Shaheed Bhai Tarsem Singh Sema

Sikh Student Federation/ Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan

 

Bhai Tarsem Singh Sema was born in the house of Sardar Balkar Singh and from the blessed womb of Mata Parkash Kaur in the Fathewal village, near Ajnala, district Amritsar. Bhai Sema had 7 sisters and 1 brother, he was the 4th eldest of siblings. Farming was the means of earning for the family of Sardar Balkar Singh. Bhai Sahib has studying in the 10th class when he went underground and joined the Jhujaru Singhs. Bhai Sema was an active young man, very intelligent and full of energy. In1986, the Sikh struggle for Khalistan was at its peak in the Amritsar area, including Bhai Sema’s village. Bhai Sema was leading a normal life along with his family, until he had an altercation with a local Hindu man who reported Bhai Sema to the police and had him charged in a false case. The police arrested Bhai Sema and blindly tortured him due to being bribed the Hindu man. This painful and humiliating ordeal bought Bhai Sema’s attention upon the current situation of Punjab, where young Sikh men like himself were being killed in fake encounters by the Punjab police. Once Bhai Sema was released, he made his mind up that he will not allow the Indian security forces to give the ill treatment he got, to the Sikh youth of Punjab. Bhai Sema made contact with local Jhujaru Singhs and started taking part in local Jhujaru actions.

 

In the beginning Bhai Sahib carried out Jhujaru actions in secret, but when the Punjab police came to know about his involvement, Bhai Sema went underground with the support of Bhai Satnam Singh Changiara of Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan. Bhai Sema was a brave and a courageous Jhujaru Singh. Under the command of Bhai Satnam Singh Changiara, Bhai Sema did many Jhujaru actions and punished many anti-Sikh elements in his area. Bhai Sema also had many battles with the Indian security forces, amongst which the battle of Ram Tirath was well known for the warfare tactic he had shown in defeating the CRPF soldiers. Bhai Sema also was very lucky to be in presence of many Jhujaru Singh based at Sri Harimandir Sahib complex. Bhai Sema had spent time with the likes of Bhai Karaj Singh Thande, Bhai Gurmukh Singh Nagoke and Bhai Surjit Singh Painta. Bhai Sema didn’t differentiate amongst Jhujaru groups, in fact he was good friends with Bhai Sukhdev Singh Padri of Babbar Khalsa. Bhai Sema also did Jhujaru actions with the likes of Bhai Gurbachan Singh Mukam, Bhai Nishan Singh Makowal, Bhai Harpal Singh Bittu (village Kiampura, Ajnala), Bhai Surinder Singh Sodhi (village Kamalpura, Ajnala) and many more.

 

Early in the month of Katak, the Punjab police had upped their search for Bhai Sema. The police had arrested Sardar Balkar Singh previously and had been in Gumtala Jail for over a year by now. On 11th Katak 1987, Bhai Sema had been arrested from the village of Othian, near Harsa Chhina, Ajnala. This was due to a police informant giving Bhai Sema’s location to his masters. Bhai Sema was taken to the interrogation centre of Ajnala, near the Khalsa College and was blindly tortured. Then somedays later, the police also arrested another 2 innocent Sikh youths from Bhai Sema’s village and martyred them along with Bhai Tarsem Singh Sema in a staged encounter.

 

Information given by the family of Shaheed Bhai Tarsem Singh Sema