Bibi Bimal Kaur (7 November 1950 – 2 September 1991) was an Indian politician and the wife of Beant Singh, one of the two assassins of Indira Gandhi.
Bimal Kaur | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 2 December 1989 – 13 March 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Charanjit Singh Atwal |
| Succeeded by | Harchand Singh |
| Constituency | Ropar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 November 1950[1] Goray, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India |
| Died | 2 September 1991 (aged 40) Mohali, Punjab |
| Political party | Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, including Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa |
| Occupation | politician |
Early and personal life
editBibi Bimal Kaur Khalsa was born to Sardar Gurbachan Singh into Ramdasia Sikh family at Delhi, India. She married Beant Singh on 23 January 1976 at a local gurdwara.[1]
Bibi Bimal Kaur was a nurse at Lady Hardinge Medical College when her husband assassinated Indira Gandhi.[1] Immediately after the assassination she was apprehended by the Indian security forces, she disappeared for several days, leaving her children Amrit, Sarabjeet and Jassi at home. She was detained, interrogated, and most likely tortured for two weeks.[2] The Damdami Taksal paid for her children's education for two years. Bibi Bimal Kaur stayed in Delhi until 1985 when she and the family moved to Punjab with the assistance of the Damdami Taksal.[3] From there she worked with Sikh Student Federations and began to call out the injustices of the government, the false encounter issues.
Her father-in-law, Beant Singh's father Sucha Singh Maloa, was also elected as a member of parliament.[4] Sarbjeet Singh, her son, was nominated by the SAD (A) headed by Simranjit Singh Mann to run for parliament from the Bathinda and Mansa in 2004.[5] In 2024, Sarabjeet Singh won from Faridkot by a margin of more than 70 thousand votes.[6]
Imprisonment and politics
editShe contested from two Vidhan Sabha seats in the 1985 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, Chamkaur Sahib and Pakka Kalan as an Independent candidate.[7] She finished second in both the constituencies.[8][9]
On April 30th, 1986, then Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala ordered troops into Darbar Sahib again to flush out the Kharkus who were residing in the gurudwara complex.[10] On June 4th, 1986, she went to Darbar Sahib with 3,500 members, to mark the anniversary of the Operation Blue Star and to speak on the atrocities of the government.[11] at this time Surjit Barnala essentially had his guards throughout the Gurudwara complex to ensure stop the Khalistan movement. She delivered an incendiary speech.[12] The crowd cheered for Khalistan and openly threatened to kill Surjit Singh Barnala.[13] In a confrontation with his men and sikh protesters, a guard was killed.[14][15]
After her speech, she was arrested, charged for murder, and served 2 years in jail.[3] In 1989 she campaigned for Lok Sabha from Ropar, and she won a seat with a ticket from Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar).[16] She now had further leverage, and political strength, both of which made her a more serious threat to the government.[17]
Death
editBimal Kaur died on 2 September 1991.[18][19] The police said she died from electrocution from her washing machine. Some reports that reached the press indicated that Bimal Khalsa consumed cyanide. Both these reasons are disputed by her relatives. They said that she was picked up by police and poisoned with cyanide which they claimed was a common tactic against kharkus around that time. They demanded a post-mortem which, under normal circumstances, the police was bound to conduct on request but the police refused this.[20]
Electoral Performance
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAD | Sujan Singh | 17,017 | 28.62 | ||
| Independent | Bimal Kaur Khalsa | 16,602 | 27.92 | New | |
| INC | Bagga Singh | 15,576 | 26.20 | ||
| CPI | Gursewak Singh | 6,966 | 11.72 | ||
| Majority | 415 | 0.70 | |||
| Turnout | 63,862 | 70.54 | |||
| Registered electors | 90,539 | ||||
| SAD hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAD(A) | Bimal Kaur Khalsa | 424,010 | 60.38 | New | |
| INC | Raja Singh | 1,93,434 | 27.54 |  13.16
| |
| BSP | Jaspal Singh | 47,077 | 6.70 | New | |
| CPI | Lachhman Singh | 25,143 | 3.58 |  3.28
| |
| Majority | 2,30,576 | 32.84 | 20.91
| ||
| Turnout | 7,14,245 | 68.47 | 6.10
| ||
| Registered electors | 10,43,186 | ||||
| SAD(A) gain from SAD | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b c "Bibi Bimal Kaur Khalsa" (PDF). National Sikh Youth Federation. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "The Assassins: On the other side of Oct 31". The Indian Express. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b Grewal, Manraj (9 March 2003). "In Black & White Dreams after Darkness". Indian Express.
- ^ Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley (3 August 2010). Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with Sikh Militants. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-8122-0017-1. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "SAD candidate starts intensive campaigning". The Tribune. 27 February 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Punjab, Haryana Election Results Live Updates: Independent candidate Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa wins from Faridkot over AAP Karamjit Singh Anmol". The Indian Express. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ "Punjab elections: Mood of the campaign five days before the poll". India Today. 15 October 1985. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Moderate Sikhs Win In Landslide Over Gandhi Party In The Punjab". The Vindicator. 28 September 1985. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Report On The General Elections to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha". Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Roy, Nilova (29 December 2023). "Sikh Shrine Attacked by Indian Troops". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Sikhs charged with Murder". The Telegraph. 5 June 1986. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Assassin's Widow charged with Murder". The Lewiston Journal. 6 June 1986. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Sikhs' threat to revenge extends to Gandhi". Ottawa Citizen. 6 June 1986. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Sikhs at Golden Temple Kill Guard and Wound 7". The New York Times. 5 June 1986. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Bimal Kaur Khalsa vs Union Of India And Ors. on 20 October, 1987". Indian Kanoon. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Sikh Extremists Take Seats in Punjab polls". Australian Financial Review. 30 November 1989. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Fineman, Mark (29 November 1989). "Kin of Indira Gandhi Killer Elected : India: Voters seem finally to have lost faith in the family that has ruled the country for decades". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Beant Singh's Wife Dead". The Indian Express. 3 September 1991. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Bimal Kaur Khalsa is dead". SIKH HERITAGE EDUCATION. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Jaijee, Inderjit Singh (1999). Politics of Genocide: Punjab, 1984-1998. Ajanta Publications. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-81-202-0415-7. Retrieved 6 June 2024.