Bullet-hit Guru Granth Sahib put on display

HT Correspondent

AMRITSAR: The holy bir (scripture) of the Guru Granth Sahib, which was hit by a bullet during Operation Bluestar in 1984, was put out on display at the Golden Temple on Thursday for four days to mark the 38th anniversary of the army action to flush out armed militants from the temple complex.

The holy bir was displayed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for devotees for the first time last year. It will be kept on display at Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj Baba Gurbakhsh Singh near Akal Takht Sahib from morning to evening. Arrangements have also been made to show devotees the bullet that hit the holy scripture, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said.

Giani Rajdeep Singh, granthi (Sikh priest) of Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) on Thursday performed the service of adorning the holy scripture. Information on the relic was shared with the community by Giani Gurmukh Singh, head granthi of Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of the Sikhs. “This holy saroop (form) which was hit by a bullet is a truth telling picture of the atrocities perpetrated on the Sikh community.... The Sikh community could never forget this atrocity perpetrated on them,” he said.

Operation Bluestar was conducted by the Army on June 6, 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple complex.

Former SGPC senior vice-president Surjit Singh said: “The then Congress government had given deep wounds to Sikhs by attacking Sri Harmandir Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib in June 1984. It is important to apprise coming generations about the brutal assault…”