Beant Singh

Beant Singh Biography

Beant Singh was a famous politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He was the chief minister of Punjab who was assassinated in 1995 suspected Khalistani separatists in a car bombing, while he was serving as the Chief Minister of the state. Beant Singh witnessed the Punjab insurgency during his tenure as Chief Minister when Punjab Police crushed the pro-Khalistan militants forcefully violating human rights. The anti-insurgency operations in Punjab, which resulted in death of many innocent people was given as the reason for his murder.

In the bomb blast conducted on August 31, 1995, 17 others including 3 Indian commandos also lost their lives. 21 people were seriously injured. Dilawar Singh Babbar of Babbar Khalsa International was the suicide bomber who tied a bomb to his body and detonated it when Chief Minister’s car approached him. Later Harcharan Singh Brar sworn in as the new chief minister of the state. Jagtar Singh Hawara, Paramjit Singh and Balwant Singh Rajoana were accused of the assassination. Balwant Singh was convicted for the killing and was sentenced to death in 2012, though the execution was stayed following the protests of the Sikhs.

Singh was born in 1922 in Patiala, Punjab. He studied at Government College Lahore and joined army at the age of 23. But later he decided to join active politics and do social work as well. He entered Punjab politics after Indian independence. In 1960, he became the chairman of block committee of Doraha in Ludhiana district. He also served as the Director of the Central cooperative bank in Ludhiana before joining active politics. He got elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 1969 as an independent candidate. He witnessed Punjab insurgency during his tenure as chief minister. His murderers accused Beant Singh being responsible for police actions which resulted in death of many innocent people. Now his children, Tej Parkash Singh and Gurkanwal Kaur are active in state politics.

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Updated: May 08, 2014