Head of the Damdami Taksal, killed in Operation Blue Star; 1947-1984

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale

also Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa, Sant Bhindranwale

Head of the Damdami Taksal from 1977, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale rose to national attention after the Nirankari clash of 1978. He moved to the Darbar Sahib complex in 1982 and into the Akal Takht in December 1983, and was killed when the army attacked in June 1984. Accounts of him differ sharply.

1947–1984

Born

1947[EoS]

Died

June 1984[EoS][Src]

Amritsar

Early life

He was born in 1947 at Rode in Faridkot district, the son of Baba Joginder Singh. He joined the Damdami Taksal in 1965, married in 1966 and farmed. Sant Kartar Singh Khalsa named him his successor before dying in a road accident, and he was formally chosen on 25 August 1977. He campaigned for initiation and against drugs, alcohol and hair-cutting.[EoS]

From 1978 to 1984

Thirteen of his allies were killed at the Nirankari convention at Amritsar in 1978. After Lala Jagat Narain's assassination in 1981 he was arrested and freed for lack of evidence. He moved to Guru Nanak Niwas in the Darbar Sahib complex on 20 July 1982 and joined the Akali Dal's Dharam Yudh. Former Major-General Shahbeg Singh helped him fortify the complex after he moved into the Akal Takht on 15 December 1983.[EoS][Grewal]

Death

The army assault came on the night of 5 to 6 June 1984, and his body was found on 7 June. The White Paper says it lay with Amrik Singh's and 34 others on the Akal Takht's ground floor, and the Encyclopaedia says the basement.[EoS][Src]

What the sources disagree on

How he is seen
The Encyclopaedia, a Sikh reference work, portrays a preacher of great charisma provoked by government hostility. The Indian government's White Paper presents the movement around him as extremist and secessionist, responsible for killings of civilians and police. Grewal gives a more mixed account. Sikh opinion remains divided on him.[EoS][Src][Grewal]