On 5 June 1984, with the objective of flushing out the Sikh extremists led by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Indian Army launched a bloody assault on the Golden Temple complex at Amritsar. Operation Blue Star was a complete success. But its consequences were devastating.

Mark Tully and Satish Jacob, who run the BBC's bureau in Delhi, here trace the long build-up to the storming of the Sikh stronghold, and in their vivid and well-documented account of historical and political events, they bring the Sikh tragedy into focus from many arresting angles. They were the first to film the fortification of the Golden Temple. They interviewed Bhindranwale and his military mastermind Major-General Shahbeg Singh and many of the other central characters in the drama. They gathered eye-witness reports from every quarter, meticulously reconstructing the crisis which exploded with such ferocity, and cost Mrs Gandhi her life.

In writing this book, the authors have extended what began as brilliant news coverage into a work of great historical importance.

This edition has been revised to cover the most recent events in the continuing crisis in the Punjab.