Labour faces Sikh ‘no platform’ warning on Golden Temple inquiry

BRITISH SIKHS are threatening to “no platform” Labour MPs because there has been no public inquiry into UK involvement in Operation Blue Star, the Indian Army operation carried out in June 1984 to flush out armed militants from the Golden Temple.

The Guardian reported that over 450 gurdwaras, charities, associations and university societies have written to Keir Starmer, urging him to honour promises for an investigation or risk consequences for many Labour MPs’ re-election.

A rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday marked the 41st anniversary of the operation, where Indian forces stormed Sikhism’s holiest site in Amritsar to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, killing thousands. The letter from Sikhs, dated June 1, said there had been a “deafening silence” to recent letters and called for timelines for an inquiry into “UK involvement in the Indian military operation and anti-Sikh measures in Britain when Margaret Thatcher was in power”.

In 2014, documents showed Margaret Thatcher’s government had full knowledge of India’s Operation Blue Star, with an SAS officer advising beforehand. David Cameron’s review found the British officer’s advice was ignored, disappointing Sikhs. Starmer promised an independent inquiry in a 2022 letter.

Campaigners want the inquiry to begin before the 40th anniversary of the incident ends. They said Labour MPs could be banned from Sikh temples and events if there is no judge-led inquiry announced in parliament by July 2025.

The Guardian saw a list of seats where Sikh Federation UK identified the “Sikh vote” as “critical”. Dabinderjit Singh, executive lead of the NGO, said Labour could lose the majority of Sikh support in the UK. The federation believes there are a million Sikhs in the UK.

Singh said talks were taking place with the Liberal Democrats, Reform and the Scottish National Party. “Labour announced the [Pat Finucane] inquiry in September … don’t tell us, when there were thousands of people killed in 1984, that our lives matter less,” Singh said.

Following the May local elections, Singh said some people believe Sikhs may start to vote for Reform due to frustration with politicians’ broken promises. “That’s the bigger danger – that people therefore look for something different,” he said.

Singh said he personally struggled with Reform’s policies but had met Nigel Farage before, noting Ukip was supportive on Sikh issues “for their own reasons”. Two British Sikh candidates stood for Reform in the 2024 general election in London. In April, Rajbir Singh, former Labour leader of Sandwell council, defected to Reform.

The Foreign Office, approached by The Guardian, referred to Lucy Powell’s comments in January. She said: “I know that this matter is of great importance to the Sikh community across the UK … we need to get to the bottom of what happened.”