Shaheed Bhai Gurcharan Singh Tuggalwal

Babbar Khalsa

 

Bhai Gurcharan Singh alias Pappu, the son of the great scholar and famous poet of the Sikh nation, Bhai Joga Singh Jogi, was born in 1955 from the blessed womb of Mata Sawinder Kaur, in village Tuggalwal, near Harchowal, district Gurdaspur. Bhai Sahib had an elder sister, Bibi Rajinder Kaur, a younger sister, Bibi Kulwinder Kaur and a younger brother, Bhai Kulwant Singh. Bhai Sahib’s house was near the house of Shaheed Bhai Paramjit Singh alias Baba Nand. Bhai Sahib studied up to 10th standard at SKD Khalsa High School of his village. Bhai Sahib’s Anand Karaj was done with Bibi Nirmal Kaur, and they had 3 children, Panchambir Singh, Ratinder Kaur and Gagandeep Kaur. Bhai Sahib used to do farming and also had a lathe workshop in village Tuggalwal. You were a skilled artisan and used to repair trolleys-fans etc. Everything was going well for Bhai Sahib and his family. 

 

Like other Sikhs, Bhai Sahib’s heart was also pierced due to the June 1984 attack. Then, when the armed struggle for the independence of Khalistan started, Bhai Sahib was also greatly influenced by the Jhujaru Singhs. Because his father was a well-known and famous poet of the Sikh nation, the atmosphere of the household was already aligned with Sikhi and the movement. It was during these days, Bhai Sahib me Bhai Kulwinder Singh Kalanaur from the Babbar Khalsa Jhujaru group. Bhai Sahib now started serving in the struggle with the Jhujaru Singhs of Babbar Khalsa and punished the enemies of the Sikhs. When the police got the information of Bhai Sahib’s involvement with the Sikh struggle, they started harassing the family. 

 

On 7th April 1990, Bhai Sahib drank the nectar of martyrdom in a real police encounter in village Bhatti Ke, district Amritsar. Under the leadership of the wicked police officer, Gobind Ram, the police surrounded Bhai Sahib and 2 other Jhujaru Singhs at a hideout in village Bhatti Ke. The encounter lasted for about ten hours in which Bhai Sahib and the fellow Jhujaru Singhs showed great bravery. Then after running out of bullets, the 3 Jhujaru Singhs attained martyrdom by swallowing cyanide capsules. The cruel policemen did not hand over the bodies of the Jhujaru Singhs to their families and cremated them somewhere themselves. The families were not even given the ashes of their loved ones. The day after the martyrdom, the police came to Shaheed Bhai Gurcharan Singh’s house and told his wife about the encounter and then arrested her. It is also said, that the fake Nihang, Ajit Phoola also harassed the family of Bhai Sahib’s a lot after his martyrdom. 

 

Tavareekh Shaheed-E-Khalistan 3 – Ranjit Singh Damdami Taksal