Britain admits role in 1984 India temple raid
LONDON — Britain has acknowledged advising the Indian government ahead of its 1984 raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, an admission that links the U.K. — India’s former colonial master — with one of the bloodiest episodes in the subcontinent’s recent history.
Foreign Secretary William Hague told Parliament on Tuesday that British military advice was “purely advisory” and had only a “limited impact” on the operation.
Still, the acknowledgement of any link to the deadly attack that killed hundreds if not thousands at Sikhs’ holy temple will be disturbing to many.
The storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar was one of the most contentious episodes in the Indian government’s battle against Sikh separatists, whose violent campaign for an independent homeland in the Punjab region smoldered into the 1970s and 80s....