Shabeg Singh, PVSM, AVSM, was an Indian Army officer, who later served as a military adviser to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. During his military service in the Indian Army he was involved extensively in the training of Mukti Bahini volunteers during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was dismissed from the army on charges of corruption one day before getting his retirement, for which he sought redress in civil court and was later acquitted. Later, Singh joined the Khalistan movement, serving as a military adviser and trainer for the movement's paramilitary forces. He organised the Khalsa fighters in the fortification of the Golden Temple during Operation Bluestar.
Early life and education
Shabeg Singh was born in 1925 in Khiala village, about nine miles from the Amritsar-Chogawan road. He was the oldest son of Sardar Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Kaur, and had three brothers and a sister. He was sent to the Khalsa College in Amritsar for secondary education, and later to the Government College in Lahore for higher education.
Military career
In 1942, an officers selection team visiting Lahore colleges recruited Singh to the British Indian Army officers cadre. After training in the Indian Military Academy, he was commissioned in the Garhwal Rifles as a second lieutenant. Within a few days the regiment moved to Burma and joined the war against the Japanese, which was then in progress. In 1945 when the war ended, Singh was in Malaya with his unit. After partition, when reorganization of the regiments took place, Singh joined the 50th Parachute Brigade of the Indian Army. He was posted to the 1st battalion of the Parachute Regiment, where he remained till 1959. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 2 June 1965, he later commanded the 3rd battalion of 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 1971 Pakistan War. 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 and denied pension without court-martial. Two charge sheets in an anti-corruption court were brought against him in Lucknow by India's Central Bureau of Investigation. Singh sought redress in civil courts, and was acquitted of the charges on February 13, 1984.
After his dismissal, Singh joined the Sikh leader of Damdami Taksal, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, where he served as Sant Bhindranwale's military adviser. Singh had said that he had joined Sant Bhindranwale due to the alleged humiliation he had received during the security checks being done during the Asian games in New Delhi. Counter Intelligence reports of the R&AW had reported that three prominent heads of the Khala Army General Shabeg Singh, Bhai Balbier Singh and Bhai Amrik Singh had made at least six trips each to Pakistan between the years 1981 and 1983 which later found to be false. In December 1983, the Sikh political party Akali Dal's President Harcharan Singh Longowal had invited Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to take up residence in Golden Temple Complex. General Shabeg 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 army present at the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar in June 1984. Indian government forces launched Operation Blue Star in the same month. At the initial stages of the operation, Singh was killed in firing between Akal Takht 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.
