Ranjit Singh was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. He ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10.
Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. He served twice as DGP for the state of Punjab, India, where he is credited with having brought the Punjab insurgency under control. While many see him as a hero, there are accusations that he and the forces under his command were responsible for "multiple cases of human rights violation", "in the name of" stamping out terrorism. He was also convicted in a sexual harassment case. Gill retired from the IPS in 1995.
Shabeg Singh, PVSM, AVSM, was an Indian military officer. He had previously served in the Indian Army but later joined the militant movement of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
Moga district is one of the twenty-two districts in the state of Punjab, India. It became the 17th district of Punjab State on 24 November 1995 cut from Faridkot district. Moga District is among the largest producers of wheat and rice in Punjab, India. People from Moga City and Moga District belong to the Malwa culture. The district is noted for being the homeland for a high proportion of Indian Punjabi expatriates who emigrated abroad and their descendents, which has given it the nickname of "NRI district".
Jathedar Sukhdev Singh Babbar was a was an Indian militant, Sikh separatist, and co-leader of Babbar Khalsa (BK), a Sikh militant organisation involved in the pursuit of creating a Sikh nation named as "Khalistan" and generally believed responsible for the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, although Sukhdev was never named as being involved. BK was founded by Talwinder Singh Parmar, himself, and Amarjit Kaur. He commanded BK continuously for 14 years until he was killed in 1992. He was a member of the AKJ.
Jaswant Singh Khalra (1952–1995) was a prominent Sikh human rights activist.
Amrik Singh was the President of the All India Sikh Students Federation. He was killed in the Indian Army's operation on the Golden Temple on June 6, 1984.
Harjinder Singh Jinda was a Sikh militant and one of the two assassins of Arun Vaidya. He was responsible for three high-profile assassinations: Arjan Dass, Lalit Maken and Gen. Vaidya. He along with other members of Khalistan Commando Force participated in Indian history's biggest bank robbery of ₹ 57 million from Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana to finance the militancy for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.
Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 AM on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star by the Indian Army between 1 and 8 June 1984 on the orders of Gandhi. The military operation was to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest site of Sikhism. The military action resulted in the death of many pilgrims as well as damage to the Akal Takht and the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library.
From 1984 to 1995, the state of Punjab in northern India was engaged in a power struggle between the militant secessionist Khalistan movement and Indian security forces. The Indian government responded to the escalating Punjab insurgency by launching Operation Blue Star in 1984, storming the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple complex in Amritsar—the center of Sikh religious and spiritual life, where some militant groups had retreated. The Operation was controversial and resulted in death of hundreds of civilians, militants and soldiers. After Sikh bodyguards assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a state wide massacre ensued.
Sukhwinder Singh Bhatti was a criminal defense attorney in Sangrur district of Punjab, India, and the district's leading defense lawyer for individuals accused of crimes under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). TADA was a law in effect from 1985 to 1995 that authorized the preventative detention of persons for up to two years in Punjab based only on suspicion of certain crimes done with the intent to cause terror. The law also established in camera courts, and under Section 21, detainees charged with certain crimes were presumed guilty until proven innocent.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and 3,350 nationwide, whilst other sources estimate the number of deaths at about 8,000–17,000.
Sumedh Singh Saini is an Indian police officer, and the former Director general of police (DGP) of Punjab Police.
Gurbachan Singh Manochahal was Jathedar of Akal Takhat Sahib who founded the Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan in 1984.
The 1978 Sikh–Nirankari clash occurred between the Sant Nirankari Mission and Sikhs of Damdami Taksal and Akhand Kirtani Jatha on 13 April 1978 at Amritsar, Punjab, India. Sixteen people—thirteen traditional Sikhs and three Nirankari followers—were killed in the ensuing violence, occurring when some Akhand Kirtani Jatha and Damdami Taksal members led by Fauja Singh protested against and tried to stop a convention of Sant Nirankari Mission followers. This incident is considered to be a starting point in the events leading to Operation Blue Star and the 1980s Insurgency in Punjab.
Amrik Singh Cheema was an Indian civil servant, author, an advocate of green revolution and a former vice chancellor of the Punjab Agricultural University, known for his contributions to the agricultural initiatives of the Indian government. He was honoured by the Government of India in 1969, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society.
Udaariyaan is an Indian Hindi-language television romantic drama series. It aired from 15 March 2021 to 24 July 2024 on Colors TV and streams on JioCinema. Produced by Sargun Mehta and Ravi Dubey, it is one of the longest-running Indian television soap operas. It starred Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, Isha Malviya, Ankit Gupta, Twinkle Arora, Hitesh Bharadwaj, Aditi Bhagat, Anuraj Chahal, Alisha Parveen, Avinesh Rekhi, and Shreya Jain over four generations.
Dhiren Bhagat (1957–1988) was an Indian journalist. His writing appeared in prominent publications of the pre-1990 era, and have been compiled in a book published by Viking. A contributor to the mainstream Indian and British media, his work was widely noticed, as was his early death at the age of 31.
