Shaheed Bhai Bakshish Singh Kalyug

Shaheed Bhai Bakshish Singh Kalyug

Khalistan Liberation Force

Bhai Bakshish Singh Kalyug was the nephew of the renowned Shaheed Giani Mohar Singh, who, along with his wife Bibi Pritam and their two daughters, Bibi Satnam Kaur and Bibi Waheguru Kaur, attained martyrdom during the Battle of Amritsar in June 1984. This family tied bomb to themselves, including their young daughters, and blew up the first of the tanks along with many Indian army soldiers attempting to enter the Sri Darbar Sahib complex. This heroic act and their complete sacrifice for their Guru and Guru Panth was one of the most remarkable accounts from the Battle of Amritsar in June 1984. Shaheed Giani Mohar Singh and his sister originally came from a Hindu Brahman background and had chosen to adopt the Sikh way of life.

Following the Battle of Amritsar in June 1984, an armed struggle ensued, and many Jhujaru groups took hold of Punjab in a fight for resistance against the oppressive Indian state. An operation known as Operation Woodrose spread across Punjab with the aim of wiping out an entire generation of young Sikh men. This was an attempt to eradicate the youth and scare them from becoming influenced by the Jhujaru Singhs and the fight for Khalistan. During a routine day for the Punjab police, they targeted Shaheed Giani Mohar Singh’s family. They wanted to raid the house of his sister’s in-laws. Upon locating the house, they barged into the house without warning and immediately picked up both Shaheed Giani Mohar Singh’s nephews, Bhai Prem Singh and Bhai Bakshish Singh. They were taken to the police station, where unspeakable torture was inflicted upon them. Bhai Bakshish Singh bore the brunt of the torture. He was charged with many fabricated accusations and sent to Sangrur jail.

It was in Sangrur jail that Bhai Bakshish Singh met many other prominent Jhujaru Singhs and formed connections. There, he became close with another fellow inmate, Bhai Paramjit Singh Pamma from village Bassi Purana. After many years in jail, Bhai Bakshish Singh’s family managed to secure his release on bail. Bhai Bakhshish Singh firmly stated that he would not leave without his brother, Bhai Pamma. He requested his family to appeal for his release as well. His family did exactly that and even had to sell some of their own land to fund Bhai Paramjit Singh’s release. It wasn’t long before the police began to harass Bhai Bakshish Singh again. He thought to himself, “The damned police continue to harass me. It won’t be long before they arrest me again and possibly kill me in a staged encounter. It would be better to die fighting then being beaten by the police every other day.” From that day forward, he became known as Bhai Bakshish Singh Kalyug and joined the Jhujaru Singhs in the armed struggle.

Bhai Bakshish Singh was a maestro among the Jhujaru Singhs and participated in many Jhujaru actions. He came up against the police in numerous direct confrontations and firefights, and every time, Bhai Bakshish Singh managed to cause great damage and successfully escape. There was also a renowned Black Cat who worked for the state and police, by the name of Baghiar Pala. Both Bhai Bakshish Singh and Bhai Joga Singh Kanpur attempted to eliminate him many times. The police were hell-bent on tracking Bhai Kalyug down, so they repeatedly harassed his entire family, leaving him no choice but to relocate them to Mehta Chownk, Damdami Taksal Headquarters. In 1991, Bhai Kalyug and Bhai Joga Singh Kanpur were surrounded by Indian security forces in the village of Bhuttar near Mehta. In this fierce battle between the 2 sides, Bhai Kalyug helped Bhai Joga Singh escape and he attained martyrdom himself.

A year after Bhai Kalyug’s martyrdom, his Jhujaru brother, Bhai Paramjit Singh Pamma was cycling through the village of Darewali (near Ghuman, Dakoha Road). An informant had set the local police force to follow him. It did not take long before Bhai Paramjit Singh Pamma was suddenly and completely surrounded by police. The police showed no restraint, and crossfire began, during which Bhai Paramjit Singh was shot and made a martyr of Khalistan. Following the Shaheedi of Bhai Bakshish Singh and Bhai Paramjit Singh, the police had no reason to continue harassing the family of Shaheed Giani Mohar Singh. But this did not stop them, the police continued interrogating and needlessly harassing the family.

There was still one person that the police had not yet targeted, Bhai Bakshish Singh’s eldest brother, Bhai Prem Singh. In March 1993, Bhai Prem Singh was living at the Mehta Chownk complex, the headquarters of Damdami Taksaal. There, he taught and trained young children of the academy in physical fitness. One morning, on his way to a class session, the police shamelessly arrived and openly arrested Bhai Prem Singh, throwing him into the back of a police vehicle. Their mother, Mata Puran Kaur, had already endured the agony of losing one son and did not want to lose another. She would always keep a watchful eye on Bhai Prem Singh in an effort to keep him safe and protected, and it was right before her eyes, the police arrested Bhai Prem Singh, and she could do nothing. She collapsed in shock, and those nearby helped her back to her feet.

It took some time to track down where Bhai Prem Singh had been taken. It was discovered that he was taken to Mal Mandi interrogation centre. Many respected individuals from the area tried their best to influence the courts and the police to locate or at least meet Bhai Prem Singh. In response, the police offered false reassurances, claiming, “Don’t worry, Bibi Puran Kaur, we will bring your son either tomorrow or the day after.” But the heartless police dragged this false reassurance on for months. Mata Puran Kaur became so desperate that she was ready to sell whatever remained of their family-owned land to bail Bhai Prem Singh. Her exact words were, “I do not care about my land, it can go to hell as far as I’m concerned. We’ll beg to eat if we have to, but whatever it takes, bring my son back home!” This was the heart-wrenching pain of a mother. But it was to no avail. There was no way of ever getting him out of the clutches of these butchers. It is known that the police made Bhai Prem Singh a martyr, but the events of how this was carried out will never be known.

The poor mother now had to bear the loss of both her sons. The world might have thought the police were done with this family and could inflict no more suffering, but this was wrong. A month after Bhai Prem Singh’s Shaheedi, the police picked up Mata Puran Kaur and took her to the local Mehta Chownk police station. Had the police not satisfied their dreadful thirst by killing all the men of this family, that they now had to turn on the women? What disgusting creatures they were indeed! The question remained: why were they so hell-bent on targeting this particular family and making their lives a living torture? Mata Puran Kaur was subjected to brutal torture and repeatedly given electric shocks. She could not understand why she was being treated in such a haunting way when she had done nothing wrong and committed no crime. Then Mata Ji heard the voice of a female Hindu police inspector, who ordered her officers, taunting, “Whoever enters this room is to inflict five slaps onto the face of this old woman. Let this teach her a lesson about the consequences of being a Hindu converting to Sikhi!”

Then the penny dropped, and Mata Puran Kaur clearly understood why she and her family were being targeted. They had come from a Hindu background and adopted Sikhi. The Hindu police officer used this as a means of discrimination and revenge, seeing her as a traitor to their faith. During the armed struggle, there were many examples of Hindu families who happily embraced the Sikh faith and joined the Singhs in the fight against oppression. They openly supported Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale and shattered all conspiracies that he was against Hindus or had them killed. Not long after the police had taken Mata Puran Kaur, Bhai Bakhshish Singh’s father, Bhai Balhaar Singh, secretly left his house in fear of being caught himself and went to stay at an undisclosed location. Before leaving, he visited his daughter one last time and warned her, “The police are after our family. They’ve taken your mother, and now they’ll be after me!” Then he left without telling her where he was going.

The police kept Mata Puran Kaur and continued to torture the poor old lady. They would hang her by her arms and give her electric shocks. She would taunt them, asking, “Is there no ounce of humanity in your hearts, you dreadful monsters?” Mata Puran Kaur shared that there was a Sikh police officer, who was in charge of firearms and often stood in her support and requested the prison wardens to at least give her some water to drink. Many times, he tried to feed Mata Ji water with a spoon, but she was too injured and weak to even sip it.

At one point, her daughter Bibi Darshan Kaur’s brother-in-law (her husband’s brother) came from abroad and stormed into the police station, shouting for them to release her, “You have completely eliminated this family, killed their sons. What more do you want from this frail old lady?” The police inspector retorted, “Stay in your lane, or you’ll be next and you won’t leave here alive!” Eventually, the village leader of Mehta Chownk was able to secure the release of Mata Puran Kaur and brought her home. She was unable to walk upon release from the prison; two men from their village had to support her as she walked out. The police inspector patronisingly taunted, “Mata, we’re letting you go now. Be careful you don’t end up here again.” Soon, her husband learned of her release and returned to the family home. He passed away shortly after. This family was put through hell simply because they had adopted Sikhi and honoured the righteous way of life, choosing to fight against injustice. These sacrifices are immense, no one can truly understand what it’s like unless they’ve lived through it. May Waheguru continue to bless this family and generations to come for holding their faith strong.

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Bakshish Singh Kalyug