Shaheed Bhai Sahel Singh Sahela

Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan

 

Bhai Sahel Singh Sahela was born in 1959 from the blessed womb of mother Mata Balvir Kaur and father Sardar Ajaib Singh, in the village of Nepal, Ajnala. Bhai Sahel Singh was a sibling of three brothers and two sisters. Bhai Sahel Singh was the second eldest. Like most village families, farming and agriculture was their main means of livelihood and financial stability. Bhai Sahel Singh studied up to tenth grade at his local village school. Bhai Sahel Singh was of a very young age when his mother passed away unexpectedly. Bhai Sahel Singh went on to support and work alongside his father in farming and their dairy business. They sold milk which was very popular in the area and brought in a very comfortable income. Bhai Sahel Singh was a very smart handsome young man.

 

The fight for Khalistan was gaining massive momentum across Punjab. In 1988, this movement was now prevalent in the village where Bhai Sahel Singh lived and neighbouring areas. Bhai Sahel Singh was not in the best circle of people during his youth. But as he got to know about the fight for freedom and the injustices inflicted on his faith, he became conscious and it steered his life direction in a very different way. Bhai Sahel Singh adopted his faith wholeheartedly and supported, participated in the movement with the masses.

 

In early 1988, Bhai Sahel Singh for the first time, met Bhai Satnam Singh Satta Changiara who was hugely influential in guiding Bhai Sahel Singh into the movement. By which time, Bhai Sahel Singh began participating in the armed struggle alongside other Jhujaru Singhs who were part of Bhai Satnam Singh Satta Changiara’s Jhujaru group, Bhindranwale Tiger Force Khalistan (BTFK).

 

Bhai Sahel Singh undertook many successful Jhujaru actions and openly claimed them. In a short space of time, he quickly came under the police radar. Bhai Sahel Singh had been a part of so many battles with Indian security forces that completely stunned the police and army forces. He was one not to be reckoned with. Bhai Sahel Singh served with many well-known Jhujaru Singhs such as, Bhai Nirmal Singh Nimma (village Nepal, Ajnala), Bhai Joginder Singh Dhaudi (village Motlaan), Bhai Gurmukh Singh Bamb, Bhai Dilbagh Singh, Bhai Bhagwant Singh (All three from Nangal Vanjanwala, Ajnala), Bhai Tarsem Singh (Fathewal, Ajnala), Bhai Kabal Singh (Dhandal, Ajnala) and others.

 

Throughout this whole period, the police did not spare Bhai Sahel Singh’s family and continuously harassed, tortured them, with multiple raids to their family home. It got to a point, where the family had to leave their house exposed and open, forced to flee and run away to the Malwa region. Bhai Sahel Singh knew this had taken a toll on his family which hurt him immensely. However, at the same time this fight was for the Guru and Khalsa Panth. There was a vision for the future where the Khalsa would be free and free to practice their faith without the discrimination by the Indian government.

 

On 16th February 1989, Bhai Sahel Singh along with three to four other Jhujaru Singhs were discreetly resting by a river bank in the village of Kamaska (near Chogawan village). This news quickly reached the police. It was late evening when the police came and surrounded the area. This immediately followed a fierce battle and gun firing, which lasted quite some time. Most of the Jhujaru Singhs were successful in escaping. Bhai Sahel Singh Sahela remained alongside Bhai Bachittar Singh (village Madhushanga, near Fatehgarh Churiyan, Amritsar) and continued to fight till their last breath, allowing the rest of the Jhujaru Singhs to escape. Due to the heavy police presence, both were shot and killed, attaining Shaheedi (martyrdom). The following day, Bhai Bachittar Singh’s family took care of funeral arrangements for both these great Jhujaru Singhs and were cremated according to Sikh rites, at the Amritsar Sheetla Mandir.

 

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Sahel Singh Sahela