Sepoy
''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire.
In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...
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Honorary Captain Baba Harbhajan Singh (1946–1968) was an
Indian Army soldier who served from 30 June 1965 to 4 October 1968. He is said to serve the Indian Army even after his death by coming in dreams of soldiers and telling them the plans of their enemies. There is a temple dedicated to him in East Sikkim.
Life and military career
Harbhajan Singh was born into a
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
family on 30 August 1946 in the village of Sadrana (now in Pakistan). He completed his preliminary education at a village school, and then matriculated from DAV High School in
Patti, Punjab, in March 1965. He enlisted as a soldier in
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
and joined the
Punjab Regiment (India).
Death, legacy and associated legend
Singh was martyred in 1968 near the
Nathu La (pass) in eastern
Sikkim, India. A board besides his shrine describes that he was martyred after falling into a ''
nullah'' while escorting a mule column from Tuku La to Dongchui La.
Harbhajan Singh's early death at the age of 22 is the subject of legend and religious veneration that has become popular among Indian Army regulars (''jawans''), the people of his village and apparently soldiers of the Chinese
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
(PLA) across the border guarding the Indo-Chinese border between Sikkim and Tibet.
He has come to be known as "Saint Baba". Every year on 11 September, a jeep departs with his personal belongings to the nearest railway station,
New Jalpaiguri, from where it is then sent by train to the village of
Kuka, in the
Kapurthala district of the Indian state of
Punjab. While empty berths on any train of the Indian Railways are invariably allocated to any waitlisted passenger or on a first-come-first-served basis by the coach attendants, a special reservation for the Baba is made. Every year a seat is left empty for the journey to his hometown and three soldiers accompany the Baba to his home. A small sum of money is contributed by soldiers posted in Nathula to be sent to his mother each month and his village still remembers him as martyr and undertook the initiative to help his family.
In popular culture
Bhuvan Bam and
Divya Dutta came together for a short-film, ''Plus-minus(2018)'', which was loosely based on Singh's life and legacy. The film was directed by
Jyoti Kapur Das. It won the Best Short Film at the
64th Filmfare Awards.
References
;Notes
;References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Harbhajan
1946 births
1968 deaths
Dayanand Anglo-Vedic Schools System alumni
Indian military personnel killed in action
Punjabi Sikhs
Military personnel from Punjab, India