Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (2 June 1947-6 June 1984) was the leader of the Sikh Damdami Taksal religious group, and he was the leader of the militants in the Operation Blue Star siege of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Biography[]
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was born on 2 June 1947 in Rode, Punjab, British India to a Sikh family. Bhindranwale strongly condemned the Article 25 part of the Constitution of India that named Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism as parts of Hinduism, and he was ultraconservative; he advocated against using liquor and drugs as well as breaching the kesh principle of growing out one's hair for the rest of their lives as a symbol of God's perfection. Bhindranwale strongly opposed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's programs, which he saw as anti-Sikh, and in 1984 he led the armed occupation of the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar by Sikh militants to protest against Gandhi's government. He was killed in Operation Blue Star the Indian Army assault on the temple.