At least 12 people were injured Friday at India's Golden Temple in Punjab when rival Sikh groups began attacking one another with swords and spears.

The clash erupted after the two factions began arguing about who should speak first at a memorial event being held to mark the 30^th anniversary of a controversial military operation.

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Indian television stations captured Friday's incident, showing dozens of Sikhs, dressed in traditional robes and turbans, waving swords and spears at one another.

The fight continued for half an hour and authorities said at least 12 were injured but pointed to the possibility that the casualty number could rise to around 20.

Although police were called to the scene, they didn't enter the temple which is considered to be Sikhism's holiest shrine.

The memorial, which was set to take place Friday, was meant to commemorate Operation Blue Star, a 1984 operation carried out by the Indian army in which Sikh militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were violently cleared from the temple at Amritsar.

Reports vary as to the number of people killed during the six-day operation. The numbers are believed to range between 500 - 5,000 while 80 soldiers lost their lives.

The operation in turn led to days of anti-Sikh rioting in Delhi which left thousands more dead.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards only four months after she ordered the bloody operation.  

"Today we were supposed to have a solemn remembrance for the martyrs of 1984, so what has happened is very sad," Prem Singh Chandumajra, a spokesman for Punjab state's ruling party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), told reporters on Friday.

"The temple has once again been dishonoured today."

Temple leaders consider clashes in holy places to be unacceptable and promised to take action against those involved in Friday's fight.

TagsIndia sword fight, Operation Blue Star, Punjab, Golden Temple, Sikh