Following the collapse of the Sikh Kingdom and subsequent British
occupation of their homeland, the thirst for freedom and prosperity had
not yet evaded the Sikhs. Whereas the people of Hindustan had been
enslaved for hundreds of years under the evaders and rulers of Ghajni,
Khilji, Lodi, the Mughal Empire, France and Britain, the Sikhs had only
been under occupation for a total of 98 years, and that too amidst an
ongoing struggle for freedom. During the British Raj, the Sikhs were the
first to fly the flag of freedom and led many agitations and campaigns
to free themselves from the shackles of slavery. Whether it was the
farmer’s revolt, the Gaddar Party revolution, the Komagata Maru killings, the Guru ka Bagh Morcha or the Jaito Morcha amongst many others, the brave Sikh warriors where at the forefront.
Throughout history, in such struggles the foreign based Sikh’s have
also played their part, and in the current ongoing struggle for Sikh
Freedom it is no different. Jathedar Talwinder Singh Babbar, Bhai Anar
Singh Paahra, Bhai Bhupinder Singh Kooner, Bhai Hardev Singh ‘Bapu’,
Bhai Davinder Singh ‘Singapore’ & Bhai Harjeet Singh ‘Dhillon’ are
just to mention a few whom have attained Shaheedi for this goal.
Shaheed Bhai Harjeet Singh Dhillon |
Bhai Harjeet Singh Dhillon was born on July 30, 1967 into household
of Sardar Joginder Singh and Mata Tarvinder Kaur of village Dhilwan.
Bhai Sahib was from a humble and deeply religious family; the entire
family had been blessed with Amrit and led a Gursikh lifestyle. Bhai
Sahib’s grandfather Subedar Major Ujhagar Singh was a saintly figure who
regularly accompanied Sant Jawala Singh Harkhovale. Bhai Sahib’s uncle
Sardar Mohinderpal Singh Dhillon was a well known and very successful
businessman settled in England. Bhai Sahib’s grandmother Bibi Harnam
Kaur was of a very caring and loving nature. Each family member’s
individual attributes and the household atmosphere contributed to Bhai
Sahib’s strong belief in the Sikh faith and desire to be of service to
the Panth.
Bhai Sahib was an intelligent student who excelled in sports,
particularly in Kabbadi. Bhai Sahib completed his higher education at
the local village Government Senior Secondary school then did prep at
DAV College, Jalandhar in 1983, before being granted admission at Mehar
Chand Polytechnic College, Jalandhar.
Like many of Punjab’s students Bhai Sahib visited Sri Darbar Sahib
several times and with great interest would listen to the speeches of Sant Jarnail Singh
Khalsa Bhindranwale. The June 1984 attack on Sri Darbar Sahib by the
Indian Army deeply hurt and saddened Bhai Sahib and invoked the courage
within Bhai Sahib to step forward in service of the Panth. Bhai Sahib
continued with his higher education and received his diploma in civil
engineering in 1987. During this time Bhai Sahib had become an active
member of the Sikh Students Federation and had been blessed with Amrit
at Mehta Chowk. Bhai Sahib was a very humble Sikh and serene individual,
despite having contributed immensely to the SSF Jathebandi Bhai Sahib
kept his actions anonymous.
Bhia Harjeet Singh first came into the view of the police when his
close associate Bhai Kuldeep Singh Dhillon was arrested. The local
villagers along with members of the Sikh Students Federation held a
protest on Dhilwan’s GT Road where traffic was brought to a halt for 8
hours. During this incident the police took special notice of Bhai
Harjeet Singh, as it was he who quickly gathered hundreds of protestors
onto the streets.
Bhai Harjeet Singh was then also arrested and taken into custody.
Bhai Sahib was ruthlessly tortured for several days and only after
pressure from the local villagers was released. Being inhumanely
tortured by the police did not dampen Bhai Sahib’s spirits, instead it
made him more determined to take part in the Sikh struggle for
Independence.
Shaheed Bhai Kanwarjeet Singh Sultanwind - Khalistan Commando Force |
Bhai Sahib’s worked very closely with Bhai Kanwarjeet Singh
Sultanwind (KCF), Bhai Nirmal Singh, Bhai Kuldeep Singh Dhillon, Bhai
Balwinder Singh Dhillon, Bhai Balbir Singh Khasan, Bhai Nirmal Singh
Chotu and Bhai Surjeet Singh Sandhu. Together, this group punished many
oppressors and perpetrators of crimes carried out against the Sikh
nation.
As Bhai Sahib was being watched closely by the Punjab Police, he
gained employment as an engineer at Hussainpur coach factory,
Kapurthala. This allowed Bhai Harjeet Singh to easily leave his village
without arousing suspicion and continue with his Panthic duties.
In April 1989, after being reported by a local police tout Bhai Sahib
was once again arrested. Bhai Sahib was moved from jail to jail and the
process of torture continued for a whole month however Bhai Sahib did
not reveal a single shred of information relating to the whereabouts of
his fellow Singhs. The police were once again forced to release Bhai
Sahib after the local villagers along with local leaders protested
against Bhai Sahib’s unlawful arrest. Bhai Sahib was tortured to such
extent that he was left unable to walk for days. Once again despite the
torture, Bhai Sahib remained in high spirits. Upon witnessing Bhai
Sahib’s dedication to serving the Sikh Panth, he was held in high esteem
by the locals.
Once Bhai Sahib was fully fit, the police made attempts to arrest him
again but Bhai Sahib managed to escape and forced to go underground. In
1990, through an agent Bhai Sahib reached Germany and a few months
later moved to America. Even whilst living abroad Bhai Sahib continued
with his Panthic obligations. Bhai Sahib assisted families of Shaheed
Jujharoos, raised awareness of the ongoing struggle and kept in touch
with the Jujharoos on the battlefields.
Bhai Sahib’s 2 sisters and younger brother were all settled abroad
and Bhai Sahib’s relatives wished he do the same, but Bhai Sahib’s
priorities lay with the Panth and not self-progress. Bhai Sahib rejected
the opportunity to live a life of luxury and returned back to Punjab in
order to free the Sikh nation from the shackles of slavery.
Shaheed Bhai Harjeet Singh Dhillon |
Bhai Harjeet Singh returned to Punjab in April 1992 and began working
closely with Bhai Parmjeet Singh Panjwar, Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu,
Shaheed Baba Davinder Singh ‘Singapore’ and Shaheed Bhai Rashpal Singh
Pandra. Bhai Sahib’s actions where again completed in an anonymous
manner whereby he punished many enemies of the Sikhs under the alias of
Jagdeep Singh.
Bhai Harjeet Singh’s aim was to strengthen the movement from all
fronts, politically as well as martially and spread the movement to all 4
corners of Hindustan. Due to Bhai Harjeet Singh & Bhai Parmjeet
Singh Panjwar’s efforts the movement extended itself across the borders
of Panjab into neighbouring states and internationally via the contacts
Bhai Sahib had established whilst living abroad.
Bhai Sahib having eliminated a number of high level targets was on
the radar of the Govt. Ultimately the fateful day arrived which each
warrior awaits. On July 15, 1994 in a raid conducted by the Jalandhar
police on a safe house where Bhai Sahib and his associate had setup
camp, Bhai Harjeet Singh attained Shaheedi. Bhai Sahib’s body was
removed and taken to village Dakhla, Jalandhar the following day and
presented as a death resulting from a fire fight.
Bhai Sahib was
officially identified as Jagdeep Singh ‘Jaggi’. Thus Bhai Harjeet Singh
Dhillon aka Jagdeep Singh ‘Amreeka’ departed from this world, but his
vision and message remain intact which the Sikh Nation shall continue to
protect until the final goal of a Sikh homeland has been accomplished.