Shaheed Bhai Pritam Singh Shatrana

 

Bhai Pritam Singh was born to the blessed womb of mother, Mata Harjinder Kaur and father Sardar Prem Singh in the village of Shatrana, district Patiala. Bhai Pritam Singh was one of 10 children (3 brothers and 7 sisters). As he was part of a large family, Bhai Pritam Singh shared the responsibility with his father of running the household, and due to this he did not get the chance to go to school and gain academic schooling. Later, his family arranged his marriage to Bibi Balwinder Singh and were blessed with six daughters and one son.

 

His village was known and famous for a well-known Jhujaru Singh of the Khalistan Commando Force by the name of Bhai Jarnail Singh Shatrana. Bhai Pritam Singh was well acquainted with this Jhujaru Singh and knew him well as someone who lived in the village. Simply because Bhai Pritam Singh knew Bhai Jarnail Singh, he was arrested by the Punjab police and was imprisoned for up to two whole years. The police had initially taken him based on a remand of only forty days and tried to kill Bhai Pritam Singh in a forced confrontation. However, Bhai Pritam Singh survived the encounter.

 

Then one day whilst Bhai Pritam Singh went to visit Gurdwara Dhamtan Sahib in Haryana, the police again arrested him. The police took Bhai Sahib to a local village named Pipal Ke, and staged a fake encounter where he was made a martyr. The actual date of his Shaheedi (martyrdom) is unknown. At the time of his Shaheedi, Bhai Pritam Singh was only 33 years of age. The Punjab police were notorious for picking up innocent Sikhs and killing thousands who were not even directly involved in the armed struggle. This goes to show how the Indian Government were hell bent on targeting each and every Sikh. This was a clear attack on Sikhi and its identity.

 

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Pritam Singh Shatrana