Shaheed Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela

Babbar Khalsa

 

Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela was born from the blessed womb of mother Mata Surjeet Kaur and father Sardar Mohinder Singh, in the village of Jamsher Khas, district Jalandhar, Punjab. Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela was the eldest sibling of two brothers and one sister. Like most village families, farming and agriculture was their main means of livelihood and financial stability. Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela completed his studies up to tenth grade at his local village school in Jamsher and went on to complete his twelfth-grade studies at a college in Jalandhar.

 

Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela was a strong believer in his faith from a young age and became a Khalsa (baptised Sikh), during eighth grade. By the age of around nineteen, he went on to work a salary paid job for a farming business, named Sangha Farms.

 

Early in the year 1984, at the time the Dharam Yudh Morcha was initiated, Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela would regularly attend Sri Harmandir Sahib to listen to the speeches and sermons of the great Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale. Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela cared dearly for the state of his people and the Sikh struggle for freedom.

 

Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela became closely acquainted with Bhai Harminder Singh Uppal alias Minda, who lived in the same village of Jamsher Khas. Together they would attend and partake in religious programmes by the Akhand Kirtani Jatha. From attending these programmes, Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela came into contact with the Babbar Khalsa Jhujaru group. Though Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela was young in age he had a strong physical stature and showed great bravery. Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela quickly learnt the ropes of being a part of the Jhujaru group and navigating the armed struggle. Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela established links with key organisations in his locality, working closely with the All India Sikh Students Federation in his area, where he contributed greatly.

 

After the attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib in June 1984, Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela was key in facilitating and supporting all anti-government protests in his locality. Due to his heavy involvement in creating such awareness and being an avid activist, the police already had a close eye on him. On many occasions he had been arrested and sent to jail, where he would have to endure brutal torture and then released on bail. Unlike other Jhujaru Singhs who had left their family homes and went underground Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela up until now had still maintained living at his family home.

 

He went on to join the Jhujaru Singhs of Babbar Khalsa to serve alongside Bhai Harminder Singh Uppal alias Minda, Balwinder Singh Kangniwal, Bhai Makhan Singh Sandhu Chattha and others. It was a well-known and collective agreement by all Jhujaru militia groups that Punjab should be governed by Khalsa protocol which would be in the favour of all people of Punjab and a society free from vulgarity and exploitation of the younger generation. There was a call to close all cinema halls to send a message to society to deter them from negative influences which were being promoted within the culture, through vulgar music and sexual exploitation.

 

On 2nd June 1987, Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela and his fellow Jhujaru Singhs from Babbar Khalsa planned to plant a bomb outside the Friend Cinema in Jalandhar. Whilst planting the bomb he too got caught in the explosion and attained Shaheedi (martyrdom).

 

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Ajmer Singh Mela