The Punjab Story

Amarjit Kaur was a member of parliament and was a closely associated with the Government of India's efforts in bringing about an understanding between the two communities in Punjab.

Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, PVSM, who successfully led the Bangladesh operations in 1971, was one of the most capable ex-Army officers to analyze the planning and execution of Operation Bluestar.

Khushwant Singh, veteran journalist, prolific writer and former member of parliament, is the author of a definitive two-volume history of the Sikhs, and one of the best-remembered novel on the partition of India, Train to Pakistan.

M.V. Kamath, also a veteran journalist and Khushwant Singh's successor as the editor of the erstwhile Illustrated Weekly of India, is one of the few writers who has been able to take an objective stand on the army action in Punjab during Operation Bluestar.

Shekhar Gupta, currently Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express, was one of the few journalists to have witnessed Operation Bluestar in action. Here he provides a firsthand account of the army action.

Subhash Kirpekar remained in Amritsar during Operation Bluestar. He interviewed Giani Kirpal Singh and Baba Santa Singh of the Buddha Dal who performed kar seva in the Golden Temple complex.

Sunil Sethi hails from the city of Amritsar in Punjab, a state which he covered extensively in his years as a journalist. As a Punjabi himself, he has felt and described best the great divide between the communities. He is now a leading TV anchor with New Delhi Television (NDTV).

Tavleen Singh, leading columnist and political commentator, was the only journalist at the time to have interviewed each extremist leader of Punjab.