Release of Blue Star files may hit ties: UK

London, March 8

The UK authorities today said the release of classified documents dating back to the period of Operation Blue Star in 1984 could prejudice international relations with India due to the political sensitivity of the subject.

As a hearing seeking the declassification of files that are believed to contain information on Britain's involvement in the Indian military operation at Golden Temple in Amritsar concluded in London today, the counsel for the Cabinet Office said India attaches particular sensitivity to the issue of “Sikh separatism”, which is perceived as a threat to the very existence of the Indian state.

“Just the passage of time does not diminish the significance of this case,” said the counsel for the Cabinet Office. The UK authorities have also linked the classified information in the documents with wider national security concerns and claimed that extracting any portions of it to make public would cross the Cabinet Office’s “red lines”.

The UK Information Commissioner's Office, another party in the hearing, questioned the impact on UK-India relations with the release of the documents saying India is a country governed by the rule of law, with a “sophisticated democracy” and there should be no reason to presume that it would not respect the UK’s need to follow the rule of law. — PTI