Shaheed Bhai Mathra Singh alias Shaheed Bhai Harvinder Singh

Khalistan Commando Force

It was the days of the Dharam Yudh Morcha in 1984; around the month of March Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale was attending to the Sikh sangat that came to meet him at Guru Ramdas Langar’s second floor. The Sangat were ready to sacrifice themselves of each word Sant Ji would say.

The Sikh panth finally found a leader who couldn’t be bribed with money or power, a leader who would stand against injustice, a leader who was a revolutionary warrior, someone who safe guarded people’s rights, who brought justice according to the Khalsa tradition, a person who would fight in the struggle to give the Sikh Kaum their rights, fearless leader, a leader who had no hatred. Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale. He inspired people to take Amrit and become Singh’s and Kaur’s of Guru Ji, he inspired Sikhs to always keep shashters with them.

In the sangat one Bibi ji got up and walked towards the stage where Sant Ji was sitting and said to Sant ji, “Sant Ji, I want to enrol my son in your Jatha”. Sant Ji then said, “Whatever makes u happy Bibi, leave him here”. The Bibi then again said, “Sant Ji I want to enrol my son in your Jatha”. Sant Ji then replied, “Bibi I don’t judge anyone by their height, physic or age. Any Singh is welcome to stay here regardless if they are blind, deaf, dumb or crippled. If he is blind then he can stand at the water hand pump and the sangat can drink water. If he is blind by one eye then he can wash the dishes, he can do sewa in the langar, he can get Gurbani santhaya and can do religious parchar. If he is brave them he can take part in the struggle for justice and fight against Anti-Sikh elements, and if he is a backstabber then he will surely get a few Singh’s killed. Sant Ji then continued to tell the Bibi that he only involves them Singh’s in the true Jatha that can go and grab and Sten gun from the C.R.P that are roaming around outside.

When the Bibi heard this she went quiet, and then in the Sangat one Singh raised a war cry. BOLE SO NIHAL and the sangat replied SAT SRI AKAL. The sangat decided to fulfil Sant Ji’s words.

In the sangat there was a young Singh called Bhai Harvinder Singh who was around 18-19 years of age, a handsome Singh, who was from the village Chaura Madhri District Jalandhar, he had come with his friends to do darshan of Sri Darbar Sahib and to see Sant ji and listen to his views. Randomly Bhai Harvinder Singh Ji got up decided to stand true on Sant Ji’s words. Bhai sahib walked towards the city’s bazar and reached Ghanta Ghar Chowk (Amritsar) where the C.R.P youth were standing at about 50-50 foot difference. Bhai Sahib walked up towards the C.R.P soldier and kicked him between the legs so hard the soldier fell flat on his face and Bhai Harvinder found the opportunity to steal the soldiers Sten gun and ran back to Sri Darbar Sahib’s Parikrama. Bhai Harvinder Singh placed the Sten gun in front of Sant Ji and the Singh’s welcomed Bhai Sahib with SAT SRI AKAL de war cries.  Sant Ji accepted Bhai Harvinder Singh in the Jatha and got him to take Amrit from the Panj Pyare, and named him Bhai Mathra Singh. Around 1986-87 the government placed a 14 Lakh award on his head The Indian Government and the undercover agencies feared Bhai sahib and they couldn’t figure out who he actually was and where he was from, and even until the time of shaheedi they still couldn’t figure it out.

In June 1984 Bhai sahib was out Amritsar when the Indian Government used tanks and rockets to destroy Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and another 40 Guru Ghars. Innocent Singhs were being targeted and killed. The events of 1984 really affected Bhai sahib badly. Bhai Sahib got together with some brave Singh’s, Bhai Manbir Singh Chaheru, Bhai Charanjit Singh Channi (Talwandi), Bhai Jarnail Singh Hawara, Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda, Bhai Sukhdev Singh Sukha, Bhai Satnam Singh Bava, Bhai Manjit Singh Manju, Bhai Ranjit Singh Kuki, Bhai Sukhvinder Singh Sukhi, Bhai Bittu, Bhai Harjinder Singh Shindu, K.C. Sharma and entered the battlefield and restarted the Sikh struggle on a whole new level. First of all they went to Jalandhar court where they killed the policemen and helped General Bhai Labh Singh Panchvar escape from there. Then they killed D.G. Katoch in Chandigarh. Then they killed S.P Lalit Makhan in his own home in Delhi, he was one of the culprits behind the Delhi Genocide. Then another culprit of the Delhi Genocide was killed M.P Arjan Das, and this way the Singh’s got their revenge from the culprits. They then helped Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda get released from the clutches of the Ahmedabad police in Gujarat. The whole nation trembled at the thought of the brave Khadku Singh’s. The attack in June 1984 when tanks and missiles were brought to destroy Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, innocent Singh’s, Singhania, Kids and old people got killed and the culprit was the evil Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Indian Army head General Arjun Kumar Vedhiya, who on the 10th of August in 1986 was killed broad daylight, in a city called Pune by Bhai Sukha Singh Shaheed and Bhai Mehtab Singh Mirankot Shaheed. These Singh’s kept up the Khalsa Tradition to fight against justice and showed that world what the consequences would be to stand against the Sikh Kaum.

On the 30th of June in 1987 at village Thana Jandhiala Guru Rampur, the head inspector Harcharan Singh Suri and his police party raided Sardar Giyan Singh’s house. A inside informer told the police that all the top Khadku Singh’s come to Giyan Singh’s house, It was there meeting place. So the police disguised themselves as Singh’s and house arrested Bhai Sahib and his family. When the local villages would knock on Bhai sahibs door the police would also house arrest them as well. When some of the local villagers didn’t come home or weren’t seen the villagers got worried and decided to investigate the matter, they all gathered together and went to Sardar Giyan Singh’s house the police house arrested all of them as well. Then in the evening one Singh cycled to Sardar Giyan Singh’s house he had come from the other side of the village, it was Bhai Mathra Singh, he then knocked on Giyan Singh’s door, the police opened the door and grabbed Bhai Mathra Singh and arrested him and Bhai Giyan Singh and sat them in the back of the jeep and took them to a nearby jail.

Constable Suri started to interrogate Bhai Mathra Singh. Suri wanted to get out the biggest of biggest secrets out of Bhai Mathra Singh, Harcharana Suri was proud of his beastly behaviour. Bhai Sahib was proud of his faith. Bhai Sahib said, “Suri forget everything else, why don’t you just ask me what my name is”. The Indian Government had placed a 14 Lakh reward for Bhai Sahib. Bhai Sahib was well known for killing many Anti Sikh elements (Lala Jagat Nirayan’s son Ramesh Chandar, the Delhi Genocide perpetrator Makhan, S.P Arjan Das, the Indian Army leader Arun Kumar Vedhiya). Harcharan Suri tortured Bhai sahib badly, in front of Bhai sahibs faith, all of Suri’s attempts failed. That same night around the July 1987 it was a Wednesday night Bhai sahib was taken to a village called Malowal in an unconscious state and was shot in the fields of Thana Jandhiala Guru. Bhai Sahib attained Shaheedi. Next day in the newspapers it stated that Bhai Sahib was killed in a battle with the police, and they were applauded for their bravery.

To put Bhai Sahibs soul in peace an Akhand path was done at his village called Chaura Madhra, near Hargobindpur district Gurdaspur, which was completed on the 10 July 1987 which was a Saturday. On this Great Shaheedi Program, so many well-known Singh’s such as Baba Thakur Singh Ji Khalsa from Damdami Taksal came along with the whole Jatha, federation workers came to pay their respects to Bhai Mathra Singh Ji. There was a heavy police presence so they had to come under disguise. Some came in the disguise as a milkmen and so on so forth. Sangat travelled from near and far to attend Bhai Sahib’s shaheedi Program.

On the 11th of February 1990 the Khadku Singh’s got Shaheed Bhai Mathra Singh justice, in the Training Centre in Phillaur the Singh’s strapped a bomb under Suri’s manja, and blew him into pieces.

The Punjab Police, Delhi Police and the C.B.I couldn’t figure out who Bhai Mathra Singh actually was, they had no information about his background or history. Punjab police declared that Bhai Mathra sahib was killed in Operation Bluestar, but the crime branch in Delhi believed that Bhai Sahib was alive due a statement made by a famous Khadku from Sangrur stating Bhai Sahib was alive. So the in the end the Delhi police came to the conclusion that Bhai Mathra Singh must have had numerous names and identities. So the mystery still remains for the police that who was Bhai Mathra Singh and where was he from? A mystery that they will never be able to resolve.

Khadku Yodhe – Maninder Singh Baja