Deepak Dhawan was the State Committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) representing Punjab and also Joint Secretary of Khet Mazdoor Union, a mass organisation of CPI(M), which campaigns for the rights of landless agricultural labourers. He was a member of All India Students' Federation (AISF) in D.A.V College, Amritsar, and an elected President of Student Council at Guru Nanak Dev University. On 19 May 1987, he was killed by Khalistan movement extremists at Sangha village, Tarn Taran district.