AMRITSAR: On the 39th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised on the Golden Temple premises on Tuesday by supporters and activists of radical Sikh outfits 

Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) protestors led by MP Simranjit Singh Mann and his partner former MP Dhian Singh Mand shouted "Khalistan Zindabad" at the Akal Takht. 

Activists from the radical Sikh group Dal Khalsa were spotted waving pro-Khalistan signs while holding placards with images of the murdered militant commander Jarnail Singh Bhidnrawale. The Dal Khalsa was leading hundreds of Sikh youths who were carrying damaged Akal Takht photos and Khalistani flags.

Pro-Khalistan chants could be heard across the Golden Temple's marbled perimeter, which is close to Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs. Massive  security arrangements were put in place in Amritsar to ensure that the event passed off peacefully.
Giani Harpreet Singh, the Jathedar of Akal Takht, stated in his letter to the Sikh community that it was urgent for Sikh preachers and academics to travel to rural areas to promote Sikhism and educate the youth about the rich tenets and history of the religion in order to bring them together under the banner of the Akal Takht. He spoke about the issue of drug-addiction which has afflicted juvenile. He said  that governments would never help the Sikh community to make them strong.

Even after the events of 1984, he claimed, Sikhs never felt terrified or anxious. The Sikh community had become stronger as a result of all of these tragedies, he said, and Sikhs will keep fighting for justice and would never be afraid to speak the truth.

The Jathedar alleged that conspiracies were being plotted to weaken the Sikh community socially, economically and politically. He said that because successive governments were attempting to control Sikh religious organisations and actively contributing to the community's rift through unfair means, the Sikh community had no aspirations or expectations from them.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the highest Sikh religious authority, displayed the holy "saroop" (physical copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib that had been shot at on this day. During the army action in 1984, a bullet struck the saroop, which was then put in the sanctum sanctorum.

The Operation Blue Star was a military operation carried out in 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple.

Security tightened at Golden Temple on Operation Blue Star anniversary