegal Babbar placards.
Size: 5040px × 3354px
Location: Hyde Park, London, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: amritsar, army, babbar, blue, golden, hyde, independence, indian, khalistan, khalsa, khanda, london, march, massacres, operation, panj, park, piyare, rally, robes, saffron, sikh, sikhs, singh, star, state, symbol, temple, turbans
