Shabeg Singh,
PVSM
Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...
,
AVSM
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...
(1925–1984), was a Sikh resistance officer who had previously served in the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
(Related:
Dharam Yudh Morcha,
Battle of Amritsar 1984,
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (; born Jarnail Singh Brar; 2 June 1947– 6 June 1984) was a militant leader of the Sikh organization Damdami Taksal. He was not an advocate of Khalistan. "Bhindranwale was not an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, ...
).
During his military service in the Indian Army, he was involved extensively in the training of
Mukti Bahini
The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...
volunteers during the
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
.
He had fought in other major wars as well like World War 2, 1947 Indo-Pak War and 1962 Indo-China War. He was dismissed from the army on the false charges of corruption one day before his retirement, for which he sought redress in civil court, he had won all his court cases (Among the frivious politically motivated charges were a corruption case was that he had bought a 'Jhonga' on proxy).
Later, Singh joined the
Dharam Yudh Morcha the peaceful campaign to implement the
Anandpur Sahib Resolution
The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a statement with a list of demands made by the Punjabi Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, in 1973.
Presentation in 1973
After the tenure of chief minister Gurnam Singh in the Punjab, newly demarcated ...
for federal distribution of powers between
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
and the
Union of India. As the regime sidestepped negotiations and an attack seemed imminent, he volunteered as an adviser and trainer for the resistance forces.
Early life and education
Singh was born in 1925 in Khiala village (earlier known as Khiala Nand Singhwala), about nine miles (14 km) from the
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
-
Chogawan road. He was the oldest son of Sardar Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Kaur, and had three brothers and a sister. He enrolled in
Khalsa College in Amritsar, and later in Government College in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
.
Military career
In 1942, an officer-selection team visiting Lahore colleges recruited Singh to the
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
officers cadre. After studying in the
Indian Military Academy
The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...
, he was commissioned in the
Garhwal Rifles
The Garhwal Rifles, formerly known as the Royal Garhwal Rifles, are an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1887 as the 39th (Garhwal) Regiment of the Bengal Army. It then became part of the British Indian Army, and a ...
as a
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
. Within a few days the regiment moved to
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and joined the war against the
Imperial Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
. In 1945 when the war ended, Singh was in
Malaya with his unit. After the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
, when the Indian regiments were reorganized, Singh joined the
50th Parachute Brigade of the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
. He was posted to the 1st Battalion of the
Parachute Regiment, where he remained until 1959. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 2 June 1965, he later commanded the 3rd Battalion,
11 Gorkha Rifles, and was given command of a brigade on 4 January 1968. Singh was promoted to colonel on 12 June 1968 and to substantive brigadier on 22 December.
Singh was a notable figure with the press for his service in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
.
On 6 July 1972, he was appointed GOC, MPB & O Area, with the acting rank of major-general, and promoted to substantive major-general on 2 April 1974.
The day before retirement, he was stripped of his rank without
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
and denied his pension.
Two charge sheets in an anti-corruption court were brought against him in
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
by India's
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
.
Singh sought redress in civil courts, and was acquitted of all charges on February 13, 1984.
Operation Blue Star
After his dismissal, Singh joined the Sikh leader of
Damdami Taksal
The Damdamī Ṭaksāl is an orthodox Sikh cultural and educational organization, based in India. Its headquarters are located in the town of Mehta Chowk, approximately 40 km north of the city of Amritsar. It has been described as a seminary or ...
,
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (; born Jarnail Singh Brar; 2 June 1947– 6 June 1984) was a militant leader of the Sikh organization Damdami Taksal. He was not an advocate of Khalistan. "Bhindranwale was not an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, ...
,
where he served as Bhindranwale's military adviser.
Singh had said that he had joined Bhindranwale due to the alleged humiliation he had received, which included being stripped of his pension despite all he had done for the country.
Counter Intelligence reports of the R&AW had reported that three prominent heads of the Khalsa Army were Major General Shabeg Singh, Balbier Singh and
Amrik Singh
Amrik Singh (1948 – June 6, 1984) was the President of the All India Sikh Students Federation. He was killed in the Indian Army's operation on the Golden Temple on June 6, 1984.
Amrik Singh was the son of Giani Kartar Singh Bhindranwale, the ...
.
In December 1983, the Sikh political party
Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali 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 man ...
's President
Harcharan Singh Longowal
Sant Harchand Singh Longowal (2 January 1932 – 20 August 1985) was the President of the Akali Dal during the Punjab insurgency of the 1980s. He had signed the Punjab accord, also known as the Rajiv-Longowal Accord along with Rajiv Gandhi on 2 ...
had invited
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (; born Jarnail Singh Brar; 2 June 1947– 6 June 1984) was a militant leader of the Sikh organization Damdami Taksal. He was not an advocate of Khalistan. "Bhindranwale was not an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, ...
to take up residence in
Golden Temple Complex. Singh and his military expertise is credited with the creation of effective defenses of the Temple Complex that made the possibility of a commando operation on foot impossible.
He organised the Sikh forces present at the
Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar in June 1984. Indian government forces launched
Operation Blue Star
Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of ...
in the same month.
At the initial stages of the operation, Singh was killed in firing between
Akal Takht
The Akal Takht ("Throne of the Timeless One") is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikhs. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by ...
and
Darshani Ḍeorhi. His body was later found and identified when the operation was over.
Singh was cremated according to Sikh rites and with full military honors.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Shabeg
Bangladesh Liberation War
Punjabi people
People from Punjab, India
Indian generals
1925 births
1984 deaths