Shaheed Bhai Jagjeet Singh

Shaheed Bhai Jagjeet Singh was born in Kanpur. The Shaheed’s parents were from village Kazee Chak Dist. Jehlum Pakistan, and moved to Kanpur after Partition. First Bhai Jagjeet Singh comepleted his early education at Guru Nanak School and then was doing his BA at the NSD College. His parents, Sardar Gurdial Singh and Mata Mahinder Kaur are fortunate and blessed to have had a son who sacrificed his life for the love of the Guru. Bhai Jagjeet Singh had five brothers: four older, one younger and one sister.

With the exception of the two elder boys in the family, the rest of the family was amritdhari. Both his mother and sister have keskees and his sister, Ikbaal Kaur goes to school with her keski despite all hardships. When Bhai Jagjeet Singh was martyred, his sister and mother were also walking in the protest march against the Narkdharis. His mother was struck with a rock in the head but she did not panic and continued to walk with the sangat in high spirits.

Bhai Jagjeet Singh’s brother, Bhai Surinder Singh first began to keep the company of the Akhand Kertani Jatha and by seeing their brother’s new lifestyle, Bhai Jagjeet Singh, brother Jasbeer Singh, sister Ikbaal Kaur and the youngest brother, Charanjeet Singh also received amrit at the hands of the Jatha. The parents of the family appeared before the Punj Pyaray in 1977 at the Delhi Dusehraa Smagam and also began to keep the Khalsa lifestyle.

In November 1973, at the home of Bhai Gurbaksh Singh Ji Bibekee of Kanpur, the Akhand Keertani Jatha organised an amrit sinchaar. At this smagam Bhai Jagjeet Singh Ji and others came for the gift of amrit. Bhai Gurcharanjeet Singh Ji, who was at the smagam to have his small child receive amrit writes that Bhai Jagjeet Singh was in an indescribable state and all were amazed at the way the colours of naam dyed this young man after he received amrit. Once naam was imparted, his khanda began to go with so much power that it seemed as if he had been a long time abhyasi.

After receiving amrit, Bhai Jagjeet Singh always attended AKJ smagams and didn’t let any keertan pass. For a long time, he went about anonymously. In such a small age, he had such deep and far-sighted thoughts about the state of the Panth, that even an Army General would be put to shame.

At the end of 1976, Bhai Jagjeet Singh went to stay at Bhai Fauja Singh’s Khalsa Farm in Gurdaspur. He was happy to spend the majority of his time in the company of Bhai Fauja Singh . He learned gatka at the farm with great dedication.

When the bloody events of the 1978 Vaisakhi Massacre occurred, Bhai Jagjeet Singh was visiting Hazoor Sahib and he deeply regretted having been absent. He would often say “so many beloveds of the guru died and the Panth still is asleep?” He would agonise over the low-spirit in the Panth.

Bhai Jagjeet Singh was an active member of the Sikh Students’ Federation. He also went from village to village in Rajasthan with the Panj Pyaray for amrit sinchaars and had many people receive amrit and dedicate their lives to the Guru. Because of Bhai Jagjeet Singh’s efforts, no Sikh can be found drinking alcohol in the entire area of Bheelvara.

Bhai Jagjeet Singh had a great enthusiasm for martyrdom and constantly begged the guru, “True King, please accept this useless body in your service”.

A month before his martyrdom, Bhai Jagjeet Singh went to college to give a test for his BA but on each page, all he wrote was “Vahiguru, Vahiguru, Vahiguru, Vahiguru, Vahiguru”. When he was asked why he had done this, he replied, “the real test is something else, I’m preparing for that examination.” It is said that some days before his martyrdom, Sri Guru Gobind Singh visited the Shaheed in a dream and told him he would become a martyr. Two days before his martyrdom, Bhai Jagjeet Singh told his grandmother that his end was approaching and that after his passing, no member of the family should weep. Indeed, the entire family, after the martyrdom remained in high spirits and accepted the will of the Guru and obeyed the final wishes of the Shaheed by not displaying any grief.

Bhai Jagjeet Singh Shaheedi Saroop

Bhai Jagjeet Singh remained awake all night doing keertan the night before his martyrdom. His desire was so great for martyrdom that on the morning of September 26 at 10AM, as the Sikh Sangat was preparing to march towards the Narkdhari Bhavan, a few Singhs went before everyone else and Bhai Jagjeet Singh was amongst them. Bhai Jagjeet Singh along with Bhai Kishan Singh was the first to enter the Bhavan where the Narkdharis attacked them with sticks and other weapons. The attack left their bodies tattered but gave Bhai Jagjeet Singh the martyrdom he so longed for.