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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 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's contents were confiscated by the [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] and the empty building allegedly burned to the ground by the [[Indian Army]]. In recent years the [[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>{{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>
==Origin==
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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==
▲[[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.]]
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.
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