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Jarnail Singh BhindranwaleJarnail Singh Bhindranwale was the leader of Damdami Taksal, a Sikh organization based in the Punjab, India. Though never officially recognized he was also associated as the leader of an armed militant group named the Dal Khalsa. He became famous in the late 1970s as a religious preacher. He was the leader of the Sikh group that occupied the Golden Temple of Amritsar and fought Indian government forces in Operation Blue Star. Bhindranwale was widely believed to be a supporter of the creation of Khalistan, the proposed Sikh nation-state, but in a BBC interview he stated that if the government agreed to the creation of Khalistan, he would not refuse, what he mainly wanted was for Sikhs to be treated as equal citizens of India. Other quotes attributed to Bhindranwale include 'we are not in favor of Khalistan nor are we against it.' Responding to the creation of Khalistan he is qouted as saying, 'We won't reject it. We shall not repeat the mistake of 1947.' to which he added, 'if the Indian Government invaded the Darbar Sahib complex, the foundation for an independent Sikh state will have been laid.' In 1978, he led a violent confrontation at an event of Sikhs adhering to the Nirankari sect of Sikhism. Bhindranwale is quoted as saying "We will not allow this Nirankari convention to take place. We are going to march there and cut them to pieces!". During this confrontation three Nirankaris and twelve DK members were killed. In 1981, he was implicated in murdering two gurus of the Nirankari sect. In 1983, 22 police officers were killed in Punjab, and later in the year the central government intervened sending in the army to assist in controlling the region. Bhindranwale and a group of armed followers occupied the Sikh relegion's holiest site the Golden Temple early in 1984, fortifying it and making it the base of his operations. In March 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the army to surround the temple. On the 3rd of June, a 36 hour curfew was imposed on the state of Punjab this period coincided with the weekend of 2nd and 3rd, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, who built the Golden Temple and compiled the Sikh's Holy book. As a result of this, the temple was filled with worshippers. On June 5th 1984, through a public address system a senior civil administration member and a senior army officer asked militants and devotees to come outside and surrender. The efforts continued from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Bhindrawale released some 129 devotees many of them very sick. Bhindranwale and the other militants refused to surrender, and on June 6, 1984, security forces assaulted the temple in what was then called Operation Blue Star. Bhindranwale was killed in the engagement. Nineteen years later the Akal Takht, the primary seat of Sikh religious authority declared Bhindranwale a martyr.
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