Sukhdev Singh Babbar

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Sukhdev Singh Babbar
Sukhdev Singh Babbar
Born
Sukhdev Singh Dasuwal

(1955-08-09)9 August 1955
Dhassuwal, Patti, Amritsar, India
Died9 August 1992(1992-08-09) (aged 37)
Patiala, Punjab, India
NationalityIndian
OccupationHead of Babbar Khalsa International
OrganizationBabbar Khalsa International
MovementKhalistan movement (East Punjabi: ਖਾਲਿਸਤਾਨ, West Punjabi: تحریک خالستان
Parent(s)Jind Singh and Harnam Kaur

Jathedar Sukhdev Singh Babbar (9 August 1955 − 9 August 1992) was the co-leader of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI),[1][2][3] a Sikh militant organization involved in the pursuit of creating a theocratic Sikh nation they call "Khalistan"[4][5] and found responsible for the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182. BKI was founded by Talwinder Singh Parmar, himself, and Amarjit Kaur[who?]. He commanded BKI continuously for 14 years until he was killed in 1992.[6]

Early life[edit]

Sukhdev Singh Dasuwal was born on 9 August 1955 to Jind Singh and Harnam Kaur in the village of Dassuwal, Patti, Amritsar, Punjab, India. He studied up to the middle school level.[7] He had three brothers. His elder brother, Mehal Singh "Babbar" is also an active leader of the Babbar Khalsa International.[8] The older brother of all three, Angrej Singh, is blind. His family owned 18 acres (73,000 m2) of land in the village of Dassuwal. The wives of Sukhdev Singh Babbar and Mehal Singh Babbar are sisters who belonged to the adjoining village of Ghariala.[7]

Participation in the Khalistan movement[edit]

As per The Tribune,[9] the day of the Sikh–Nirankari clashes (13 April 1978) was also the day when his marriage was fixed. On this day, he took the pledge to take revenge on the Nirankaris.[7] He founded the organization [1][2][3]Babbar Khalsa International along with Talwinder Singh Parmar with the objective to secede from India and form the state of Khalistan for Sikhs. The first Unit of BKI was founded in Canada in 1981. This organization has presence in the United States, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and Pakistan.[10] Babbar Khalsa International became a major participant in Khalistan movement under his guidance and participated in hundreds of operations against Indian security forces and remained active in several Indian states.[10]

Sukhdev Singh Babbar was the president of the Babbar Khalsa International. It was considered as the best armed and funded among the Khalistani militant groups in Punjab State[11] with an objective to create an independent state for Sikhs, known as Khalistan.[6] During the Khalistan movement, Sukhdev Singh Babbar was a militant chief of Babbar Khalsa International.[7]

Death[edit]

He died on 9 August 1992 in a gunfight when heavily armed policemen stormed a villa in the city of Patiala in early August and captured him. At the time, he was India's most wanted Khalistani extremist.[12]

It is reported that India used the cat system (Special Forces personnel disguised as militant), to trap Babbar. He was captured with the help of a former Babbar member turned police-cat, who informed on him in exchange for a reward of ₹ 10,00,000. This former member helped trap Babbar by arranging a meeting of top Babbar militants, ostensibly to work out future strategy. For helping neutralize the chief of the most powerful group of militants in the state, the turned member also received a full third of the reward on Singh.[13]

Aftermath[edit]

After the death of Babbar, his followers killed policemen in retaliation.[11][13]

After his death, Punjab Police DGP Kanwar Pal Singh Gill accused Babbar of living a "king-like" lifestyle. In his book, "Punjab: The Knights of Falsehoods", he accused Babbar of living a lavish lifestyle contradictory to the ideals of his organization, and claimed that he owned multiple lavish bungalows. He further accused Babbar of living with Jawahar Kaur, a member of a popular singing group "Nabhe Wallian Bibian Da Jatha", and fathering an illegitimate child.[14]

After his death his family members left their home and moved abroad. A major portion of his ancestral house of the Babbar Khalsa chief now stands demolished and the remaining dilapidated two-room set is locked.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Terrorist Exclusion List". US State Department. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Terrorism Act 2000". UK Government. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Banned Organisations | cmsmha.nic.in". Government of India. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Reno Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Provide Material Support To Terrorists". The United States Attorney's Office District of Nevada. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Currently listed entities". Public Safety Canada. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hazarika, Sanjoy (31 August 1992). "Punjab Violence Eases as Police Claim Successes". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Ludhiana Stories". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News". www.tribuneindia.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Babbar Khalsa International". Archived from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 and, Sanjoy Hazarika (31 August 1992). "Punjab Violence Eases as Police Claim Successes". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ Crenshaw, Martha (1 November 2010). Terrorism in Context. Penn State Press. p. 397. ISBN 9780271044422. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Mahadevan, Prem. "Counter Terrorism in the Indian Punjab: Assessing the 'Cat' System The Final Offensive (1992-1993) Money: The Asymmetric Advantage". satp.org. Faultlines: Volume 18, January 2007. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  14. ↑ "Punjab: The Knights of Falsehood -- Psalms of Terror". Satp.org. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
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