Operation Bluestar bullet-hit Guru Granth Sahib ‘saroop’ on display at Golden Temple complex in Amritsar

GS PAUL

Amritsar, May 26

The ‘injured’ bullet-riddled Sri Guru Granth Sahib ‘saroop’ kept in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple during the Operation Bluestar in June 1984, has been put on display for the visitors today.

Emotions ran high as the devotees in a dedicated queue were eager have a glimpse of this particular ‘saroop’ that was kept for the consecutive anniversary of Operation Bluestar that falls on June 6. The bullet had damaged its cover and 90 ‘angs’ (pages) before getting stuck in the ‘saroop’. The shell of that specific bullet that was believed to have hit the ‘saroop’, then, has also been put on view.

This ‘saroop’ will be open for public viewing till June 6 at Shaheed Baba Gurbax Singh Gurdwara, located at the rear of Akal Takht. This precedent was started in 2021 by the former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur.

The conservation of the ‘saroop’ was undertaken by experts, who retained some damage marks on it. The bullet mark on the cover of the holy script has been kept ‘as it is’.

An official told that the holy relic was part of evidences of the Operation Bluestar. A specially designed paper was arranged from overseas, that was pasted on the damaged portion of the ‘angs’.

Giani Baljit Singh, Granthi of Golden Temple performed the service of adorning this holy saroop, whereas the information about the relics was being shared with the devotees by Giani Gurmukh Singh, the Head Granthi of Akal Takht.

Akal Takth Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh said that even after four decades, the wounds of attack on the mind of the Sikhs were not healed up. “Sikhs can never forget the June 1984 Ghallughara (holocaust).The move to put the ‘saroop’ open for public was taken to let the younger generation know what atrocities the then Central Government had committed on the Sikhs,” he said.

He has asked the global Sikh community to commemorate this heinous act as ‘shaheedi saptah’ (a week of mourning) and the males should support black turbans and females black ‘chunni’ (stole) between June 4-6 as a mark of protest.

A devotee, Manjinder Singh from Jalandhar, said, “We were aware of the Army action, but never knew that our holy saroop too suffered bullet injury”.

Sukhjinder Singh from Mohali said that he already had the ‘darshan’ of injured holy scripture two years ago, but now came with his family. “It was painful to recall what had happened 40 years ago,” he said.