Operation Blue Star was an Indian Armed Forces operation between 1 and 10 June 1984 to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh separatists from the buildings of the Golden Temple, the holiest site of Sikhism.
Akal Takht being repaired by the Indian government after the offensive; it was later pulled down and rebuilt by the Indian Sikh community.
Golden temple with Akal Takht on the right, photographed in 2006.
A picture of the rebuilt Akal Takht in 2013. Bhindranwale and his followers occupied Akal Takht in December 1983.
Akal Takhat, Amritsar
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a Sikh militant. He was the leading figure of the Khalistan movement, although he did not personally advocate for a separate Sikh nation.
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Bhindranwale and his followers moved to the Akal Takht complex in December 1983