Chapter 9

OPERATION WOOD ROSE

During military attack on the Golden Temple Com­plex, code named, "Operation Blue Star" at least five thou­sand innocent Sikhs who had gathered there for observa­tion of the martyrdom day of Guru Arjun, were massa­cred by the Indian Army. Feeling not content with this ghastly bloodshed the Indian government, side by side with Operation Blue Star, launched on the Sikhs another attack known as Operation Woodrose. The main purpose of this Operation was to mop up all Amritdhari Sikhs, especially the young boys, from all villages of Punjab. During this mopping up operation the Army indiscrimi­nately picked up all Sikh boys and other Sikhs who had supported flowing beards and adorned Gatra, a small dag­ger, one of the five symbols prescribed by G.uru Gobind Singh; It is preposterous that the Army branded in their official publication "Bat Cheet" all Amritdhari Sikhs as extremists and the Indian government led by Indira Gan-dhi had endorsed this grave disinformation spread by the blinded Army. Instead of asking the Army to keep their hands off the innocent Amritdhari Sikhs, the Indian gov­ernment framed draconian laws to facilitate the Army to carry out indiscriminate arrests of the Sikhs, young and old, alike. The state of Punjab and Chandigarh were de­clared as disturbed areas and to accord it legal sanctity the Punjab Chandigarh Disturbed Areas Act was passed by the government. Not only that, to enable the Army to round up any Sikh they wished to without impunity the government passed another Act called the Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Act. To provide sharp teeth to the courts, the Terrorists Affected Areas (Special Courts) Act was also passed to deal sternly with the arrested Sikhs. And to arm the police and the paramilitary forces with unbridled powers the Criminal Procedure Code was amended. The civil administration was virtually subor­dinated to the military authorities. Thus Punjab was vir­tually converted into a Military Occupied Area as is done in the case of captured area of an enemy country.

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. Many of them went under ground and many escaped to Paki­stan and other countries to escape ruthless oppression let loose by the Army. 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.

This monstrous military action against the Sikhs was mischievously code-named as Operation Woodrose be­cause in the blind eyes of the Indian government the young Sikhs were of course roses but "wildly by grown in the woods. With this malice and contempt in their minds the Indian Army weeded out the "roses" from the "Woods'. In this way the land of the roses, the state of Punjab, was ruined beyond repairs.

The ruthless repression of the Sikhs in Punjab sur­passed thcJU-iwities committed by Zakarya Khan and Mir Mannu. in the eighteenth Century A.I) under the Mughal rule as well as Ahmed Shah Abdali.

Thus "Operation Blue Star" and "Operation Wood Rose" left a deep and indelible scar in the fare face of the land of the roses, the land of Punjab, Who will heal these wounds; who will remove this scar? None else. One day the Sikhs alone would heal their wounds. Or some day some Messiah may born again to restore confidence in them and elevate them.