In the past two weeks I have visited two of the Sikh temples, or Gurdwaras, in Northampton, at Cromwell Street and St. George’s Street to address members of the Sikh community and answer their questions about the dreadful massacre in 1984 at the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Indian Army.
The Government has recently released previously secret state documents (protected for 30 years) into the public domain which shed light on the massacre. These include the possible implication that the Indian Government had sought advice from Britain on how to deal with the situation there at that time.
The Prime Minister has ordered an urgent inquiry into suggestions that the Indian Government sought British advice or that the British Army had played some advisory role in the situation before the massacre occurred.
Over 200 local Northampton Sikhs signed a petition calling for an inquiry and handed it to me last weekend, which I presented to Downing Street the following day. It is absolutely essential that we establish all the facts about what happened, as quickly as possible. We are expecting that the inquiry into this matter will be reported back to the House of Commons very soon.