Shabeg Singh Major General Shabeg Singh AVSM and PVSM ( 1925 – 6 June 1984 ) was an Indian Army officer noted for his service in training of Mukti Bahini volunteers during the Bangladesh Liberation War , and later for his role in training Sikh militants in their occupation of the Harmandir Sahib ( Golden Temple ) in Amritsar . Early days . General Shabeg Singh belonged to Khiala village ( earlier known as Khiala Nand Singhwala ) of the Bhangu s , about nine miles ( 14 km ) from Amritsar - Chogawan Road . He was the eldest son of Sardar Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Kaur , and had three brothers and a sister . He traced his lineage to great Sikh warrior , Bhai Mehtab Singh Bhangu who along with Bhai Sukha Singh slew the notorious Massa Rangar in 1740 and thus avenged the desecration of the Golden Temple . The family was well - to - do and prosperous and had sizeable land holding of over . Sardar Bhagwan Singh was the village Lambardar . Nand Singh was the great - grandfather of Shabeg Singh . From his early childhood Shabeg Singh displayed leadership qualities and above - average intelligence . He would often spontaneously compose extemporaneous verses to caricature interesting village personalities . He displayed a keen interest in history and literature and his village teachers were impressed with his intellectual ability . They advised Sardar Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Kaur to send him to a school . He was sent to the Khalsa College in Amritsar for secondary education , and later to the Government College in Lahore for higher education . Shabeg Singh was an outstanding football and hockey player , and excelled in athletics . At the age of 18 years he had equaled the India records in 100 meters sprint and was the District Broad jump champion . However , even though he had a natural ability for sports he did not wish to pursue that as a career , his mind was on the army , which was considered a noble profession . He excelled in studies and generally topped his class . Indian Army . In 1940 , an officers selection team visiting Lahore colleges were looking for fresh recruits to the Indian Army officers cadre . Out of a large number of students , who applied , Shabeg Singh was the only one to be selected from Government College . After training in the officer training school , he was commissioned in the 2nd Punjab Regiment as a Second Lieutenant . Within a few days the Regiment moved to Burma and joined the war against the Japanese , which was then in progress . In 1944 when the war ended , he was in Malaya with his unit . After partition , when reorganization of the regiments took place , he joined the Parachute brigade as a Paratrooper . He was posted in the 1st para battalion in which he remained till 1959 . In 1952 , Shabeg Singh ' s younger brothers Sardar Shamsher Singh , Sardar Jaswant Singh along with their brother - in - law shifted to Haldwani in the Terrai area of Uttar Pradesh after having bought farmlands there . General Shabeg had a flair for history , and he loved reading about military generals and campaigns . Besides English and Hindi , he could speak fluent Punjabi , Persian , Urdu , and Gorkhali . He was an instructor in the Military Academy at Dehra Dun , and held a number of important staff appointments in various ranks . In the army he had a reputation of being fearless officer and one who did not tolerate any nonsense . During the course of his service in the Indian army , Shabeg Singh fought in every war that India participated in . Although he had a brilliant military career , including being an instructor in the prestigious Joint Services Wing of the Indian Military Academy , Major General Shabeg Singh was discharged from Indian Army without court martial one day before his retirement , thus losing part of his pensions . Singh took his case to the civil courts which cleared him of all the charges . Operation Blue Star . After his dismissal , Shabeg Singh joined Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale . He organised the activists present at the Harmandir Sahib ( Golden Temple ) in Amritsar in June 1984 . He was killed in Operation Blue Star , the Indian Army ' s controversial action on the Golden Temple complex to eliminate the militants .