Sikh Reference Library: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:04, 21 March 2023

Revision as of 00:14, 16 April 2023

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[[File:Sikh Reference Library Burned.jpg|thumb|right|There is controversy surrounding the government's version of events on what happened to historical manuscripts, books, and artifacts before the Sikh Reference Library was burned.]]

The '''Sikh Reference Library''' was a repository of an estimated 20,000 literary works located in the [[Harmandir Sahib]] (Golden Temple) at [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] which was destroyed during [[Operation Blue Star]].<ref name="tribune_fire_2003">{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030607/windows/note.htm|title=Fire of controversy in Sikh library still smoulders|last=Walia|first=Varinder|date=7 June 2003|work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> <ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Brar |first=Kamaldeep Singh |date=20 June 2019 |title=Explained: The mystery of missing articles of Sikh Reference Library |work=The Indian Express |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/the-mystery-of-missing-articles-of-sikh-reference-library-5789595/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225164840/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/the-mystery-of-missing-articles-of-sikh-reference-library-5789595/ |archive-date=25 December 2020}}</ref><ref name=":1">Kaur, Jaskaran; Crossette, Barbara (2006).|http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf</ref> In 1984, the library's contents were confiscated by the [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI) and the empty building allegedly burned to the ground by the [[Indian Army]] on 7 June. In recent years the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] (SGPC) has attempted to recover the looted material but has not yet recovered substantial materials. To date, the status of library manuscripts and artifacts is unclear; the vast majority remain in the hands of the government, a few office files and passports were returned, and as many as 117 items were destroyed for being "seditious" materials.<ref name="tribune_fire_2003" /> After the events of Operation Blue Star, the library was revived and its current collection has surpassed the total contents of the original library.

==Origin==

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==Destruction==

According to the [[Indian Army]] white paper on [[Operation Blue Star]], the library was destroyed on the night of 5 June 1984 in the midst of a firefight.<ref name="ensaaf_twenty_2006">{{cite book|last1=Kaur|first1=Jaskaran|last2=Crossette|first2=Barbara|title=Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India |page=16 |url=http://ensaaf-org.jklaw.net/publications/reports/20years/20years-2nd.pdf|edition=2nd|year=2006|publisher=Ensaaf|___location=Portland, OR|isbn=0-9787073-0-3}}</ref> However, according to [[V. M. Tarkunde]], the library was still intact on 6 June when the Army had gained control of the [[Harmandir Sahib|Golden Temple]], and was in fact burned down by the army at some point between 6 June and 14 June.<ref name="ensaaf_twenty_2006" /> Although the Indian Army has maintained that the library's contents were completely destroyed on 5 June, the SGPC has contradicted their version of events. By using witness accounts, the SGPC has alleged that material from the library was taken in [[gunny sack]]s on military truck to Amritsar's Youth Club, a temporary office of the CBI, and the empty library was burned by the army afterwards.<ref name="tribune_fire_2003" /> At that ___location, the CBI catalogued the materials until September 1984, when in light of a Sikh convention being held in the city, the library's contents were moved to an undisclosed ___location.{{factcitation needed|date=September 2022}}

==Coverup==