Kushwant Singh

 Khushwant Singh , born 2 February 1915 was

an Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. His experience in the 1947 Partition of
India inspired him to write Train to Pakistan in 1956 (made into film in 1998), which became his most
well-known novel.

 Khushwant Singh was bestowed with the Padma Bhushan in 1974 But he returned the award in 1984
in protest against Operation Blue Star in which the Indian Army raided Amritsar. In 2007 he was
awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India

 In 1974 he was honoured the Padma Bhushan by India’s President. However in 1984, he returned
the honour as protest to Indian government against the storming of Golden Temple by the Indian
Army.

 He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 for service to his country. In 1984,
hereturned the award in protest against the siege of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army. In 2007,
the Indian government awarded Khushwant Singh the Padma Vibhushan.

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 Operation - “Blue Star”

 Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation which occurred between 1 June and
6 June 1984, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to remove militant religious leader
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant armed followers from the Golden Temple
comples.

 Operation Blue Star was the codename of an Indian military action carried out between 1
and 8 June 1984 to remove militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his
followers from the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar, Punjab. The
decision to launch the attack rested with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In July
1982, Harchand Singh Longowal, the President of the Sikh political party Akali Dal, had
invited Bhindranwale to take up residence in the Golden Temple Complex to evade
arrest. Bhindranwale later made the sacred temple complex an armoury and
headquarters. In the violent events leading up to Operation Blue Star since the inception
of Akali Dharm Yudh Morcha, the militants had killed 165 Hindus and Nirankaris, and 39
Sikhs opposed to Bhindranwale. The total number of deaths was 410 in violent incidents
and riots while 1,180 people were injured.
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 The storming of the Golden Temple on June 5, 1984, by the Indian army prompted
writer Khushwant Singh to return his Padma Bhushan. Bhindranwale was 'an evil man
who deserved his fate,' he wrote, ‘but to kill a rat you don’t have to bring down your
house'.