Over the past several years, Sikhs at both the collective and institutional levels have increasingly begun referring to the Bluestar operation as the “Third Ghallughara".
“Ghallughara" is a Punjabi term used by Sikhs to describe a catastrophic massacre, devastation, or genocidal campaign directed against the Sikh community.
While it is often compared to terms such as “holocaust” or “genocide,” in Sikh historical memory it carries a deeper meaning, symbolising not only immense suffering but also collective resistance, survival and the struggle to preserve Sikh identity and sovereignty.
The earliest known use of the term appears in the writings of eighteenth-century Sikh historian and eyewitness chronicler Ratan Singh Bhangu in his work Sri Gur Panth Prakash.
Bhangu used the word while describing the events of 1746, which later became known as the Chhota (smaller) Ghallughara.
Sikh history generally recognises two major historical Ghallugharas.
The first, Chhota Ghallughara, occurred in 1746 when Mughal authorities under Lakhpat Rai launched a campaign to exterminate Sikhs, resulting in thousands of deaths in Kahnuwan of Gurdaspur.
The second, Vadda (Greater) Ghallughara, took place on 5 February 1762 when Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani attacked Sikh families near Kup-Rahira and Malerkotla, killing over twenty thousand Sikhs, including many women and children.
Many Sikhs and Sikh institutions refer to Operation Bluestar and the wider anti-Sikh violence of 1984 as the “Third Ghallughara.”
From the Sikh perspective, the assault on Akal Takht and Harmandir Sahib, followed by widespread arrests, military operations, and anti-Sikh riots, echoed earlier attempts to suppress or destroy the Sikh community.
For this reason, 1984 is remembered by many Sikhs as a continuation of the historical pattern of Ghallugharas, linking it symbolically to the tragedies of 1746 and 1762.
SGPC head preacher Sarbjit Singh Dhotian said the use of a single word, ‘Ghallughara,’ has connected the events of June 1984 with these earlier historical experiences, giving them a place within a much longer Sikh historical narrative. The Operation Bluestar is not the right word, as it was the name of the operation to eliminate Sikhs.
