Bhindranwale moves to Akal Takht

Who: Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his jatha, and Major General Shabeg Singh (retd), who planned the defences of the complex. The Akali Dal under Sant Harchand Singh Longowal ran the Dharam Yudh Morcha, but The Caravan notes that the crowds backed Bhindranwale.

What: On 15 December 1983 Bhindranwale and his men left Guru Nanak Niwas, the rest house in the Sri Darbar Sahib complex where he had lived since 20 July 1982, and moved into Sri Akal Takht Sahib. The date comes from the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism and from the police officer Birbal Nath, whose account The Caravan draws on. Nath says Bhindranwale left "on the pretext of a quarrel with another armed group" inside the complex; The Caravan does not name the group. With Shabeg Singh's help the Akal Takht was fortified and stocked with arms, ammunition and rations in case of a long siege. The Caravan describes an outer ring of positions on high buildings and an inner ring along the parikrama, and reportedly more than two hundred armed men inside.

The move followed a path. After police arrested Bhai Amrik Singh and Bhai Thara Singh in July 1982, Bhindranwale moved into Guru Nanak Niwas. The Akali Dal took its Dharam Yudh Morcha to Amritsar on 4 August 1982 and he merged his own morcha into it. Punjab was placed under President's rule on 6 October 1983.

Where: Sri Akal Takht Sahib, in the Sri Harmandir Sahib complex, Amritsar.

Why it mattered: Guha calls the move heavy with symbolism, since the Akal Takht is the seat of Sikh temporal authority, and notes that no one had the courage to stop him. Birbal Nath writes that a paramilitary force had proposed occupying the hostel area and the langar. He objected that Bhindranwale had already left and that one company would be cut down by fire from the Akal Takht, and says he had the plan dropped in mid-February 1984. The Caravan adds that a UK adviser surveyed the complex from 8 to 17 February 1984 and that Indira Gandhi decided around 25 May 1984 to call in the Army. Operation Blue Star followed on the night of 5 to 6 June 1984, and Bhindranwale and Shabeg Singh were found dead in the Akal Takht basement.