Shaheed Bhai Jasbir Singh alias Bhai Major Singh Samrai

Khalistan Liberation Force

Freedom fighters make their decision to fight for freedom at a very young age and once the freedom fighter has made his mind, his/her family can’t stop them from being free, nor can the police or any security force of any country. In the Sri Hargobindpur area of Gurdaspur district is a village of Cheema Khudi, where from children to elderly know about a Sikh warrior by the name of Bhai Jugraj Singh Toofan. The young generals of the Sikh Freedom Movement, such as Bhai Toofan, have done big actions, but these big actions would not have been possible with the help of close trustworthy fellow singhs. The close friends of Bhai Toofan have also sacrificed a lot for the Sikh nation and their history we must know also. In this article we will talk about the great Khadku Singh from the group of Bhai Toofan, Shaheed Bhai Jasbir Singh alias Bhai Major Singh Samrai.

The very young Bhai Toofan of Cheema Khudi was very anxious to join the Sikh Freedom Movement while still at school. Bhai Toofan’s classmate and very close friend was from the neighbouring village of Samrai, Bhai Jasbir Singh alias Bhai Major Singh Samrai. Both of the singhs were deep in to Sikhi and tied turbans, which some Hindus did not like. When the racist Hindus of Gurdaspur reported Bhai Toofan as a terrorist to the BSF personnel, along with Bhai Toofan, Bhai Jasbir Singh was also arrested. Bhai Sahib and Bhai Toofan were mercilessly tortured, even at the age of 14-16 years and then sent to Gurdaspur youth jail and later transferred to Hoshiarpur youth jail.

April 1987, Bhai Sahib, Bhai Toofan and another singh escaped from the Hoshiarpur youth jail. After escaping from jail, both singhs did not take steps towards their homes instead Bhai Sahib and Bhai Toofan moved towards the Sikh Freedom Movement. The singhs of Khalistan Liberation Force spotted the big courage in these young singhs and recruited Bhai Sahib, Bhai Toofan into their group. Soon the police started searching the Batala area for Bhai Sahib and his friend, Bhai Toofan, but these 2 warriors were challenging the Indian security forces and installing fear in to the hearts of the anti-Sikh forces.

Sardar Niranjan Singh and his wife Bibi Dalip Kaur had total of seven children, Bhai Trilok Singh, Bhai Santokh Singh, Bhai Gurmeet Singh, Bhai Gurmail Singh, Bibi Charanjit Kaur, Bhai Jasbir Singh and Bibi Davinder Kaur. After the prison break, the police started harassing the family of Bhai Sahib. Under the orders of SSP Gobind Ram, the police would arrest all the male members of Bhai Sahib’s family and torture them at the police station. The police would also wreck Bhai Sahib’s house and the family farms, but this ill treatment of Sikh family by the butcher police was not enough to stop Bhai Sahib from his tracks of Sikh struggle. Bhai Sahib punished many anti-Sikh elements and while doing these actions Bhai Sahib would somehow make time to meet his family also. Whenever Bhai Sahib met his family members, he would tell them to take Amrit from the Panj Pyare and become Gursikhs.

The encounter between Bhai Sahib and the Indian security forces in the village of Kandhila, has and will be talked about not by just Sikhs but also people from other faiths. Bhai Sahib was surrounded in the village of Kandhila by the Indian security forces, knowing he had to do something smart to escape, Bhai Sahib tied a torch to the tree and switched it on. After tying the torch Bhai Sahib switched it on and fired some rounds, then moved away from the torch. The police and CRP personnel thought that Bhai Sahib is near the torch and started progress towards it. While the CRP moved towards the torch, Bhai Sahib was moving around fooling the Indian security forces and in the darkness of the night killing the CRP and the police personnel. In this encounter Bhai Sahib had injured one of his eyes, but even then after fooling the brainless Indian security forces, Bhai Sahib managed to escape.

The singhs of Khalistan Liberation Force had Bhai Sahib treated and the injured state the singhs managed to get Bhai Sahib’s family to meet him. Even in the wounded state Bhai Sahib told his family to take Amrit from the Panj Pyare and become Gursikhs. After this in April 1988, Bhai Sahib called his older sister, Bibi Charanjit Kaur to Sri Harimandir Sahib, where she took amrit from Sri Akaal Takht Sahib. Bibi Charanjit Kaur didn’t know that this was the last time she would meet her young brother.

15th April 1988, Bhai Sahib was in Amritsar completing and arms deal for the singhs of Khalistan Liberation Force. As Bhai Sahib made his way out of Amritsar, the police stopped Bhai Sahib and arrested him near Majhita. Bhai Sahib had already planted the weapons in a secret place. The police of Majhita brutally tortured Bhai Sahib and asked Bhai Sahib about rest of the Singhs and the weapons deal. The police tortured Bhai Sahib for information but Bhai Sahib did not give his name, so the information of the singhs was far from being given. The police did not know Bhai Sahib’s name, but they knew he was a Khadku Singh. The police would cut Bhai Sahib’s skin and then put salt in it, but Bhai Sahib remained in chardikala and later attained shaheedi in the police custody due to the horrific torture. As the police did not know Bhai Sahib’s name the police cremated this soldier of the Sikh nation themselves.

The singhs of Bhai Toofan’s group knew of Bhai Sahib’s arrest. Before the singhs could break Bhai Sahib out of police custody, the police had killed him. When the Bhai Toofan had an article printed of Bhai Sahib’s last Akhand Paath Bhog, that’s when the family found out about Bhai Sahib’s shaheedi. The police did not know what Bhai Sahib looked like, that’s why the police thought that the Khadku Singhs are trying to fool them with the article. The police continued to harass and torture the family of Bhai Sahib. SSP Gobind Ram, told the family that he will arrest Bhai Sahib’s sisters and bring them to the police station, he also said that he will not allow Bhai Sahib’s sister’s wedding to take place.

Bhai Toofan was saddened due to the loss of his childhood friend and also angry due to the threat of SSP Gobind Ram to the family of Bhai Sahib. Now Bhai Toofan challenged the SSP Gobind Ram that Bibi Charanjit Kaur, the older sister of Shaheed Bhai Jasbir Singh alias Major Singh Samrai is to get married on 10th June 1988 and Bhai Toofan would personally be there to fill the gap Bhai Sahib had left. If SSP Gobind Ram wants to stop this wedding then come to Samrai village and try. SSP Gobind Ram received this challenge from Bhai Toofan and the locals started to think something big will happen on 10th June 1988.

Following the given challenge, Bhai Toofan and 4 singhs from the Toofan group came to Bhai Sahib’s home on the night of 9th June 1988. The SSP who had bought terror into the lives of innocent Sikhs, had today turned his back to the challenge of a Sikh. SSP Gobind Ram didn’t dare come to the marriage of Bhai Sahib’s sister, instead the cowardly SSP deployed his police force to surround and make bunkers around the village of Samrai. Bhai Toofan did all a brother should at Bibi Charanjit Kaur’s wedding and finally set her off to her new home. The wedding was finished by 12 o’clock in the afternoon.

Now that the wedding was done, Bhai Toofan and the singhs started to plan how to get out of the Samrai village. With the help of the locals Bhai Toofan knew where the police forces had bunkers and where how many police officers were stationed. Bhai Toofan knew that these police officers are too scared to be in an encounter with a Khadku Singh, but if the singhs openly walked out these cowards will hide and fire bullets at the singhs. Now Bhai Toofan and the singhs played a game with the police to fool them. Bhai Toofan and the four singhs were young and hardly had a beard, so they tied their hair back and dressed into women’s clothes, the hid their pistols under their shawls and changed their boots to flip flops. Then the five singhs walked past the police. The police thought they will wait outside the Samrai village for these five Khadku Singhs to come out, but little did they know Bhai Toofan and the singhs had just walked by them.

After some time when the police was informed that Bhai Toofan and singhs had gone, the police quickly rushed to Bhai Sahib’s house. Now the police started searching every corner of the house. The boots that the singhs had left at Bhai Sahib’s home, the police looked at them and said, “Who do these boots belong to?” But inside the police knew these boots were of the Khadku Singhs that had waited for the police for many hours. The police felt ashamed and arrested the relatives, neighbours that had come to the wedding and took them to the police station. The whole Sikh nation, were laughing at this bravery of the police and were praising the singhs from the Toofan group.

In coming Bhai Toofan and many singhs from his group had attained shaheedi, but the police still believed that Bhai Jasbir Singh alias Bhai Major Singh Samrai was still alive.

Vangaar – May 2012 – Baljit Singh Khalsa