Shaheed Bhai Guljar Singh Dhandra

Bhai Guljar Singh was born on 1st February 1958, in the house of Sardar Mohinder Singh and from the womb of Mata Chand Kaur in the village of Dhandra, district Sangrur. Bhai Sahib was the youngest of his 3 sisters and 1 brother, but he became the wisest due to his sacrifice. Bhai Sahib is a great example of a polite and honorable person. Bhai Sahib studied up to 10th class at the local village school.

Bhai Sahib had been active in the Sikh struggle since the early months of 1985. On 15th December 1985 his Anand Karaj happened with Bibi Charanjit Kaur in the village of Lasoi. In his marriage, Bhai Sahib saw the birth of his daughter, Bibi Inderpal Kaur and son, Bhai Amritpal Singh. In the beginning of his life within the movement, Bhai Sahib’s honesty was tested when he was made a treasurer. Once the Punjab police raided Bhai Sahib’s family house, they took funds Bhai Sahib was holding for Jhujaru Singhs. Bhai Sahib then had to sell the jewelry belonging to his wife and the house furniture to gather 28,000Rs to pay the Punjab police to have the funds of Jhujaru Singhs released.

On 25th December 1987, Punjab police arrested Bhai Sahib in relation to an ongoing case in which many Sikh men were arrested and blindly tortured at the Dhuri police station. During the interrogation, Bhai Gurcharan Singh Rajumajra and Bhai Ekam Singh Hathan were made martyrs and the remaining 13 Singhs were slammed with NSA act of India and sent to Patiala jail. After coming out of jail, Bhai Sahib remained active in helping others. If there was any injustice, Bhai Sahib would stand shoulder to shoulder with the victims. Bhai Sahib also helped many girls settle in their in-law’s house after dowry issues.

Later Bhai Sahib was made the president of All India Sikh Student Federation for the Dhuri branch. Bhai Sahib was at the forefront of every protest, traffic jams and challenged any injustices committed by the Indian government. Bhai Sahib was becoming an issue for the Punjab police as he was gaining support from the public. The Punjab police started arresting and frequently torturing Bhai Sahib. Fed up of the ill treatment at the hands of Punjab police, Bhai Sahib left home and joined his Jhujaru bothers in the armed struggle for Khalistan. Bhai Sahib had accepted the reality of being on this path, he knew he would face martyrdom but that would be like a blessing for him.

Bhai Sahib strictly followed the procedure and rules of the Sikh struggle and punished many anti-Sikh elements. Bhai Sahib punished many government officials that were driving the farmers of Punjab towards suicide. No gangsters or looters could be active in Bhai Sahib’s area.

On 7th December 1991, as Bhai Sahib was travelling from Malerkotla on a scooter, an informant recognized him and set the police on his trail. By the time Bhai Sahib reached the village of Dhadewali the Punjab police drove their jeep into Bhai Sahib’s scooter causing Bhai Sahib to crash. Even after sustaining a crash Bhai Sahib managed to get up and run, but the Punjab police fired bullets blindly. Bhai Sahib was shot and arrested due to being critically wounded. The Punjab police did not take Bhai Sahib to hospital, instead he was taken to CIA staff where he was tortured. In the end, on 12th December 1991 the Punjab police realized they will not get any information from Bhai Sahib. They took Bhai Sahib to the outskirts of Lasoi village and made him a martyr in a false encounter.

Khalsa Fatehnama – May 2006