"there has been total silence" on the inquiry
A UK-based Sikh group has been left “disappointed” by Labour’s silence on the 1984 Golden Temple massacre inquiry despite Sir Keir Starmer’s promise.
Sikh Federation UK told Foreign Secretary David Lammy they had written to him five times since Labour gained power and had not received any replies.
In 2022, Sir Keir Starmer wrote to Sikhs and promised a Labour government would “open an independent inquiry into Britain’s military role in the Indian army’s 1984 raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar”.
In 1984 momentum was building in India for a separate Sikh state to be established.
But in June of that year, Operation Blue Star saw Indian forces storm the Golden Temple where separatists had taken refuge.
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale – a key advocate for a separate Sikh state – was among hundreds killed, however, Sikh groups claim the true number of deaths were in the thousands.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had ordered the raid on the temple and four months later, she was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, allegedly in an act of revenge.
In 2014, documents accidentally released by the UK government revealed Margaret Thatcher was aware of the plan to raid the temple and in the months before the raid, a British SAS officer provided advice to the Indian government.
Then Prime Minister David Cameron requested civil servant Jeremy Heywood to conduct an investigation.
Mr Cameron later said: “Around four months before the event, at the request of the Indian government, a single UK military officer provided some advice.
“But critically this advice was not followed, and it was a one-off.
“There is absolutely no evidence of UK government involvement in the operation itself.”
Sikh Federation UK previously accused the government of covering up the violence and has been calling for a judge-led inquiry.
In the letter to David Lammy, the NGO’s lead executive Dabinderjit Singh said “Labour has now been in power for over 6 months and there has been total silence” on the inquiry “promised by Labour for the last 10 years”.
He pointed out that despite the five letters already sent to Mr Lammy, they have “not even had a holding reply” about the consideration of an inquiry, as guidelines state they should receive.
#Sikhs suffered collective trauma in 1984, as #Amritsar #GoldenTemple complex was attacked, with intolerable destruction and loss of life.
While previous governments tried to brush it under the carpet, we need independent inquiry to establish extent of Thatcher govt involvement. pic.twitter.com/2lk4bGYOYB
— Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (@TanDhesi) January 9, 2025
The letter was sent after Labour MP Tan Dhesi, who is the chair of the defence select committee, also called for an inquiry.
Lucy Powell, the Labour leader of the House of Commons, said:
“We need to get to the bottom of what happened, and I will ensure that the Ministers responsible are in touch with him to discuss the matter further.”
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