Shaheed Bhai Janak Raj Gandhi

Khalistan Commando Force

 

Amar Shaheed Bhai Janak Raj Gandhi was born in a Brahmin family, but this warrior fought for the freedom of the Sikh nation and got martyred in the struggle of Khalistan. Shaheed Bhai Janak Raj was born on 2nd October 1972, it is for this reason everyone called him ‘Gandhi’ because (so-called) Mahatma Gandhi was also born on 2nd October. Bhai Sahib father’s name was Pandit Ram Nath and mother’s name was Mata Sumitra Devi. He had two sisters Jaswant Rani, Shashi Kanta, two elder brothers Inder Pal, Ashok Kumar and youngest brother, Raman Kumar. Bhai Sahib’s previous native village was Sanghna which falls on Jhabbal Road in Amritsar district, but because of his father’s service in the police, the family shifted permanently to a small village of Hoshiarpur, Hardo Khanpur. He studied till tenth standard, he was fair in complexion, medium in height and had an athletic body. 

 

Bhai Sahib was very fortunate that he got the company of Gursikhs in village Hardo Khanpur during his studies. A Gursikh family of this village who adhered the Sikh practices and Sikh attire, a young man from this family was, Bhai Amarjit Singh, with whom he became close friends and became extremely fond of his family. Both Janak Raj and Amarjit Singh were always together and Amarjit Singh informed Janak Raj about Gurbani and Sikh history, from which Janak Raj was greatly impressed and he became convinced of the Sikh faith. Bhai Sahib started attending the Gurdwara Sahib and started reciting Gurbani with devotion. Janak Raj had already stopped shaving started keeping his hair on the head. Although the rest of his family continued to do their activities and rituals according to Hindu customs, but Janak Raj was different from all of them and he was adapting his life according to Sikh faith. 

 

After the attack on Sri Darbar Sahib in June 1984, when the armed struggle for the freedom of Khalistan was in full swing, (martyr) Bhai Amarjit Singh started participating in Jhujaru movement. Bhai Janak Raj Gandhi also started serving secretly in the Khalistan struggle in 1988 along with his childhood friend Bhai Amarjit Singh. Bhai Sahib was associated with Khalistan Commando Force Jhujaru, Bhai Satnam Singh Satta. The police came to know about the activities of Bhai Janak Raj and he was arrested and sent to Hoshiarpur Jail for 6 months on charges of weapons and Jhujaru actions. After being released from prison, Bhai Sahib left home and started serving in the Khalistani struggle again and visited home occasionally.  Bhai Sahib’s elder sister, Bibi Jaswant Rani scolded him saying, “We are from a Hindu family. What are you doing, leave everything and get married and settle down.” Bhai Janak Raj would reply, “Sister, I am not an ungrateful person, the ninth Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji Maharaj went to Delhi to save our religion and if today the Hindu government is oppressing the Sikh religion, then it is our duty to do the same. This is not the time to be silent but to support each other and to raise our voice against oppression. The path I am walking is the path Guru Sahib has shown us. The Jhujaru Singhs are fighting the tyrants on the battlefield to protect of the rights of Punjab and Punjabis. They are not separatists or terrorists. They are the protectors of our people and I will give full support in this fight with my big brothers. Don’t worry about me. I am not yours anymore, but I am Guru’s Sikh.“

 

The police started harassing the family of Bhai Janak Raj, every other day the police would go to the house and searched the house. His maternal uncle, Pandit Sadhu Ram, who was on a very high post in the police, came to drop ration off to his sister’s house one day, and the police also questioned him on whereabouts of Bhai Sahib. On the other hand, along with the Jhujaru Singhs of the Khalistan Commando Force organisation, Bhai Sahib continued to punish the enemies of the Sikh nation. The police of Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar districts were using every means to catch Bhai Sahib and raids were being conducted on many of Bhai Sahib’s hideouts. It was only matter of time, with number of traps the Punjab police had laid to arrest Bhai Sahib, that will succeed. Bhai Sahib was eventually arrested and sent to Sangrur jail, and he was released on bail a year later. Bhai Sahib came home but was determined to do more the Sikh struggle, but the police was not happy about Bhai Sahib being back out. On 5th April 1991, Bhai Sahib was staying at his house in village Hardo Khanpur for the night. At four o’clock in the morning the police raided the house and arrested him again, taking him to Hoshiarpur police station. The police told the family, “Janak Raj is also responsible for the Jhujaru action that happened at village Sham Chaurasi.” Bhai Sahib was blindly tortured and sent to jail, but the police were thinking of a plan to make Bhai Sahib disappear. 

 

On 18th May 1992, while bringing Bhai Janak Raj to court, the police staged a fake police encounter on the way, and shot Bhai Sahib. SSP of Hoshiarpur made the story that, “We were taking Janak Raj Gandhi to the court, and seizing the opportunity, he grabbed the weapon from the police officers and ran from police custody. The police party moved to arrest him, he was chased and there was a face-to-face encounter with the police near a bridge near Haryana City, in which Janak Raj Gandhi was killed in dual firing.” Bhai Sahib’s family were at the court hoping to see their son/brother, instead they found out that the police had martyred Bhai Janak Raj Gandhi. Even after trying so hard, the police did not give the martyred body of Shaheed Janak Raj Gandhi to his family. 

 

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