Shaheed Bhai Gurcharan Singh Charna                    

 

In the Sikh struggle for Khalistan, many Jhujaru Singhs and Singhnia secretly did the service to the Sikh nation and attained martyrdom. Amongst such Jhujaru Singhs is Shaheed Bhai Gurcharan Singh Charna of Dadahoor village, district Moga. He took on blind torture at various police stations of Punjab, but did not loose faith in Sikhi, nor did he give any information of his Jhujaru brothers. Even after countless arrests, unbearable torture and numerous cases pending, Bhai Gurcharan Singh Charna continued on his path of Sikh struggle, knowing what the end result may be.

 

Born in 1964, in the house of Sardar Joginder Singh and from the womb of Mata Surjit Kaur in the village of Dadahoor, district Moga. Bhai Sahib was the eldest of 4 brothers and sisters. After the June 1984 massacre of Sikhs at Sri Darbar Sahib Amritsar by the hands of Indian army, Bhai Sahib became an associate of Jhujaru Singhs, for which in 1986 he was arrested by Punjab police and sent Faridkot jail, and then moved to Sangrur jail from which he was released on bail on 22nd June 1986. Soon as Bhai Sahib walked out of jail, he was arrested again and this time sent to CIA Staff in Faridkot. Bhai Sahib was sent to various police stations and blindly tortured. He was then charged with false cases and sent to Ferozepur jail on 27th October 1986. Bhai Sahib was released on 8th March 1988, and again as he walked out, Bhai Sahib was arrested by the police of Ghal Kalan.

 

With the pressure of the local Panchayat, Bhai Sahib was once again released on 25th March 1988. Bhai Sahib spent few days at home, and the police arrested him again on 11th April 1988 and was released on 25th May 1988. All the arrests made Bhai Sahib realise that the Punjab police will only rest once they kill him. Bhai Sahib may have made his family aware of this, but this did not worry him. As countless Jhujaru Singhs were jumping into battlefield against the Indian state and accepting martyrdom with open arms.

 

In the end, on 31st May 1989, Bhai Sahib was arrested by the Bagha Purana police, who started showing their real intent and were given 8-day remand of Bhai Sahib. Due to pressure from the Panchayat again, the police may have shown Bhai Sahib to the locals alive and well, but on the night 8th June 1989 the Bagha Purana police showed fierce fake encounter near Langiana sewer drain, in which Bhai Gurcharan Singh Charna was made a martyr. On 9th June 1989, this news was broadcasted on radio and on 10th June 1988, the public read this news on the newspapers.

 

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Gurcharan Singh Charna