Shaheed Bhai Harjinder Singh Babbar

Babbar Khalsa

 

After the June 1984 holocaust, while maintaining the honor and glory of the Sikh nation and clashing with the Indian security forces, many heroes drank the nectar of martyrdom. Yes, the Sikh nation knows about the famous Jhujaru Singhs, but there are countless heroes who are neglected. The 1984tribute.com team have always bought and will continue to bring forward such Jhujaru Singhs, as we believe that by writing their biographies and sharing their images, these great martyrs come to life. The sacrifice of these Jhujaru Singhs is very great, their families have suffered a lot, harassed and tortured by Indian security forces. 

 

Family Information

Bhai Harjinder Singh Babbar alias Bau was born in 1964 in the village of Ghaniyye Ke Bangar in Tehsil Batala of District Gurdaspur, from the blessed womb of Mata Gurmej Kaur and in the house of Sardar Dalip Singh. Bhai Sahib was the youngest of eight siblings. He studied till the eighth standard. He was religiously inclined from the beginning and used to do a lot of service in the local Gurdwara Sahib. The family had very little land, so instead of doing agriculture, Bhai Sahib started working as a cast iron worker in an iron furnace in Batala. His marriage with Bibi Gurmeet Kaur took place according to Guru-Maryada and two sons, Jagjit Singh and Harpreet Singh, and a daughter, Harjit Kaur, were born to the family.

 

The Holocaust  

In 1982, Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale, the 14th head of Damdami Taksal, launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha in Sri Amritsar for the rights of the Sikhs and Punjab, Bhai Sahib considered this as his national responsibility and participated actively. He was influenced by the words of Sant Ji and took Amrit from the Panj Pyare.

 

In order to crush the Dharam Yudh Morcha and spread terror of the government amongst the Sikhs, Indira Gandhi ordered her Indian army to launch an attack with tanks and cannons on roughly forty Gurdwaras including Sri Darbar Sahib and Sri Akaal Takht Sahib. Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale, Bhai Amrik Singh, Baba Thara Singh and General Shabeg Singh along with many Singhs and Singhnia were martyred. 

 

The Indian army tortured and killed many devotees, burnt the museum and the library, and grossly desecrated the holy scriptures of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj. Then in November 1984, Sikhs were burnt alive by having tyres put around their necks in Delhi, Kanpur, Jammu, Manali and Haryana, Sikh women were robbed of their dignity by Hindus yobs, being a Sikh had become a sin in India. 

 

Services in the Khalistan Struggle

Seeing this oppression being done upon the Sikhs, Bhai Harjinder Singh said goodbye to his family and home, he tied a shroud on his head and jumped into the armed Sikh struggle in 1986. Bhai Sahib served in the struggle under the leadership of Bhai Dharam Singh Kashtiwal, a brave general of the Babbar Khalsa organisation. Bhai Sahib punished many touts, black cats, traitors and evil policemen of the Indian forces. All the Jhujaru Singhs would praise the intelligence, courage and agility of Bhai Sahib. He was at the forefront of fighting against the Punjab police in encounters and had taken responsibility for attacking many police stations Amritsar and Gurdaspur. 

 

When Bhai Sahib was engaged in the struggle, a cruel police officer by the name of SSP Gobind Ram wreaked havoc on Bhai Sahib’s family. The police would arrest his father, brother, wife and take them to the police station, where they would be harassed and tortured. Once, the entire family became homeless and spent their days living in and around the vicinity. When the Babbar Khalsa challenged Gobind Ram and asked him to fight at the appointed time, the cruel SSP did not have the courage to face the Jhujaru Singhs. Bhai Sahib also attacked DSP Suri of Phillaur and Ram Murti with bombs. Bhai Sahib assassinated a comrade in his house in Batala who was talking against the Sikh struggle under the protection gunmen, which the government had provided.

 

Martyrdom

Bhai Sahib was staying at a place in the village of Kular (near Batala) along with his fellow Jhujaru Singhs. Due to the information given to the Punjab police by an informant, large numbers of police and CRPF surrounded the Jhujaru Singhs from all sides. A fierce face-to-face encounter took place, which is still talked about in the surrounding villages even today. This encounter started from 12 noon and continued till 7 pm. Although the Jhujaru Singhs had less ammunition, but due to the blessings of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj, Bhai Harjinder Singh and fellow Jhujaru Singhs installed fear into the hearts of the police and CRPF.

 

According to the information received, ten out of fifteen Jhujaru Singhs broke the siege and managed to escape. The remaining 4/5 Jhujaru Singhs continued to fight till their last breath. The number of Indian forces was very large in this encounter, even the police force of Amritsar district had joined the Indian security forces against the hand full of Jhujaru Singhs. Even the public were amazed to see the few Jhujaru Singhs keeping thousands of Indian soldiers at bay. Finally, Bhai Harjinder Singh Babbar, after killing many policemen and CRPF men, attained martyrdom along with his fellow Jhujaru Singhs while fighting. It was the 11th January 1990. The police did not even hand over the martyred body of Bhai Sahib to the family and cremated it somewhere themselves.

 

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