06/03/2026
June 3, 1984: The government imposed a strict curfew in Punjab, confining Sikhs to their homes. Troops were concentrated most heavily in areas where Sikhs formed the majority of residents. By this point, Punjab was essentially cut off from the rest of the world. Worshippers were now completely trapped within. Intense small-arms and artillery firing resumed without warning, but still, most of Bhindranwale’s men refused to betray their positions. According to the report filed by Citizens for Democracy, “they had been given no inkling or warning either of the sudden curfew or of the imminent Army Attack. It was to be a black-hole tragedy, not out of forgetfulness but out of deliberate planning and design.”
| |
