Name Satwant Singh | Role Bodyguard | |
 | ||
Died January 1989, Tihar Village Spouse Surinder Kaur (m. 1988–1989) Similar People Beant Singh, Indira Gandhi, Feroze Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi | ||
Satwant Singh Agwan (1962 – 6 January 1989) was a Sikh bodyguard of the Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, who, along with another bodyguard, Beant Singh, assassinated Indira Gandhi at her residence on 31 October 1984. He was from Amritsar and played wrestling in hanuman akahara (club) in new Delhi.
Contents
- History of bhai beant singh ji and bhai satwant singh ji bhai amrik singh ji
- Indira Gandhi Satwant Singh
- Assassination
- After the executions
- Aftermath
- Honours and death anniversaries
- Aftermath of executions of Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh
- Personal life
- References
During the Supreme Court trial, Satwant Singh made the following statement “Let any part of my body, after my Shaheedi ["martyrdom"], removed and used by anyone who may need. However if you need my eyes, let the authorities tell my parents. I have no hatred for any Hindu, Muslim, Christian, neither hatred for any religion. After my Shaheedi, let no Sikh throw any rock at any Hindu. I am not in favour of any retaliation or bloodshed over my Shaheedi. If we do create bloodshed, then there is no difference between us and Rajiv Gandhi. I am Proud of the task that I did! I do ardas [prayer] in front of Waheguru! If I am blessed with a human life, then give me a death of the Brave when I am hanged. Forget one life, if I could I would give up a thousand lives to kill dushts [thugs] like Indira Gandhi, and laugh as I become Shaheed [a martyr] by hanging….”
History of bhai beant singh ji and bhai satwant singh ji bhai amrik singh ji
Indira Gandhi के हत्यारे Satwant Singh के पिता जेल में क्यों लाए थे अफीम?
Assassination
The assassination of Indira Gandhi was motivated by Operation Blue Star, an attack on Sikh separatists residing in the Golden Temple complex (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, India. Beant Singh drew a .38 revolver and fired three shots into Indira Gandhi's abdomen; as she fell to the ground, Satwant Singh fired all 30 rounds from his Sten automatic weapon into her abdomen (thus, 33 bullets were fired in total, of which 30 bullets hit her). Both assassins subsequently dropped their weapons and surrendered.
Beant Singh was shot to death during interrogation in custody soon after the assassination. Satwant Singh was arrested and later sentenced to death by hanging along with co-conspirator Kehar Singh. The sentence was carried out on 6 January 1989.
After the executions
The Indian government did not hand over the bodies of the two executed men to their next of kin. Their bodies were cremated within Tihar jail. Citing concerns about possible violence, the authorities refused to turn the ashes over to the relatives for use in religious ceremonies.
Aftermath
Their acts brought their immediate families into limelight, resulting in their winning two Lok Sabha seats from state of Punjab. The Lok Sabha is a directly elected 543 member lower house of the Parliament of India. A movie called Kaum de Heere was made about him in 2014 but barred from release in India.
Honours and death anniversaries
In 2003, a Bhog ceremony was held at the highest Sikh temporal seat in Akal Takht, located in the Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar, where tributes were paid to Indira Gandhi's assassins.
In 2004, the anniversary of his death was again observed at Akal Takhat, Amritsar, where his mother was honored by the head priest and tributes were paid to Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh by various political parties. In 2007, the death anniversaries of Satwant Singh and his wife were observed in various parts of Punjab and other countries.
On 6 January 2008, the (Akal Takht) declared Beant Singh and Satwant Singh 'martyrs of Sikhism', while the SGPC also labeled them "martyrs of the Sikh nation".
The Sikh-centric political party in India, Shiromani Akali Dal, observed the death anniversary of Beant Singh and Satwant Singh as 'martyrdom' for the first time on 31 October 2008. Every 31 October since, this date has been observed at Sri Akal Takht Sahib.
Aftermath of executions of Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh
It was reported in the Indian press that during the aftermath of the executions of Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh, communal violence occurred in Punjab.
Personal life
Singh's father was Tarlok Singh. He married Surinder Kaur (daughter of Virsa Singh) on 2 May 1988 while he was in prison. His fiance wed him in absentia by marrying his photo in an Anand Karaj.