Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 AM on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, after the Indian Armed Forces carried out Operation Blue Star between 1 and 8 June 1984 on Gandhi's orders. The military operation was to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest site of Sikhism. The operation resulted in the death of many pilgrims as well as damage to the Akal Takht and the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library.
Gandhi's assassination led to the 1984 Sikh massacres which were instigated by nationalist mobs and political figures from the Indian National Congress (INC), Indira Gandhi's party, who orchestrated pogroms against Sikh populations throughout India. Four days of mob violence resulted in the destruction of 40 historic gurdwaras and other important Sikh holy sites. Official Indian government figures put the death toll at 3,350, while other sources have claimed that between 8,000 to 16,000 Sikhs were killed.