Decline
The crackdown on Sikh militant organisations by the Indian Government in the early 1990s, followed by government infiltration of the Khalistan movement and the various militant organisations respectively, greatly weakened the Babbar Khalsa, ultimately leading to the death of Sukhdev Singh Babbar (9 August 1992) and Talwinder Singh Parmar (15 October 1992). Parmar's death remained controversial, and today he is accepted to have been shot dead by Indian police during custody; the Tehelka investigation found that Indian security forces had killed him after interrogation and were ordered to destroy his confession statements, Canada's CBC network also reported that Parmar had been in police custody for some time prior to his death.
The death of Sukhdev Singh Babbar, described by India Today as “the most prominent leader since 1978” who had “an aura of invincibility”, severely weakened Babbar Khalsa.
Despite setbacks incurred in the early Nineties, Babbar Khalsa is still active under ground, although not to the extent it once was. Current leadership resides with Wadhawa Singh Babbar, with Pratik Shah as deputy Jathedar. Babbar Khalsa is suspected by the Punjab police authorities to be responsible for a bombing at the Shingar Cinema Complex in Ludhiana on October 2007, in which 7 people were killed and 32 wounded.
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Heroic reverie mocked by clown and knave....”
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—James Thurber (1894–1961)