UK Sikhs threaten Labour boycott over Operation Blue Star inquiry delay

LONDON: Sikh Federation UK has warned PM Keir Starmer it will campaign to no-platform Labour MPs from Aug 1 unless a judge-led public inquiry into Britain’s role in 1984’s Operation Blue Star is announced in Parliament by the end of July.

No-platforming is a political strategy where people actively work to prevent certain politicians or public figures from speaking publicly, often due to disagreements with their views.

The warning, delivered in a letter signed by 455 gurdwaras and Sikh organisations, follows a rally of more than 10,000 Sikhs at Trafalgar Square Sunday marking the 41st anniversary of the military operation at Amritsar’s Golden Temple against Sikh militants hiding there.

Deputy PM Angela Rayner had publicly committed to the inquiry just before the 2024 general elections. Labour also promised it in two consecutive manifestos.

The federation insists the inquiry must investigate both UK involvement in the Indian military operation and anti-Sikh actions in Britain during Margaret Thatcher ’s tenure. It plans to contact every MP individually, asking them to confirm written support for a judge-led inquiry by July-end.

The letter warns Starmer that failing to act “could have massive consequences for the re-election of many Labour MPs”, citing rising support for Reform UK and independent candidates. Sikh Federation UK also said it is in talks with Reform UK, Liberal Democrats, and SNP to secure broader political backing.

Documents declassified in Jan 2014 showed Thatcher’s government sent an SAS officer to India in Feb 1984 after Indian officials requested help planning an operation to remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple.

In Feb 2014, then-cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood concluded there was “no record of any assistance to the June 1984 operation other than the limited military advice provided in mid-February,” describing it as a “one-off”.

Sikh Federation disputes this, citing its 2017 Sacrificing Sikhs report. “The papers released prove training and equipment was secretly provided by Britain before the Indian army assault in June 1984,” the letter says. “In addition, counter-insurgency training and equipment were provided to Indian army and police to deal with the Sikh uprising that followed the massacre. We are confident a judge-led public inquiry will prove the UK involvement had a massive rather than limited impact.”