29 Facts About Shabeg Singh

Shabeg Singh, PVSM, AVSM, was an Indian military officer.

Shabeg Singh had previously served in the Indian Army but later joined the movement of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

Shabeg Singh is well known for his involvement in the training of Mukti Bahini volunteers during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Shabeg Singh had fought in other major wars such as World War II, 1947 Indo-Pak War, Sino-Indian War, and 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.

Later, Singh joined Sikh movement for rights in Punjab, named Dharam Yudh Morcha.

Shabeg Singh was born in 1924 in Bhangu Jat Sikh family of Khiala village, about nine miles from the Amritsar-Chogawan road.

Shabeg Singh was the oldest son of Sardar Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Kaur, and had three brothers and a sister.

Shabeg Singh enrolled in Khalsa College in Amritsar, and later in Government College in Lahore.

Shabeg was a descendant of Mehtab Singh who killed Massa Ranghar after he captured the Golden Temple.

In 1945 when the war ended, Shabeg Singh was in Malaya with his unit.

Shabeg Singh was unofficially sent for service in the 1947 Indo-Pakistan War in Kashmir along with Maharaja Yadavindra Singh's Akal Regiment.

Shabeg Singh was noted to have snuck past Pakistani lines and gave information to the Akal Regiment about the Pakistani plans.

Shabeg Singh was promoted to colonel on 12 June 1968 and to substantive brigadier on 22 December.

Shabeg Singh was a notable figure with the press for his service in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

In 1975 Shabeg Singh was asked by Indira Gandhi to suppress the Bihar Movement through harsh measures and arrest Jayaprakash Narayan.

Shabeg Singh wrote a letter back stating that the Indian Army should not be involved in political matters.

Shabeg Singh was assigned a command at area headquarters in Bareilly.

Shabeg Singh was stripped of his rank without court-martial and thus denied his full pension.

Shabeg Singh sought redress in civil courts, and was acquitted of all charges on February 13,1984.

Shabeg Singh was mentioned in a speech by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale while highlighting injustices to various Sikhs in 1983.

Shabeg Singh participated in the Amritsar Rally in the Golden Rail Morcha where over 10,000 ex-servicemen participated.

Shabeg Singh joined Sikh militants, where he served as Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's military adviser.

Shabeg Singh had said that he had joined Bhindranwale due to the alleged humiliation he had received, which included being stripped of his pension.

In December 1983, the Sikh political party Akali Dal's President Harchand Shabeg Singh Longowal had invited Jarnail Shabeg Singh Bhindranwale to take up residence in the Golden Temple complex.

Shabeg Singh organised the Sikh forces present at the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar in June 1984.

Four weeks before Operation Blue Star, Shabeg Singh had an interview with Telegraph Calcutta near Shahid Ganj Baba Deep Singh outside the Golden Temple.

At the later stages of the operation, Shabeg Singh was killed in firing between the Akal Takht and Darshani Deorhi.

Shabeg Singh's body was later found and identified when the operation was over.

Shabeg Singh was cremated according to Sikh rites and with full military honours.