UK role around Operation Blue Star went much further, says new report

JALANDHAR: ‘Sacrificing Sikhs - the need for an investigation,’ a report authored by UK- based researcher Phil Miller and published by the Sikh Federation (UK) claims that the British involvement in the events around Operation Blue Star in June 1984 went much further than the UK government has ever officially acknowledged.
The SFUK has said that the report is set to expose “the massive UK government cover-up”.
The report finds that more than half of Foreign Office files on India from 1984 have been censored in whole or in part, with civil servants centrally involved in the events of 1984 now blocking disclosures under the thirty-year rule.
Notably, in January 2014, top secret UK government files were released to the National Archives and Miller had found documents which revealed that then British PM Margaret Thatcher had sent an SAS officer to India months before Operation Blue Star, to advise local forces on how to plan the operation.
As Sikhs in the UK and the Labour Party strongly demanded a public inquiry, then Prime Minister David Cameron instead commissioned an in-house review by cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood which claimed that the British advice was an isolated incident that had limited impact on the subsequent attack. However, this review was termed a ‘white-wash’ and inadequate.
The report says that immediately after the SAS officer carried out his reconnaissance of Amritsar with Indian special forces unit, Sikhs pulled out of peace talks claiming they had seen a commando unit move into the city. The negotiations never recovered, and ultimately led to the all-out-assault in June 1984.
The other findings of the report include that India requested British training and equipment for its police paramilitary units immediately after the SAS officer had advised on coordinating paramilitary units for an attack on Amritsar. The Foreign Office wanted to supply India with internal security equipment that it knew could be used to raid the city.
The report also notes that the sale of military equipment to India in the 1980s was of paramount importance, with the UK government turning a blind eye towards human rights. India was one of Britain’s top three purchasers of military equipment from 1981-1990, at times, buying more British weapons than Saudi Arabia.
“Significant co-operation between the UK and Indian intelligence agencies developed after June 1984,” is another finding of the report.
“Whilst the UK government claims there is no need to investigate Britain’s role in India’s repression of Sikhs, this report sets out extensive evidence that raises serious concerns about the veracity of the UK’s official narrative,” said a statement issued by the SFUK.
“Despite extensive censorship, this report is a real eye-opener into some of the painful facts that both the UK and the Indian governments wanted to remain hidden,” said Amrik Singh, chair of the federation.
The report has also named at least two senior officials, who apparently have conflicts of interest, which increased censorship.