It was June 3, 1984. The 378th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, was being commemorated when the Indian Army launched a military attack on the holiest Sikh shrine under the strange name of  Operation Blue Star. Why was this day chosen for the attack? It was no coincidence that the day chosen for the attack was a historic day. 

Two centuries ago, on the day of Diwali, 1736, the Mughal forces attacked the Golden Temple. It was such a massacre that people long remembered it as a ‘bloody Diwali’. When Ahmad Shah Abdali attacked the Golden Temple, he too chose the day of Baisakhi to kill as many Sikhs as possible, as Sikhs would gather in large numbers at the Golden Temple to celebrate the birthday of the Khalsa. 

Facts to know about the Umranangal family

Jeevan Singh was born in 1914 in the village of Dhaliwal Bet in the district of Kapurthala. He passed the 10th grade in Kapurthala high school. Originally a farmer by profession, he joined Akali Dal in 1952 and continued his political career. He became the Sarpanch and Nambardar (village chief) of his native village Umra Nangal. He was then general secretary of Akali Dal and eventually became vice-chairman of the party.

During the 1980s, terrorism claimed many innocent victims; We saw two examples in the previous story – Harjinder Singh and Subhash Chandra. In addition, these two families, many more families that were influenced by extremist groups at the time. This analysis contributes to the understanding of the insurgency in Punjab which has claimed so many lives. 

The Umranangal family also lost loved ones during the uprising in Punjab. Jathedar Jeevan Singh Umranangal has always spoken out against any misunderstanding. He thought this was his religion as a Sikh. He gained immense knowledge by reading the Sikh scriptures and he firmly believes that a Sikh should always be prepared to die for the truth.

With unwavering conviction, Jeevan Singh believed that the terrorist groups operating in Punjab were against the principles of Sikhism.

Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre

Everyone knows that the martyrdom of Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar also took place on the day of Baisakhi i.e. April 13, 1919. The attack on the Golden Temple on the day of Gurpurab brought back to the minds of the people the horrible days of Sikh history which are mentioned in the history books. The desecration and looting of places of worship by Muhammad Gauri, Genghis Khan,

Ahmad Shah Abdali and other invaders are well known but there is no precedent in history for the destruction of a minority shrine in peacetime. The government must have done it through such a horrible incident. The Blue Star massacre was the first massacre in the history of India, but not in the history of the world, when troops were called upon to attack the holiest shrine of a nation in which its own men, women, and children were massacred. May have happened.

As soon as the army launched an attack on the Golden Temple, the whole of Punjab was cut off from the rest of the world. All postal and communication services were cut off. A severe curfew of 36 hours was imposed which was later extended for another 30 hours. It was applicable from one end of Punjab to the other, including villages. Even a person could not walk on a normal road or cross a street. No curfew passes were issued and machine guns, beedi army trucks, and sometimes, trucks have patrolled the streets with tanks – to give the impression that the army was in complete control of the state. People living around the Golden Temple were given only five minutes to evacuate their homes and shops on the day of the curfew.

When some people found it impossible to do so in such a short time, many of them were killed by jumping from the roofs of their houses in fear and trying to escape. Many elderly people, women, and children who could not escape had to go through a life-and-death struggle because their electricity and water supply were cut off. All non-military vehicles were barred from plying on the road. As one eyewitness said, “Even dogs were not allowed to bark.”

News censorship was imposed for two months. The army captured all the foreign journalists and drove them out of the state. Even all the major newspapers in the state had to stop printing for three days. The whole wartime atmosphere was created. The flow of life stopped. All telephones of the Darbar Sahib group were cut off on June 2 and water and electricity were cut off on June 3

What Military action was taken on June 1, 1984?

The firing, which started on June 1, continued intermittently for the next two days in order to find out from which place the encounter was taking place. But as noted earlier, there was no retaliatory fire.

When the army cordoned off the Darbar Sahib complex, Subhash Kirpekar, a journalist who met Sant Bhindranwale on June 3, asked if he was afraid of death. Sant Bhindranwale replied, “One cannot be a Sikh who is afraid of death.” He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture and that his confession had been obtained through torture.

When Kirpekar asked what could be done to stop the violence, he replied, “Ask those who are responsible for it.” He then asked, “Do you think that Sikhs cannot live in this country?” Sant Ji replied, “Yes, they cannot live in India, nor with India. It may be possible to do so with equal understanding. But to be honest, that doesn’t seem possible. ” This was the last meeting given by Sant Bhindranwale to a journalist.

Witnesses on the spot have revealed that Sant Bhindranwale had issued strict instructions not to fire a single shot until the troops entered the Golden Temple. There were fronts around their Darbar Sahib – not just for defensive attack. According to eyewitnesses, Sant Bhindranwale’s men fired only when the army entered the Golden Temple.

Despite their unparalleled passion, they could not compete with the army in terms of numbers or ammunition. Even their brother also said that my brother was misunderstood by the Govt.

Many Sikhs were shot at close range after their hands were tied behind their backs with turbans. “The army seemed to be working under orders not to make anyone a prisoner” and did not want to allow any militants to survive, wrote the Sunday Times reporter Marie Anne Weaver. This massacre will be considered the worst massacre in the history of independent India.

Jiwan Singh Umranangal’s Appeal to Stop the Killing of Innocents

Maintain the sanctity of places of worship, stop the killing of innocent people, and solve Punjab and Panth issues. MP Jathedar Jiwan Singh Umranangal told reporters at a meeting of important figures on April 22, 1984, in the village of Umranangal. He was saddened by the murder inside the Golden Temple complex. He said that no Sikh had ever “murdered” inside his holy place.

He called on the people to maintain Hindu-Sikh unity.

Jiwan Singh was born in 1914, in the Dhaliwal Bet village of the Kapurthala district. He passed matriculation from the Kapurthala High School. Originally an agriculturalist by profession, he adopted politics as a career in 1952, becoming a member of the Akali Dal. He became a sarpanch and a nambardar (village head) of his native village Umra Nangal. He later served as the General Secretary of Akali Dal, and ultimately became the party’s Vice President.

Know what Jathedar Jiwan Singh Umranangal told reporters about Saka Blue Star June 6, 1984

Maintain the sanctity of places of worship, stop the killing of innocent people, and solve Punjab and Panth issues. MP Jathedar Jeevan Singh Umranangal told reporters at a meeting of important figures on April 22, 1984, in the village of Umranangal. He was saddened by the murder inside the Golden Temple complex. He said that no Sikh had ever “murdered” inside his holy place.

He called on the people to maintain Hindu-Sikh unity.

Sukhdev Singh a Martyr of the Umranangal Family

The Punjab Crisis, an armed uprising of the Khalistan movement that spanned two decades and emerged in the 1980s as a wave of violent racism and gradually turned the state into a disaster. On May 8, the terrorists found their first target – Sukhdev Singh (son of Jeevan Singh Umranangal). Surprisingly, he was gunned down just one kilometer from his home. It is alleged that Sukhdev was killed by a bodyguard. The police then arrested the bodyguard.

Sukhdev was a very helpful, non-partisan, and gentlemanly man. His sudden death was an unfulfilled loss for his widow, Harpreet Kaur and his three children. But even after his son’s death, Jiwan Singh Umranangal maintained his firm stance against activism.

Jiwan Singh Umranangal Continued His Fight

On June 15, they started marching in neighboring villages. He first decided to go to the place where his son was killed, where he stopped for a while and prayed for his son’s peace of mind. He then moved to other villages where he called on the villagers not to be afraid of terrorists; They must not tolerate oppression and speak out against it.

Jeevan Singh was usually seen with a sword in his hand, but this time he took a relaxed approach where he was seen as a lone prophet wandering the villages spreading a lonely message. He told people to say their prayers to their gods and join the fight against terrorism.

Looking at the current scenario, he said that the whole of Punjab has turned into a place of cremation, where you can all see corpses burning and people mourning their loved ones. He stressed that these killings must stop. Everywhere he went he reminded people that one day they would all die, so they should die like a man and not live like a coward. According to him, a murderer is a murderer, and it is wrong to call him a martyr.

PS Umranangal Followed in His Grandfather’s Footsteps

Jiwan Singh Umranangal was the grandfather of former IPS officer Paramraj Singh Umranangal. Paramraj Singh Umranangal, former Inspector General of the Punjab Police, has been repeatedly recognized for his determination, commitment to the nation and has been nominated twice for the President’s Medal. “I am very proud of his contribution to the Punjab Police” said Paramraj Singh Umranangal.

His grandfather, Sardar Jiwan Singh Umranangal, although himself a former lawmaker and Akali minister, was one of the few courageous voices at the time to openly condemn the militant takeover of the Golden Temple. The nation cannot forget the contribution of his family and we absolutely must support him for the good deeds of his family.