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Sikhs in Punjab have been observing the anniversary of a controversial operation in which Indian soldiers stormed their holiest shrine 16 years ago.
Many Sikh militants were killed during Operation Bluestar in 1984, when troops entered the Golden Temple in Amritsar in Punjab.
Militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were holed up inside the temple complex.
Prayers and religious ceremonies marked the day, which were held amid tight security.
Joginder Singh, who is the chief priest of Sikhism's highest seat - the Akal Takht - addressed devotees on the occasion.
Mr Singh cited instances from history and said those who dared to desecrate the Golden Temple had to pay with their lives.
 Tight security was in place |
Mrs Gandhi was later assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards.
Martyrdom demand
The short speech of the chief priest was, however, a disappointment for Sikh hardliners were expecting him to declare a dead militant leader, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, as a martyr.
Mr Bhindranwale was killed in the 1984 operation.
An expected confrontation between the hardliners and moderates, who now control the influential Sikh body, did not take place.
The body, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, controls more than 200 historic Sikh shrines and institutions.
Observers say the heavy police presence around the Golden Temple complex might have discouraged the radicals.
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