Amandeep Sandhu » Operation Blue Star

The Quint: ‘This is Like 1984’: Punjab Upset Over ‘Injustice’ in Kashmir

aman — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 04:43:18 +0000

The Quint recently published my Facebook comment on how the blockage in Kashmir reminds us of 1984, Operation Blue Star.

“As Kashmir is cordoned off, no Internet, no landline, no news coming in and out, I am reminded of a similar clampdown on Panjab summer of 1984 – Operation Blue Star. A wound on the nation’s conscience that has still not healed. Then we had 1990 Kashmir and now. We have learnt nothing. As a nation and as Indians, we have all failed Kashmir”.

Please read more here …

DailyO: On the Mumbai Farmer and Tribal Strike

aman — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 03:23:26 +0000

Yesterday, about 50,000 farmers and tribals marched into Mumbai seeking farm debt waiver. I reflected on it on Facebook and DailyO and Punjab Today chose to pick the piece as independent articles.

Please read DailyO piece here …

Please read Punjab Today piece here …

The legacy of Operation Blue Star

aman — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 17:59:22 +0000

On the thirtieth anniversary of Operation Blue Star my piece in IBNLive.in.com.

‘Democracies are based on a system of ‘social contract’ between citizens and a state. This social contract implies the citizens elect their government and expect the government to take care of their safety and well being. When a nation state attacks the sanctum sanctorum of its community, it hits the community’s centre of faith. Whatever is the intent, the message that goes out is: the state is against the religion. When Blue Star is backed by another Operation Woodrose in which hundreds of Gurdwaras in the state are raided and innocents captured and killed, the message becomes even louder. These events and the November pogrom brought about a change in the way the majority Sikhs, the moderates, now viewed the idea of Khalistan.’

Read full article here.