Beant Singh (6 January 195931 October 1984) was one of the two bodyguards who

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, at her

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

residence on 31 October 1984.

Early life and family

Beant Singh was born in a Ramdasia

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

to Baba Sucha Singh and Kartar Kaur. Singh's widow Bimal Kaur Khalsa initially joined the Sikh militant group, and then got imprisoned. Later she was elected from Ropar Constituency. His father, Baba Sucha Singh, was also an elected member of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from Bathinda (Lok Sabha constituency). Their son Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa was elected to the

from Faridkot in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Assassination of Indira Gandhi and death

The motivation for the assassination of Indira Gandhi was revenge for Operation Bluestar carried out by the Indian government in Harmandir Sahib, in Amritsar, India. Gandhi passed a wicket gate guarded by

Satwant Singh Satwant Singh (1962 – 6 January 1989) was one of the bodyguards, along with Beant Singh (assassin), Beant Singh, who Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassinated the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, at her New Delhi residence on 31 Oct ...

and Beant Singh, and the two men opened fire. Beant fired three rounds into her abdomen from his .38 (9.7 mm) revolver, then Satwant fired 30 rounds from his Sterling sub-machine gun after she had fallen to the ground. Beant Singh was immediately killed by other guards present and Satwant Singh was hanged in 1989 with accomplice Kehar Singh.

Legacy

In 2003, a Bhog ceremony was held at the highest Sikh temporal seat in

Akal Takht The Akal Takht (; ), also spelt as Akal Takhat and historically known as Akal Bunga, is the most prominent of the Takht (Sikhism), five takhts (Seat (legal entity), seats of authority) of the Sikhs. Located within the Golden Temple, Darbar Sah ...

, located in the Golden Temple Complex in

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

, where tributes were paid. In 2004, his death anniversary was again observed at

, Amritsar, where his mother was honored by the head priest and tributes were paid to Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh by various political parties. On 6 January 2008, the

declared Beant Singh and Satwant Singh 'martyrs of Sikhism'.

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Beant 1959 births 1984 deaths Indian assassins Punjabi Sikhs People from Rupnagar People shot dead by law enforcement officers in India Assassination of Indira Gandhi 1984 murders in India Prisoners who died in Indian detention Assassins of heads of government Indian people imprisoned on terrorism charges Indian people who died in prison custody Khalistan movement people