Kehar Singh

Kehar Singh was tried and executed for conspiracy in the plot to assassinate Indira Gandhi, carried out by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. He was hanged in Tihar jail on January 6, 1989.

The assassination was motivated by Operation Blue Star which was on 1 June 1984, the military action against the Sikh "Golden Temple" in Amritsar. During the operation there was significant damage to the temple and caused the death of hundreds of innocent civilians including women and children. These violent events which led to the desecration of the sikh holy shrine Golden Temple / Harminder Sahib caused outrage amongst the Sikh community, which claimed that the attacks were pre-planned and that the anti-Sikh violence which followed was government orchestrated.

Beant Singh and Satwant Singh were Sikh bodyguards of Indira Gandhi, and on 31 October 1984 they assassinated her in her garden, putting sixteen bullets into her chest and abdomen.

Beant Singh was killed by gunfire at the scene of the assassination. Satwant Singh was arrested and Kehar Singh was later arrested for conspiracy in the assassination. Both were sentenced to death and after all appeals were exhausted they were hanged in Tihar jail in Delhi.

The Day of the Execution

On the 6th of January 1989, at 4am - the time the Sikhs call Amrit Vela, the authorities walked Kehar Singh and Satwant Singh towards their nooses, their voices could be heard from outside the jail, shouting, "Jo Bole So Nihal ! Sat Siri Akaal (God is truth - he who says this will be saved!)" Then after a few moments silence, as both of them stepped forward and kissed the hangmans noose, a very heavy rainfall started to fall.

Just as the British had done with Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. Their bodies were taken to Ferozpur, and cremated on the banks of the Sutluj river. Similarly, the Indian Government did not hand over the bodies of Shaheed Satwant Singh and Shaheed Kehar Singh to their next of kin. Their bodies were cremated within Tihar jail.

As the bodies burned, the authorities did not have the heart to hand them back to the families, the mens' lawyer, Sardar Bhupinder Singh Sodhi said to the authorities, "I can understand you have hatred for those spirits who killed Indira Gandhi, but how can you even have hatred for their corpses?"

The last wish of both Shaheed Satwant Singh and Shaheed Kehar Singh was that their ashes be taken to Siri Kartarpur Sahib. Citing concerns about possible violence, the autorities refused to turn even the ashes over to the relatives for use in religious ceremonies. The Police forced the families of the two Shaheeds into jeeps and vans and drove them to Hardwar. Throughout the whole journey to Hardwar, it rained heavily.

Then at gunpoint giving the families no choice, the final ardas for the Shaheeds was done. Just as the ardas began, the rain stopped. It was like nature was also paying respect to the Shaheeds. Bhai Satwant Singh`s father, Bapu Tarlok Singh, and the son of Bhai Kehar Singh, Sardar Rajinder Singh, poured the ashes in to the river at Hardwar.

Innocense Proclaimed

Many people felt that the 54 year old Kehar Singh was innocent and falsely acused. During the execution as crowds protested, jostling with policemen there was no violence. At one point Kehar Singh's sons grabbed and muffled the mouths of those shouting slogans, urging restraint.

References

• 1. wikipedia
• 2. forums.waheguroo.com
• 3. The New York Times / PROTESTS FOLLOW HANGING OF 2 SIKHS, S. Hazarika, January 7, 1989