Beant Singh (assassin)

Beant Singh (Punjabi: ਬੇਅੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Beant Singh), was a bodyguard of the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, and was one of two who took part in her assassination in 1984.

For other uses, see Beant Singh (disambiguation).

Beant Singh
Born
Beant Singh

(1959-01-06)6 January 1959
Jaitu, Punjab, India
Died31 October 1984(1984-10-31) (aged 25)
New Delhi, India
Cause of deathShot to death during interrogation after the assassination
NationalityIndia
OccupationBodyguard of the Prime Minister of India
EmployerGovernment of India
Criminal charge(s)Assassination of Indira Gandhi
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1976)​
Parents

Family

Beant Singh was born in a Ramdasia Sikh family to Baba Sucha Singh and Kartar Kaur.[1]

Singh's widow Bimal Kaur Khalsa initially joined the Sikh militant group,[2] and then got imprisoned. Later she got elected from Ropar Constituency. His father, Baba Sucha Singh, was also elected member of Lok Sabha from Bathinda (Lok Sabha constituency).[3][4][5]

Their son, Sarbjit Singh is a leader of SAD (Mann).

Assassination of Indira Gandhi

Operation Blue Star left a deep mark in the thinking of Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, both part of the Indian Elite Forces who served as bodyguards for Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Satwant Singh always worked the late shifts and Beant Singh worked the early morning shifts as the Prime Minister's security. On 31 October 1984, Satwant Singh faked a stomach illness and swapped duties with another guard so that they could work together to execute their plan.

That morning, at approximately 9:00 AM, as Gandhi walked from her house, Singh drew a revolver and fired three shots into Gandhi's abdomen. As she fell to the ground, Satwant Singh fired all 30 rounds from his Sten submachine gun into her body.[6][7]

Singh was shot to death during interrogation in custody shortly after the assassination took place. Satwant Singh was arrested and later sentenced to death along with co-conspirator Kehar Singh. The sentence was carried out on 6 January 1989.[8]

Beant Singh's act generated political support for Sikh radicals,[9] resulting in their winning two Lok Sabha seats in the state of Punjab.[3] The Lok Sabha is a directly elected 543-member lower house of the Parliament of India.

Honours and death anniversaries

In 2003, a Bhog ceremony was held at the highest Sikh temporal seat in Akal Takht, located in the Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar, where tributes were paid.

In 2004, his death anniversary was again observed at Akal Takht, Amritsar, where his mother was honored by the head priest and tributes were paid to Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh by various political parties.[10]

On 6 January 2008, the Akal Takht declared Beant Singh and Satwant Singh 'martyrs of Sikhism',[11][12][13]

The Sikhism-centric political party in India, Shiromani Akali Dal, observed the death anniversary of Beant Singh and Satwant Singh as 'martyrdom' for the first time on 31 October 2008;[14] every 31 October since, their 'martyrdom day' has been observed at Sri Akal Takht Sahib.[15]

References
  1. "Perspective : What Motivated Beant Singh to assassinate Indira Gandhi?". The Indian Panorama. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  2. "Sikhs Sought in Slaying". India; Amritsar (India): NYTimes.com. 6 June 1986. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  3. Crossette, Barbara (22 December 1989). "India's New Chief Given A Go-Ahead - New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  4. MyNews.in. "'Father didn't kill Indira Gandhi to make Sikhs happy': Beant Singh's son". MyNews.in. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  5. "Family profile". Indiaenews.com. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  6. "Indira Gandhi: Death in the Garden". Time. 12 November 1984.
  7. Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley (1 November 1996). Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with Sikh Militants. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812215922. Retrieved 25 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. "Indian prime minister shot dead". BBC News. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  9. "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". 26 October 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  10. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Punjab". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  11. "Chandigarh, India - Punjab". Tribuneindia.com. 7 January 2003.
  12. "National: Indira Gandhi killers labelled martyrs". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  13. "Indira assassin 'great martyr': Vedanti". The Indian Express. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  14. "Chandigarh, India - Bathinda Edition". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  15. "Chandigarh, India - Punjab". Tribuneindia.com. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
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