ABSTRACT
This chapter includes an excerpt of Indira Goswami’s Tej Aru Dhulire Duxorito Pristha translated by Pradip Acharya from the original Assamese as Pages Stained with Blood. Goswami gives a firsthand account of violence, rape and murder in Punjab which finally spread to Delhi. In her notebook, she narrated how the army closed in on the Golden Temple and the Bhindranwale force gained in strength. Somewhere she read that more than 300 World War II rifles were hidden in secret chambers within the temple. Also, the huge buildings around the temple were converted into fortresses and the whole complex reeked of gunpowder. The Golden Temple was going to be bombarded with bullets very soon, Goswami understood. She knew that every bullet fired at the temple will wound the Sikh heart. The CRPF and the Bhindranwale forces exchanged fire. Fear loomed large over Delhi on 2 June 1984, Goswami maintained.
