Human rights abuses in Punjab, India Human rights abuses in Punjab, India From 1984 to 1994, the state of Punjab in northern India was engaged in a power struggle between the militant secessionist Khalistan movement and Indian security forces. The Indian government responded 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 Sikh bodyguards assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, further violence ensued. The aftermath
Sikh feminism ruled a misunderstanding. Any man or woman is welcome in the Temple and accepted in all prayers and recitations of the Guru Granth Sahib. Every Temple has a Langar (kitchen) where people of any gender and from any faith, ethnicity or cultural background, are welcome to a free vegetarian meal. Everyone eats on the floor together to show social equality. Despite the fact it is not prohibited for men and women to sit together, traditionally they still sit on opposite of the congregation in the Darbar Sahib Hall (main hall), both equal distances from the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikh scriptures