He only came to know later that the army was sent, and the action had started. He was very much pained.
First, being born in the house of a Sikh, being a devout Sikh, and also a patriot who fought for independence. How would he feel?
A man, who learnt his religion at Harminder Sahib, became a Sikh preacher, and when the action took place at the same gurudwara, how much painful it could be for him. Whatever the reasons may be, he was not in favour (of army action).
He wanted the matter to be resolved, but was never against attack on the the gurudwara. Though he was the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces, he cannot give direct orders, otherwise how could he allow the army into the gurudwara?"
Dr Gurdip Kaur became emotional, when she spoke about Operation Bluestar. "He always felt very badly that he was never taken into confidence. Had he been taken into confidence, Operation Bluestar would not have happened. Nobody can imagine what happened in 1984. He always bore the pain as to why the riots were not stopped immediately. I understand he was a man who was considered among the worst of the guilty by his own community."
The ex-president's daughter revealed that at one point of time, after Operation Bluestar, her father wanted to resign, but he feared there could be revolt in the army and it could affect the nation's interest.
"He consulted his advisers, but he did not take any hasty step. He thought, if he resigned, what would be the effect on his community, and on the nation at large. Nobody can question his patriotism. He took part in the freedom struggle, put his life at stake. He did whatever he could for the Sikh community, but he also thought what effect it would cause to his community if he resigned. If he had resigned, there could have been revolt in the army, on the Sikh soldiers, if they had revolted. The man thoughout about everything, because he was, after all, the President of India. The county could have broken into two".
Dr Gurdip Kaur revealed how her father wept on seeing the Akal Takht and Golden Temple premises devastated after Operation Bluestar. "He lost his will to live", she said.
"I saw in his eyes that he had lost the will to live. He had returned from the Golden Temple. There were tears in his eyes. He was very much pained. He was a religious person, he had learnt everything from his religion, from the gurudwara. The two painful events in his life were two - Bluestar and anti-Sikh riots. These were the most difficult times of his life. He also told me, I did not like whatever that had happened, and had told Indira Gandhi also. He was not a weak man not to have expressed his opinion", said Dr Gurdip Kaur.
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