Bluestar 'martyrs' memorial opens in Amritsar

A controversial memorial dedicated to separatist Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other "martyrs" of Operation Bluestar was inaugurated on Saturday at the Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar. The memorial constructed by Damdami Taksal - a Sikh seminary - was handed over to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the highest body of the Sikh religion that manages several shrines across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. A plaque on the memorial in Amritsar mentions that it is a gurdwara in the memory of "the 14th head of Damdami Taksal Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and all martyrs of the 1984 holocaust". Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhumma handed over the keys of the memorial to SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar. The SGPC had entrusted its construction to Damdami Taksal. Several radical groups, including Damdami Taksal and Dal Khalsa, had been demanding the memorial for over two decades. Earlier, the SGPC had pushed the issue into cold storage. The ceremony was kept low-key, with the rituals being carried out by the head priest at the Golden Temple. The priest said the memorial was built in response to a long-pending demand to commemorate the "sacrifice" of Bhindranwale and others who had died while "fighting the army" during Operation Bluestar. Asked about the cost of the construction, Dhumma said they did not keep any account of the cost of building the memorial since people from several parts of India and other countries participated in Kar Sewa (voluntary service) and completed the "beautiful building" in a record time. The foundation stone of the memorial was laid a few days before the anniversary of the Operation Bluestar on June 6, 2012. The Sikh clergy supported by the Akal Takht -- the highest temporal seat of the Sikh religion � laid the foundation of the memorial in the Golden Temple Complex. Though Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had tried to distance his party from the memorial by saying that the state government had nothing to do with the memorial project, political analysts feel otherwise. Commentators said the Sikh clergy and the SGPC should not be seen deciding on crucial matters such as these in isolation. A large number of Shiromani Akali Dal leaders are part of the SGPC, and they are believed to be in consultation with the party leadership on such important issues.