Human rights in India to the escalating Punjab insurgency by launching Operation Blue Star in 1984, storming the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple complex in Amritsar—the center of Sikh religious and spiritual life, where some militant groups had retreated. The Operation was controversial and resulted in death of hundreds of civilians, militants and soldiers. After this incident, Sikh bodyguards assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, further violence ensued. The aftermath of these events were felt for more than a decade. According to a Human Rights Watch report, state security forces adopted “increasingly brutal methods to stem the insurgency, including arbitrary arrests, torture, prolonged detention without
Women in the Guru Granth Sahib Women in the Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy text of Sikhs. Several of the shabads (hymns) from the "Guru Granth Sahib" address the role of women in Indian and Sikh society. In this Shabad, the Guru expresses the importance of women. It begins with the line "From a woman, a man is born" to emphasise that all men and women come from a woman. This theme then continues with the Guru highlighting, in a logical sequence, the various stages of life where the importance of woman is noted – "within woman, man is conceived," and