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Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi in 1982, two years before the raid in Amritsar, which left hundreds dead.
Photograph: Hulton Getty
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The then British prime minister sent a personal note saying that Britain supported India’s unity in the face of demands for a separate [Sikh homeland—demands that became stronger after the murder of tens of thousands of innocent Sikhs.]
The letter will cause further debate about Britain’s role in the raid among the worldwide Sikh community and senior MPs across the political spectrum after it was disclosed on Monday that the Indian government had made an apparent request for advice from the SAS in the months leading up to the raid.
It will form part of an investigation launched by the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, on the orders of David Cameron to determine the British government’s actions over the raid on Sikhism’s holiest site in Amritsar.
The Indian government says about 400 people were killed when Gandhi sent troops into the temple complex in June 1984 in the six-day Operation Blue Star. Sikh [and independent third party] groups, which have called for an inquiry into the British role in “one of the darkest episodes in Sikh history”, put the death toll in the thousands, including many pilgrims. [It has been documented in recent years that thousands of Sikhs were cremated in mass graves in order to cover up the atrocities.]
In what appears to be the first letter to Gandhi after the raid, sent on 30 June 1984, Thatcher wrote: “These have been anxious weeks for you, involving difficult decisions. I have followed closely your efforts to restore calm there, and I very much hope that the ‘healing touch’ for which you have called will open the way to a peaceful and prosperous future in that troubled region.”
The letter, which is in response to two sent by Gandhi on 9 and 14 June, appears to show that the Indian prime minister had expressed worries that [so-called] Sikh “extremists” could use Britain as a base. Thatcher wrote: “I well appreciate your concern about the potential security threat posed by extremists outside India. We are determined not to allow our traditional freedoms to be abused by those who seek to use violence for political ends.”
In an apparent reference to death threats against Gandhi which had been reported in the British media, the UK prime minister who died last year wrote: “We have made sure the police are aware of these statements and they are investigating them.”
Thatcher also reassured Gandhi that British police were “devoting considerable resources” to safeguarding Indian government personnel in Britain.
A few months after the letter was sent, Gandhi was [executed by her own Sikh bodyguards for her continued acts of Genocide. This triggered further pre-planned pogroms causing the deaths of thousands of Sikhs across India.]
Other documents in the file make clear Whitehall’s interest in lucrative arms sales to India at this time. A secret Foreign Office briefing dated 22 June 1984, which was sent to Downing Street, stressed that British “commercial interests” in India were “very substantial. It it a large and growing market for both commercial and defence sales. British exports in 1983 exceeded £800m and since 1975 India has bought British defence equipment worth over £1.25bn,” the document claims.
Cameron on Wednesday appeared to downplay the likelihood of an inquiry finding evidence that Britain was to blame for the [genocide]. Labour’s former deputy chairman Tom Watson suggested the British might have played a part in the assault on the temple in exchange for the Indians agreeing to purchase a fleet of helicopters in a £65m deal.
Watson said to Cameron: “On your Amritsar inquiry, instead of ordering the civil servants to investigate, why don’t you just ask lords Geoffrey Howe and Leon Brittan what they agreed with Margaret Thatcher, and whether it had anything to do with the Westland Helicopter deal at the time?” Cameron dismissed any suggestions of a conspiracy.
The full text of the letter is below (capitalisation changed for readability):
DD 301000Z NEW DELHI
GRS 800
CONFIDENTIAL
DESKBY 301000Z
PM FCO 291630Z
I0 IMMEDIATE NEW DELHI
TELEGRAM NUMBER 483 OF 30 JUNE
INFO PRIORITY COLOMBO
1. Following is text of the Prime Minister’s reply to Mrs Gandhi’s letters of 9 and 14 June about Sri Lanka and the Punjab troubles. Grateful if you would deliver text as quickly as possible, bearing in mind Mrs Gandhi’s forthcoming talks with President Jayewardene
Thank you for your letter of 14 June about the problems in the Punjab. These have been anxious weeks for you, involving difficult decisions. I have followed closely your efforts to restore calm there, and I very much hope that the ‘healing touch’ for which you have called will open the way to a peaceful and prosperous future for that troubled region.
Needless to say, we in the United Kingdom fully support India’s unity. I well appreciate your concern about the potential security threat posed by extremists outside India. We are determined not to allow out traditional freedoms to be abused by those who seek to use violence for political ends.
I know that certain remarks carried by the media in Britain have caused distress in India. We have made sure the police are aware of these statements, and they are investigating them. As you know, the media are independent in Britain, as they are in India. This means that the government does not interfere in media decisions, however much we may personally regret them.
I know that you are also concerned about the safety of your government’s personnel and premises in this country. We firmly intend to fulfil our responsibility to protect them. The police are devoting considerable resources to this task. They will of course continue to need the fullest co-operation and assistance from your people.
(sikh24.com)
Pakistan Cyber Force
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