People

My Grandfather's Story

by INNI KAUR

 

 

On my last trip to Delhi, I sweet-talked my father into recording the family history.

The recording sessions were not easy. There were moments of intense silence; moments when tears flowed; moments of laughter and moments filled with gratitude.

It was a very special time and I will cherish it forever.

Dad and I share a very close relationship. I am his first-born. In his eyes, I can do anything that I set my mind on, and I will never do anything wrong. His simple trust has played a huge part in my life. It has prevented me from doing things that may not have been kosher.

In my eyes, “My father is a very noble man.” In today’s world, the word noble is rarely used to describe an individual. But that is the word that comes to mind when I think about my father. Even people, who do not get along with him (I cannot understand why), begrudgingly acknowledge his compassion, sincerity and honesty. I could go on and on about my father. But that is for a later piece.

This story is about the man who brought my father, Bawa Gurnam Singh, into this world -  my grandfather, my knight in shining armor.

“Dad, tell me about Pitaji,” I ask, as we begin with the recording.

Dad looks at me: “You were his favorite. He adored you the moment you were born. No, I think he loved you even before you were born. None of the other grandchildren had his complete undivided love and attention, like you did. In fact I think none of his own children got his love like you did.”

“I know, Dad, I know! Sometimes, I wonder why he chose to love me the way he did. At other times, I’m filled with gratitude, to have experienced love of this purity. But Dad, I know so little of his life?”

“Your grandfather, my father - Bawa Hari Singh - was born in 1898 in Chakwal, Panjab,” Dad starts. “His father, Kalyan Singh, died when Hari Singh was only five years old. He was raised by his three older brothers, Jivan Singh, Bishen Singh and Bhagwan Singh. Jivan Singh and Bishen Singh were saints. Yes! I know, for you Pitaji was a saint. And you are right. Pitaji was saintly but his two older brothers were the real saints. I’ll tell you about them at another time. He also had two older sisters, Ram Lubhai and Ram Rakhi.

Pitaji studied at the Khalsa High school in Chakwal up to Grade 10. After that he joined his brothers. The family had about 500 acres of farming land in Chakwal, with about 400-500 people working for them.

When World War I broke out, Pitaji enlisted in the British army and joined the Sikh Regiment. His Regiment was sent to Bombay and from there they sailed to Iraq. They landed in Basra. From Basra they made their way into Baghdad and from Baghdad onwards they fought the Turks. They captured the town of Kirku, and established a base there.

Pitaji rarely spoke about his days in the army. The story that I remember well is his telling us how his Regiment would look after the Guru Granth Sahib. Wherever the Regiment landed or was stationed, the first thing they did was to make sure that the Guru Granth Sahib was placed in the most appropriate place. Only then did the Regiment undertake their other tasks. The British Officers also showed proper respect to the Guru Granth Sahib.

When Pitaji’s Regiment was in Kirku, the best tent was put up for the Guru Granth Sahib. It was also the first tent that went up. The Hindus and Muslims in the army used to get very upset with the preferential treatment given to the Guru Granth Sahib. A few of them went to complain to their commanding British Officer about this disparity.

The British Officer told them that he would decide on this matter the next day. He asked them to come the next day at 4 pm with their respective holy books. The Officer also asked the Sikhs to come to his tent at 4 pm with their holy book.

The next day, the first people to appear before the British Officer were three Hindu soldiers. They had brought the Gita with them in a torn shoulder bag. The British Officer asked them to sit down. They sat down and placed the Gita on the table. The Muslims came next. They had the Koran wrapped up in a cloth which they also put on the table. While they were sitting, they heard singing. Everyone came out of the tent to see what was happening.

There were two Sikh soldiers leading a procession. They were throwing water on the ground. Behind them were five Sikh soldiers (Punj Pyare) properly dressed with kirpans in their hands. Behind them were a few more soldiers singing a shabad and behind them was the Guru Granth Sahib properly decorated and hand-carried by four soldiers with bare feet. Pitaji was one of them. Behind the Guru Granth Sahib was the entire Sikh Regiment in full uniform.

When the Sikh Regiment reached the British Officers tent, the Officer covered his head and bowed. He thanked the soldiers for bring their holy book and told them that they could go back. The Sikhs then took the procession around the entire cantonment. It took them nearly two hours to take that round. Only after that was completed did they go back to the tent and placed the Guru Granth Sahib in its rightful place.

After the Sikhs left, the British Officer asked the Hindu and Muslim soldiers whether they still needed an explanation as to why the Sikhs were being given preferential treatment.

He told them, “How can you expect me to respect your holy books when you yourselves do not respect them. See how the Sikhs respect their scripture. I too bowed my head. I felt compelled to do so because of their faith in their scripture.”

The Sikh Regiment was stationed in Kirku for some time.  After the war escalated they were sent to Istanbul. They fought their way through Turkey to reach France where they fought the Germans.

While they were in France the new helmet law was introduced. It became mandatory for all soldiers in the British army to wear helmets. The Sikh Regiment outright refused to wear the helmet. They told their British commanding Officers that it was against their religion to remove their turbans and wear the helmet. The British Officers told them that they had to abide by this law. The Sikh Regiment once again refused. Pitaji somehow became the leader of this struggle. The British Officers decided to court-martial him and two other Sikh soldiers over this. The Sikh Regiment revolted. They told the British Officers that if this action was taken against Bawa Hari Singh and the other two Sikh soldiers they would not stay in the army. Seeing the mood of the soldiers the British Officers decided to dismiss Pitaji and the other two Sikh soldiers and they were sent back home.

In 1918, at the age of 20, Pitaji came back to India and joined the Akali party in Amritsar. He was very sympathetic to the Bhagat Singh movement and became an active participant in the movement to gain independence from the British. For that reason he was jailed many times and was often tortured. The British used to lay him on slabs of ice for hours. They wanted two things from him; firstly to apologize for his actions and secondly to leave the political scene. But Pitaji refused to apologize and neither was he prepared to give up the struggle for Independence. Needless to say he spent quite a bit of time in prison.

While he was in prison, his older brother got him engaged to Harnam Kaur of Jhelum. Harnam Kaur’s father, Sardar Mehtab Singh Maini was also very active in politics. He belonged to the Congress party and later became its head. Pitaji met his future father-in-law for the first time while at at Lahore jail. Both of them were sentenced by the British for their political activities.

In 1918, Pitaji got married and brought his wife to Chakwal to live with the rest of the family.

13 April, 1919.

Pitaji was at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar when the army opened fire on the crowd that had gathered there peacefully. He managed to escape with just an injury to his leg. His older brothers became very concerned about his political activities and feared for his safety. They persuaded him to leave for Iran. Pitaji very reluctantly agreed. His brothers persuaded the British authorities to release him from jail. He was released on the condition that he would leave the county. 

So in 1920 Pitaji went to Iran and worked for Sardar Mota Singh for five years. In 1924-25 he and Sardar Jai Singh Bhasin established their own business under the name of Bawa Hari Singh & Jai Singh in Zaidan, Iran. That is how Pitaji came to Iran and we became known as Iranis.”

“Dad, this was an amazing lesson in history! But how come Pitaji agreed to go to Iran? It sounds so out of character?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it was the love and respect he had for his brothers. They were the ones that raised him. As far as I can remember, he never went against their wishes for anything. My marriage to your mother was also arranged by his older brother,” replied Dad.

“First session over,” states Dad getting up and leaving the room. I continue to sit on the couch absorbing what I’ve heard. Memories of my dear, dear grandfather flood in.

Once, while I was still a child, I saw his back and remember asking him about the scars on his back?

He smiled and said nothing. He was a man of few words. He didn’t need to speak, his presence said it all.

His is the photograph that I carry in my wallet. He is still my knight-in-shining armor.

Shukar, shukar and more shukar for the love he bestowed on me.

 

Inni Kaur is the author of the children's book, Journey With The Gurus, which is available at www.JourneyWithTheGurus.com

August 31, 2011

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