A court in Britain has ordered the British government to declassify files that are believed to contain information about its involvement in the 1984 Operation Bluestar - a military operation to flush out armed Sikh militia from the Golden Temple in the Indian city of Amritsar.
Judge Murray Shanks who presided over the three-day hearing of the Information Tribunal in London, ruled that the majority of the files must be made public by July 12th except for one that could be retained by the government since it contains details about the British spy agencies.
Handing down the judgment, the court dismissed the British government’s argument that releasing the files would damage bilateral relations between the two countries.
The fact that 30 years has gone by is bound to have reduced any prejudice that may have resulted from release of the withheld material.- Judge Shanks
The ruling was made in response to a case filed by Phil Miller, a freelance investigative journalist who came across the documents – seemingly released in error - that established that the British government had provided military advice to Indian forces on how to carry out the operation.
The files in question contain details of the UK-India ties from 1983 to 1985, detailing a meeting of Indira Gandhi’s advisor with British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher on the Punjab situation, Sikh extremist activities and the subsequent assassination of Mrs Gandhi in October 1984.
Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Harvinder Singh Phoolka - a human rights lawyer in India said that the Indian government, too, should follow suit and release the classified documents pertaining to the operation.
"The Indian government too should make documents related to Operation Bluestar public. Country and the world have a right to know what transpired"-Harvinder Singh Phoolka
The withheld material was earlier released by the National Archives in London in 2014 under the 30-year declassification rule as part of a series over the New Year.
The release had created a buzz within the political ranks in UK and had angered Sikhs in India and around the world.
As a result, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron had initiated a review, termed the Heywood Review, which later concluded that the British government’s assistance was purely “advisory” and had limited impact on the operation itself.
At present, the British government has two choices - either to appeal against the decision or release the documents by July 12th.
