Shaheed Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta

Khalistan Commando Force

 

When our team from Punjab travel village to village, city to city to write the history of the martyrs of Khalistan, a war of independence, we are amazed to find out that our martyrs were from beyond the borders of Punjab, they did not only come from the land of Punjab but countless Sikh martyrs were from Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu, Delhi and Uttar Pardesh and fought in the armed Sikh struggle and sacrificed their lives for the Sikh nation. These Sikh heroes, while maintaining the respect and dignity of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj have endured immense tortures like the ancient Sikhs, they have been imprisoned and have created a proud history of the Sikh nation, on which our future generations will always hold their heads high and be proud. Our team reached Kamalpur Gadian, a village in Karnal district of Haryana State, a village of a great Khalistani martyr, but unfortunately, his name had been neglected in the pages of history. We met this family on 21st July 2020. Bibi Rupinder Kaur, the wife of Shaheed Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta, proudly narrated the life story of Bhai Sahib to us and had it written down, which we are presenting before the Sangat through this writing.

 

Family information

Father, Sardar Kirpal Singh and mother, Mata Amar Kaur named their son Satwinder Singh, born in 1960, but everyone in the family and village called him Satta. Bhai Sahib was a resident of Nilokheri (Guraya Farm), but since his maternal aunt, Mata Inder Kaur did not have any sons, she adopted him at a young age, due to which he permanently lived in village Kamalpur Gadian, Tehsil Nilokheri, Post Office Indri, district Karnal, state Haryana. The details of Bhai Sahib’s 6 siblings are as follows: – Bhai Harbans Singh, Bibi Jagdish Kaur, Bhai Surat Singh, Bibi Davinder Kaur, Bibi Sukhwinder Kaur, Bibi Paramjit Kaur and Bhai Satwinder Singh himself was the youngest. 

 

From a young age, Bhai Sahib used to visit Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Taraori, which is about 5km away from his home. Sardar Kirpal Singh was a farmer and had a lot of land. His family was Amritdhari and well-versed in Sikhism. He had a wheatish complexion, was five feet seven inches tall and had a very warm personality. Bhai Sahib received his education up to twelfth standard from the government school in Nilokheri. Bhai Satwinder Singh was the village Numberdar and his elder brother Bhai Surat Singh Ji was Sarpanch.

 

Anand Karaj

Bhai Satwinder Singh’s Anand Karaj with Bibi Rupinder Kaur (daughter of Sardar Darbara Singh, village Santokhi, district Ambala) took place on 4th January 1979 according to Guru-Maryada and one son and two daughters were born to him. The day Bhai Satwinder Singh’s in-laws came home to meet him family pre-wedding, Bhai Sahib was seen wearing a Kar Sewa Kurti and was cycling around the village distributing milk. He came home for a few minutes and after greeting his future father-in-law, he went back. This means that he had no attachment to his family and relatives, he was just busy in Sewa-Simran.

 

Service of Gurdwaras

Bhai Sahib continued to serve under the guidance of Sant Baba Charan Singh Ji Kar Sewa Kurukshetra Wale and Baba Gurdeep Singh Bahu-Saman Wale, your entire family did a lot of service to Sikhism through this sect, while constructing buildings of Gurudwaras, the family carried buckets and baskets, collected money and kept bringing the Sangat of Haryana to do Sewa. Baba Charan Singh and Baba Gurdeep Singh considered Bhai Sahib their right hand and the most trusted Singh. Bhai Satwinder Singh was so dedicated to the Sewa of the Gurudwaras that when his first child (Amaninder Singh) was to be born, he went to Gurdwara Mata Sahib Kaur at Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib (Nanded, Maharashtra) for Kar Sewa for 6 months and when Bhai Sahib came back his son was 3 months old. 

 

Amrit and Nitnem

In 1982, Bhai Sahib and his wife were blessed with Amrit from the Panj Pyare. He was a great practitioner of Naam-Simran. Jap Ji Sahib, Jap Sahib, Tav Prasad Swaye, Chaupai Sahib, Anand Sahib, Rehras Sahib, Kirtan Sohila, Asa Ki Vaar, Sukhmani Sahib, Basant Ki Vaar, Chandi Ki Vaar, Barha Maha, Dakshin Onkar, Sidh Gosht, Akaal Ustat and many more prayers were memorised by him. He used to recite Gurbani very pure, he had acquired the complete knowledge of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj and Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji.

 

Meeting Sant Bhindranwale

It was in the year 1981-82. During the winter months, Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale, the 14th head of Damdami Taksal, arrived at Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in village Taraori in Karnal district of Haryana state along with his group to preach. When Sant Ji gave a very enthusiastic speech during this Smagam, the congregation shouted war cries of, “Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akaal.” At that time, Sant Ji said, “I heard that you all came from the areas of Pakistan. You are very brave and courageous. You have made a great contribution for the Sikh faith, but Narain Mahant, the main accused of Nankana Sahib massacre, was able to escape safely from Pakistan after slaughtering Sikhs, he later died his own death in Dehradun. Where was your enthusiasm then? Why didn’t you kill the Mahant and then shout war cries of Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akaal?” By preaching in this way, Sant Ji stirred the congregation there and inspired them to uphold the principle of Miri-Piri.

 

That day, Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta was also sitting in the Sangat. He saw and heard this whole speech of Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale. Bhai Satwinder Singh was so impressed by Sant Ji’s aura. When Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha for the rights of the Panth and Punjab, Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta bought the Sikh congregation from Karnal to part take. Bhai Sahib had a lot of love and respect for Jathedar Bhai Gurdev Singh Kaunke and had stayed at Jathedar’s house for many days at a time.

 

Punishing the sinner who desecrated the Guru

One day, while doing Kar Sewa, Bhai Sahib went to the village of Bir Badalwa in Kurukshetra district. There was a Brahmin Sarpanch there who had challenged the Sikhs many times before and used to speak very bad words against the Gurus and he had also illegally occupied the lands of many people. He had clashes with the Sikhs many times but because he had the backing of the local political leader, he was given impunity. This Brahmin’s courage grew so much that he took Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj from the Gurdwara Sahib of the village in broad daylight and gathered the people and started saying that, “If any Sikh has the courage, come and save their Guru from me.” This sinner scattered the parts of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj and then set it on fire and said, “Look! I have burnt your Guru, if the Sikhs come here, they will also burn.” The Brahmin Sarpanch also placed his feet on the Sikh scriptures and continued to say, “Look! Your faith has been destroyed, you consider these papers as Guru.” In this way, this sinner grossly disrespected Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj. 

 

When Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta and his other Kar Sewa colleagues came to know about this, they became furious. How could Sikhs tolerate the sacrilege of the Guru Sahib before whom the Sikhs pray, bow down and ask for alms every day? Bhai Satwinder Singh said, “We will do Kar Sewa later, let’s do this big Sewa first.” Then the next day, Bhai Satwinder Singh and his three other colleagues, Bhai Daljit Singh, Bhai Balwinder Singh and Bhai Mukhtiar Singh, shot dead and punished the Brahmin Sarpanch for his sins, taking revenge for the sacrilege of the Guru Sahib. Then the four Singhs escaped from there shouting slogans of “Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akaal”, and avoided being caught by the police.

 

Arrest 

During the period of June 1984, the Indian army attacked Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar and then 4 months later, on 31st October 1984, Bhai Satwant Singh Agwan and Bhai Beant Singh Maloya assassinated Indira Gandhi the prime minister of India. Hearing this news, Bhai Mukhtiar Singh, an associate of Bhai Satwinder Singh, happily distributing sweets in Indri village in celebration of the news. Bhai Mukhtiar Singh was arrested by the police and during the torture it was revealed that the group had killed the Brahmin Sarpanch in Bir Badalwa village. Later, the police arrested Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta and the rest of his associates from their hideouts. The Singhs were produced in the Shahbad court and remanded for 21 days. Later, the Singhs were sent to Karnal Jail, but with the blessings of the Guru, Bhai Satwinder Singh and his companions from this case were acquitted from the case after seven months.

 

Services in the Khalistan struggle

In the days after Bhai Sahib’s release, the armed Sikh struggle had begun, a war had broken out between the Sikhs and the government of Hindustan. Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta got along with the Jhujaru Singhs of Punjab and he started serving the Panth under the leadership of General Bhai Manbir Singh Chaheru and General Labh Singh Panjwar of the Khalistan Commando Force. Bhai Sahib left Haryana and jumped onto the battlefield in Punjab. Bhai Sahib had understood that if the respect for Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj and the sanctity of Sikh Gurdwaras are to be maintained, then Khalistan must be the national home of the Sikhs. While participating in the Sikh struggle, Bhai Sahib served the Sikh nation to the fullest and took down many traitors, touts, informers, evil police officers and Indian soldiers. 

 

  • When the Sikh students who had gone to study in Bidar were killed by the communal Hindus there out of jealousy and hatred, Bhai Satwinder Singh singled out those responsible and punished them. 
  • SP Verma of Khanna Police, who was known to torture Sikhs was gunned down at his residence. 
  • Bhai Sahib also assassinated a Congress leader from Jalandhar. 

 

Bhai Sahib’s sister, Bibi Jagdish Kaur was married in Banur (Mohali), Bhai Sahib used to stay there from time to time and after three months he would also visit his home. His companion Bhai Balwinder Singh was martyred near Banur. Bhai Sahib’s brother-in-law from Banur, Bhai Gurjit Singh was also arrested by police many times in order to obtain information on Bhai Sahib’s whereabouts. The locals of Banur would eventually have Bhai Gurjit Singh released. When Bhai Satwinder Singh was involved in the struggle, the police used to harass his family a lot, the police would raid his house day and night, for many months the house remained a police check post. The police tortured his brother Bhai Surat Singh very cruelly, the marks of which are still visible on his body today. The police also took away his household goods, tractors and utensils. 

 

Martyrdom 

While serving in the Sikh struggle, one day Bhai Sahib was staying at the historic Gurdwara Somasar Sahib (Patshahi Dasvi), village Tibba, near Sahnewal, district Ludhiana. An informer reported him and the police surrounded the Gurdwara Sahib and arrested him and then took him to the slaughterhouse of the Punjab police in Ladha Kothi (Sangrur). Bhai Sahib was tortured severely for three days but this Jhujaru Singh kept chanting, “Waheguru Waheguru.” On the fourth day, on 17th May 1989 the police took Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta and staged a fake encounter in which he was killed along with other Jhujaru Singhs near Sahnewal. 

 

Due to the police’s wrath, Bhai Sahib’s wife was staying at Akaal Academy in Baru Sahib along with her children in those days. A fellow Jhujaru Singh of Bhai Sahib went there to inform Bibi Rupinder Kaur what had happened and they returned back home. The family tried hard to get his martyred body from the police but the oppressors threatened to kill the family also. The police did not even allow the family to collect Bhai Sahib’s ashes. The police returned only a shirt and a blanket which belonged to Bhai Sahib but still did not give his turban. These belongings of Bhai Sahib are still preserved by the family today, which were given by the Sangrur police station.

 

Then Bibi Rupinder Kaur came to her in-laws at Nilokheri (Guraya Farm) and the Bhog of Sri Akhand Paath Sahib was done in memory of Shaheed Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta’s martyrdom. Thousands attended to pay their respects to the fallen soldier of the Sikh nation. At the time of Bhai Sahib’s martyrdom, his children were very young, his eldest son, Amaninder Singh was eight years old, his daughters Ramandeep Kaur was six years old and Gurpreet Kaur was one year old. 

 

Reply to Indian media 

Influenced by the official propaganda of the Indian media, those who think that the Jhujaru Singhs were illiterate, robbers and murderers. Let us tell them that Bhai Satwinder Singh Satta was the owner of 42 Kille of land, 10 Kille of land was given to him by his father at Nilokheri (Guraya Farm) and 32 Kille of land was given to him by his maternal aunt at village Kamalpur Gadian. Bhai Satwinder Singh was an educated Jhujaru Singh and used to do Kar Sewa of the Gurdwaras day and night with immense devotion, but he could not bear the sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, so he chose this path and taught a lesson to the enemies according to the Khalsa traditions, he did not kill any innocent person.

 

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