Indian Army Denies Air Defence Gun Deployment at Golden Temple During Operation Sindoor

In the aftermath of the tensions between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army on Tuesday (May 20) issued an important clarification regarding claims of air defence systems being deployed within the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) premises in Amritsar.

The clarification came after media speculation suggested the shrine’s management had approved such a deployment to counter drone and missile threats.

Here’s what we know.

Were Indian Army’s deploy air defence guns inside the Golden Temple?

No. In an official statement, the Indian Army said, “Some media reports are circulating with respect to deployment of AD (air defence) guns in the Golden Temple. It is clarified that no AD guns or any other AD resource was deployed within the premises of Sri Darbar Sahib Amritsar (Golden Temple).”

Similar denial was also issued by the shrine’s religious leadership, including the Head Granthi.

What led to reports of air defence gun deployments then?

The media reports popped up due to a comment by the Indian Army’s in-charge of air defence Lt Gen Sumer Ivan D’Cunha that was misunderstood.

In an interview with ANI, Lt Gen Cunha said that “It was very nice that the Head Granthi of the Golden Temple allowed us to deploy our guns.”

“It is possibly for the first time in many years that they switched off the Golden Temple lights so that we could see the drone coming,” Lt Gen D’Cunha had said.

Did Pakistan deliberately target the Golden Temple?

Yes. According to one soldier cited in media reports, the Pakistani Army attacked civilian religious infrastructure— the Golden Temple— when it could not cause harm to India’s military bases despite three days of efforts.

However, these attacks too were quickly neutralised with cooperation from the Sikh religious site’s administration. In the process, Indian air defence weapons also proved their mettle to the world.