Sukhdev Singh Babbar

Sukhdev Singh Babbar
Sukhdev Singh Babbar
Born Sukhdev Singh Dasuwal
(1955-08-09)9 August 1955
Dhassuwal, Patti, Amritsar, India
Died 9 August 1992(1992-08-09) (aged 37)
Patiala, Punjab, India
Nationality Indian
Occupation Head of Babbar Khalsa International
Organization Babbar Khalsa International
Movement Khalistan movement (East Punjabi: ਖਾਲਿਸਤਾਨ, West Punjabi: تحریک خالستان
Parent(s) Jind Singh and Harnam Kaur

Jathedar Sukhdev Singh Babbar (Punjabi: ਜਥੇਦਾਰ ਸੁਖਦੇਵ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੱਬਰ; 9 August 1955 − 9 August 1992) was the leader of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), [1][2][3] a Sikh militant organisation with objective to create an independent Sikh country Khalistan and uses armed attacks, bombings, kidnappings and murders to accomplish their goals.[4][5] He founded (along with Talwinder Singh Babbar and Amarjit Kaur) and commanded BKI continuously for 14 years until he was killed in 1992.[6]

Early life

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

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 Khalistan movement, Sukhdev Singh Babbar was a dreaded militant chief of Babbar Khalsa International.[7]

Death

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 INR 1,000,000. 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

After the death of Babbar, his followers killed about 63 men, women and children, all relatives of policemen in retaliation for his death.[11][13]

After his death, his "king-like" lifestyle came out in public and caused public criticism. The Babbar Khalsa projected itself as a severe, disciplined, puritanical Sikh organisation among the militant groups. in contrast its chief, Sukhdev Singh Babbar, was discovered living in a ‘White House’ palatial bungalow in Patiala under an assumed identity of Jasmer Singh, a contractor. Babbar already had a wife and three children at his village in Dassuwal, Tarn Taran. But he shared his bungalow in Patiala with Jawahar Kaur. She was a member of the Nabhe Wallian Bibian Da Jatha, a group of devotional singers who were popular for their talent and piety. The couple had an illegitimate son born out of this liaison. The estimated cost of construction of White House was over ₹30 lakh in the end of Eighties. The bungalow included luxurious items like Air conditioners, dish antennae, VCRs, colour televisions, sophisticated cameras, a micro oven and an expensive cooking range. A large amount of jewellery and expensive clothes belonging to Jawahar Kaur, were also recovered. Video copies of blue movies were also found in the house. Sukhdev Singh owned 2 more bungalow, the Pink House at Rajpura, and a third one in the Model Town area.[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

  1. 1 2 "Archived copy". US State Department. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Archived copy". UK Government. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Archived copy". 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. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Currently listed entities". Public Safety Canada. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Hazarika, Sanjoy (31 August 1992). "Punjab Violence Eases as Police Claim Successes". The New York Times.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "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. 1 2 "Babbar Khalsa International". Archived from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  11. 1 2 and, Sanjoy Hazarika. "Punjab Violence Eases as Police Claim Successes".
  12. ↑ Crenshaw, Martha (1 November 2010). Terrorism in Context. Penn State Press. p. 397. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  13. 1 2 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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