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{{Underconstruction}}
The '''Sikh Reference Library''' was a repository of over 1,500 rare manuscripts in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] which was destroyed during [[Operation Blue Star]].<ref>{{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=June 7, 2003|work=[[The Tribune]]|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> In 1984, the library
==Origin==
The Sikh Reference Library was established by the [[SGPC]] with a [[Resolution (law)|resolution]] dated October 27, 1946.<ref>{{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=June 7, 2003|work=[[The Tribune]]|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> The library had its roots in a meeting of the [[Sikh Historical Society]] under the presidentship of [[Princess Bamba]] on February 10, 1945 at [[Khalsa College, Amritsar]] which established the Central Sikh library.<ref>{{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=June 7, 2003|work=[[The Tribune]]|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref>The Central Sikh library was then folded into the Sikh Reference Library.
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Before its destruction, the library contained rare books and manuscripts on Sikh religion, history, and culture. It also contained handwritten manuscripts of the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] and [[Hukmnama]]s containing signatures of [[Sikh Gurus]].<ref>{{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=June 7, 2003|work=[[The Tribune]]|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> The library also held documents related to the [[Indian Independence Movement]].
==Destruction==
According to the [[Indian Army]] white paper on [[Operation Bluestar]], the library was destroyed on the night of June 5, 1984 in the midst of a firefight.<ref>{{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 June 6 when the Army had gained control of the [[Golden Temple]], and was in fact burned down by the army at some point between June 6 and June 14.<ref>{{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> Although the Indian Army has maintained that the library's contents were completely destroyed on June 5, 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 [[Central Bureau of Investigation]], and the empty library was burned by the army afterwards.<ref>{{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=June 7, 2003|work=[[The Tribune]]|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> At that ___location, the [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]] catalogued the materials until September of 1984, when in light of a Sikh convention being held in the city, the library's contents were moved to an undisclosed ___location.
==Coverup==
In 2003, Ranjit Nanda, a former inspector for the [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]], turned [[whistleblower]] and revealed he was part of a five member team which scrutinized the documents at the [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]]'s makeshift office at Amritsar's Youth Club.<ref>{{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=June 7, 2003|work=[[The Tribune]]|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> He revealed that officials from his department were "desperately looking for a purported letter written by [[Indira Gandhi]], the then Prime Minister, to [[Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwale]]", and reported seeing letters from the other leaders addressed to Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwale<ref>{{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=June 7, 2003|work=[[The Tribune]]|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> . Manjit Calcutta, a former secretary of the [[SGPC]], corroborated Nanda's version of events but further alleged that the army set the library "on fire in desperation when it failed to find the letter".<ref>{{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=June 7, 2003|work=[[The Tribune]]|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> Nanda further
==Efforts to recover the material==
Since 1988, the [[SGPC]] has written to the [[Government of India|Central Government]] asking for the return of the material taken by the [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]] but has only received minor office files.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20000525/ina25042.html|title=George Fernandes admits Army removed items from Golden Temple during Operation B|date=May 25, 2000|publisher=Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.|language=English|accessdate=21 February 2011|___location=Bombay}}</ref>
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On March 25, 2003, [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]] made assurances that the books, documents, and manuscripts would be returned, however he took no further action.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Precious-books-will-be-returned-Kalam-assures-SGPC-chief/articleshow/41304291.cms|title=Precious books will be returned: Kalam assures SGPC chief - The Times of India|last=Rana|first=Yudhvir|date=Mar 25, 2003|work=[[Indiatimes]]|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref>
In April 26, 2004, the [[Punjab and Haryana High Court]] ordered the [[Government of India|Central Government]], [[Government of Punjab (India)|Government of Punjab]], and the [[Central Bureau of Investigation|CBI]] to return the "valuables, books, scriptures, paintings, etc, that were seized from the Golden Temple during “Operation Bluestar” in 1984".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040427/punjab1.htm#38|title=Material seized during Bluestar to be returned|work=[[The Tribune]]|publisher=The Tribune|accessdate=21 February 2011|___location=Chandigarh}}</ref>
In February and May of 2009, [[A. K. Antony]], defense minister of India, claimed in parliament that the Indian Army no longer had any material taken from the library.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/special_sgpc-centre-spar-over-golden-temples-missing-manuscripts_1234589|title=SGPC, Centre spar over Golden Temple’s missing manuscripts - India - DNA|last=Bharadwaj|first=Ajay|date=Feb 27, 2009|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|accessdate=22 February 2011|___location=Chandigarh}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090522/punjab.htm#1|title=No Sikh reference books with us: Antony|last=Walia|first=Varinder|date=May 21, 2009|work=[[The Tribune]]|publisher=[[The Tribune]]|accessdate=22 February 2011}}</ref> Various members of parliament and the SGPC criticized him for "misleading parliament".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/special_sgpc-centre-spar-over-golden-temples-missing-manuscripts_1234589|title=SGPC, Centre spar over Golden Temple’s missing manuscripts - India - DNA|last=Bharadwaj|first=Ajay|date=Feb 27, 2009|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|accessdate=22 February 2011|___location=Chandigarh}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090522/punjab.htm#1|title=No Sikh reference books with us: Antony|last=Walia|first=Varinder|date=May 21, 2009|work=[[The Tribune]]|publisher=[[The Tribune]]|accessdate=22 February 2011}}</ref>
==References==
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