Beant Singh (19 February 1922-31 August 1994) was Chief Minister of the Punjab from 1992 to 1995, preceding Harcharan Singh Brar.
Biography[]
Beant Singh was born on 19 February 1922 in Patiala, Punjab, British Raj to a family of Sikh Punjabis. Singh entered Punjabi politics after the Partition of India in 1947, and in 1992 he became Chief Minister of the Punjab after a period of "President's Rule" over the region. During his tenure, it was alleged by Khalistani independence fighters that upwards of 25,000 people had been murdered or disappeared under Singh's rule, and this led to Babbar Khalsa planning his assassination. On 31 August 1994, he was killed in a suicide bombing by Dilawar Singh Babbar at the secretariat complex in Chandigarh, also killing 17 others. His assassination was one of the most infamous Babbar Khalsa attacks against the government of India.