Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh Cheema Khudi

Khalistan Commando Force

 

Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh was born on 10th May 1967 in the house of father, Sardar Kartar Singh and from the blessed womb of Mata Surinder Kaur in village Cheema Khudi, Tehsil Batala, District Gurdaspur. Bhai Sahib was the only brother of three sisters, 2 elder sisters Bibi Paramjit Kaur, Bibi Karamjit Kaur and his younger sister, Bibi Rajinder Kaur. Bhai Sahib had taken Amrit in his childhood and had memorized the prayers of Nitnem. Bhai Sahib received his 10th grade education from the government school at Sri Hargobindpur. Bhai Sahib was very clever in his studies and always came first and was also interested in sports. Because he was the beloved son of the family, he was nicknamed Bindu. Getting up at Amrit Vela and chanting Gurbani and practicing Waheguru Simran was his daily routine. Respecting elders and loving younger ones was his nature. His thoughts were very high and pure. 

 

Bhai Sahib’s father, Sardar Kartar Singh served in the army for 24 years, and even after he retired, he kept his beard tied, and one day Bhai Sahib said to his father, “Father, don’t tie the beard, what is the fault of these hairs, why have you kept them tied, so keep the beard open because there is an order in the 10th Guru Ji’s Rehatnama. In this way, listening to his son Balwinder Singh, his father started keeping his beard Prakash (open).

 

Joining Khalistan Commando Force

After studying 10th grade, Bhai Balwinder Singh started working as a conductor in a private bus. The route of this bus was from Sri Hargobindpur to Gurdaspur-Batala. In this way, while earning an honest living, Bhai Sahib met the Jhujaru Singhs of the Khalistan Commando Force in the bus and secretly joined them in the Jhujaru ranks for the establishment of Khalistan. The reason was that in June 1984, when the Indian Army attacked Sri Darbar Sahib, Sri Akaal Takht Sahib and about forty other Gurdwaras were attacked, Bhai Sahib’s heart was broken, the anger was boiling inside him, he knew he had to teach these Indian oppressors a lesson. When the Sikhs started an armed struggle against the government of Delhi, Bhai Sahib jumped into the battlefield in 1988 with a roar. Shaheed Bhai Jugraj Singh Toofan, a top warrior from Bhai Sahib’s village, was also very active, who was doing Jhujaru actions under the command of Khalistan Liberation Force Chief General, Jathedar Avtar Singh Brahma. 

 

Now to attain martyrdom

Bhai Balwinder Singh was given great respect in the Khalistan Commando Force, because he used to take part in every action and never hesitated from facing death. Many times, fellow Jhujaru Singhs used to say to him, “Balwinder Singh! You are the only brother of three sisters, so don’t get too involved in this struggle.” But Balwinder Singh used to reply, “You are all brothers of my sisters, if I get martyred, then you should fulfil your duty in my place as brothers. We have now prayed at the feet of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj that we should not die in vain but fight with the oppressors for the freedom of the Sikh nation and attain the martyrdom as heroes.”

 

The names of Bhai Balwinder Singh’s Jhujaru companions are as follows: Shaheed Bhai Rashpal Singh Fauji, Shaheed Bhai Jasbir Singh Jones Guhar, Shaheed Bhai Balbir Singh, Shaheed Bhai Harjit Singh Jeeta, Shaheed Bhai Kulwant Singh Cheema Khudi, Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh, Shaheed Bhai Major Singh Khatrai Kalan, Shaheed Bhai Jaswinder Singh Captain, Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh Ghodha, Shaheed Bhai Harjinder Singh Hargobindpur, Shaheed Bhai Baldev Singh Ramdas etc. He served under the command of Dr. Kashmir Singh Dhariwal and Bhai Balbir Singh Jones Guhar. Another Sikh youth, Bhai Harjit Singh Jeeta, who was from the same village as Bhai Sahib was killed in an encounter with the police at Vairo Nangal village after some time. All of the named Jhujaru Singhs used to carry out Jhujaru actions together.

 

Bhai Balwinder Singh was known as Kanwal Singh in the ranks of Jhujaru Singhs. Because when he went into hiding, Bhai Sahib changed his name and secretly fought in the struggle, changing his appearance in the night operations and fulfilling the responsibility entrusted by the organisation. During the armed struggle, Bhai Sahib punished many black cats, traitors and butcher police officers. The Singhs of Bhai Sahib’s organisation became messiahs for the poor of the area, they did not harass anyone unnecessarily but didn’t spare the anti-Sikh elements who spoke against Sikh faith and Sikhs. The police came to know about Bhai Sahib’s Jhujaru actions and started searching for him.

 

Martyrdom

When Bhai Balwinder Singh was coming from village Suro Padda to Mehta on a motorcycle on 20th August 1990 in the afternoon, police vehicles spotted him and started following him. Bhai Kulwant Singh Cheema Khudi and another Singh named Kala were with Bhai Sahib. All three were riding on a motorcycle and they had weapons and all three had covered themselves with blankets. The police suspected the Jhujaru Singhs and started firing bullets at them. Bhai Sahib was steering the motorcycle and he tried to escape from there by speeding up the motorcycle but the police cordon was already in place from both sides. Bhai Sahib threw the motorcycle in the fields and requested his companions to leave. Bhai Sahib said, “I will now fight these enemies alone and you both get out of here and accept my final farewell.” 

 

Bhai Kulwant Singh and Bhai Kala escaped by breaking the siege but Bhai Balwinder Singh hid behind the sugarcanes and fought bravely with the police and killed many policemen. The police brought paramilitary soldiers from the nearby check post and more vehicles of the police arrived. The fierce battle continued for five consecutive hours and this hero had the Indian soldiers running for their lives. The police and the army started retreating but Bhai Balwinder Singh ran out of bullets and the Indian security force surrounded him from all sides in large numbers. Bhai Sahib was arrested late that evening, he was taken to Mehta police station, where Thanedar Malhar Singh tortured him all night and inhuman atrocities were committed upon Bhai Sahib. The police officers electrocuted Bhai Sahib, making him half-dead, but he did not reveal any secret of the organisation nor did he utter a single word about the whereabouts of the Jhujaru Singhs. The next day, on 21st August 1990, the police martyred Bhai Sahib in custody at Amrit Vela. In the afternoon, the family received the news and then in the presence of Sardar Kartar Singh, the police performed the last rites of Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh’s body at the cremation ground in Sri Amritsar.

 

Tavareekh Shaheed-E-Khalistan 2 – Ranjit Singh Damdami Taksal