Bhai Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal
Introduction
During
the mid 80s, the movement for a free state for the Khalsa was in its
early stages. Scores of Singhs were shot and killed with each
passing day. Thousands of bright young men and women came forward to
take up arms and fight the Brahmanical oppressors, who were bent on
decimating Sikhi forever. The events of 1978 and 1984 had a deep impact
on the psyche of every Sikh, this ignited a passion for Sikhi and
transformed them into saint-warriors. One such youth was Bhai Ajmer
Singh Lodhiwal.
Below is an
interview with a Singh who was involved in the movement about the
character of his beloved friend and brother Bhai Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal.
Interview with Bhai Gurcharan Singh
"My mother was a deeply religious person, but my father used to be
in¬volved in the Naxalite movement. From one aspect the Naxalites were
justified, as they were fighting for the downtrodden. But, as they were
atheists, I always thought the ideology was incomplete. Without God how
could they have achieved any real change? My father used to talk with me
and my friends about many things like this.
Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji’s
safe house
"As for me, I became involved in the Khalistan movement through my close
friend Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal. Another friend of his got martyred in the
struggle, and Lodhiwal had to go into hiding. For this, he came to me,
and my house was a safe hiding place for him. He used to come to my
dormitory room at college, too. Lodhiwal was a deeply devout Sikh, and
he had a profound intellect. In conversing with him I learned so much,
and I felt the pull of the mission for which he was working.
The Saint soldier
"The biggest attraction for me was that, although Lodhiwal was living
through the rigors of a very strenuous underground life, he was a
baptized Sikh, and his commitment to Guru was total. His tremendous
energy went to Guru and to the movement, both.
"Ajmer Singh
Lodhiwal was also a very moral person. One of the things characteristic
of him was that he always gave a warning, he openly challenged somebody
before punishing him for his misdeeds. One important case involved the
station house officer of Bagabarana, who was a Hindu. This SHO had
insulted Lodhiwal's father, he had pulled his beard and humiliated him.
So Ajmer challenged him. 'I'll kill you,' he said. That SHO accepted his
challenge and retorted, 'You are my prey; wherever you are I will hunt
you down and get you.' But Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal killed him right in
front of the police station, in full view of everybody.
"My friend was very brave. He always gave people a chance to change, if
they were behaving in an inappropriate way. He gave them two warnings,
three warnings. But when they refused to change, he had the courage to
finish them off.
The Morals of Bhai
Ajmer Singh
"I will tell
you one other story about the high values of Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal. One
of his friends had a love affair with a girl from the Untouchable class.
It was not genuine love actually, I mean the girl was in love with him
but he was just playing around. But Lodhiwal told him, 'You have no
right to fool around with the sentiments of that girl. Either you marry
her, or I'll kill you.' The friend said, 'How can I marry her, she is of
the lowest class!' And Lodhiwal said, 'When you started fooling around
with her, was she of the high class then?' Anyway, the friend did marry
that Untouchable girl and Lodhiwal paid all the marriage expenses, the
dowry that should have come from her side and all. They are still living
happily.
"Lodhiwal
eventually became the lieutenant-general of the Khalistan Liberation
Force, under Bhai Avtar Singh Brahma.
"Bhai Gurjant
Singh Budhsinghwalla was a lieutenant-general with him. It was the
policy that before anybody went for any action the high command would
discuss it among themselves, whether a thing was morally right or not.
The only criterion they used was Sikh values. Never was anything that
went against Sikh values decided.
For the
Good of the Kaum
“Let us do something for the good of the Kaum, the time we are given is
very valuable and who knows when we might die.”
These are the immortal words that Bhai Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal used to say
to his brothers and sisters in arms when they were sat around for a few
days doing nothing.
Bhai Kulwant Singh
In the middle of the afternoon Bhai Daljeet Singh and a few other Singhs
reached the house of Bhai Ajmer Singh. When they looked at the house
they saw Bhai Sahib’s father, Bhai Kulwant Singh Ji, who was sick, lying
on a bed. When Bhai Kulwant Singh saw the Singhs walking towards his
house he immediately got up and met them with great love.
Bhai Kulwant Singh was very weak due to several illnesses; even now he
suffers from a very severe heart condition. But even with all these
difficulties and problems he remains in chardeekala and not for a second
does he regret what his beloved son did. When he spoke to the Singhs
about other things his voice was quiet, but as soon as he mentioned some
things about his son, Bhai Ajmer Singh, his voice began to get louder
and louder. The Singhs who were sat next to Bhai Kulwant Singh began to
cry tears of happiness as he narrated Bhai Ajmer Singh’s jeevani.
Whilst narrating Bhai Sahib’s jeevani, Bhai Kulwant Singh also began to
praise some Police officers. He said that some Police officers would
come to their home and say, ‘Baba Ji send your family somewhere else.
Don’t leave your second son over here, don’t leave him at home. If you
do the security forces will come and arrest him and then kill him in a
fake encounter in place of Ajmer.’
Mata Kuldeep Kaur
After Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji left home and began to live his life not for
himself or for his family, but for the sake of the Sikh Kaum, his mother
and the rest of his brothers and sisters left their home and went to
stay in Gwalior.
Even though this was where she was born and where she grew up Mata
Kuldeep Kaur missed her home. As a result of this she used to come back
very often to visit. They used to have many animals but when they found
out they had to leave they distributed all of their cows etc amongst
their relatives. Even the fields where they used to grow their crops
began dry as no one took care of them. When Mata Ji would return home
she used to think a lot about Bhai Ajmer Singh.
After
the Shaheedi of Bhai Jarnail Singh Halwara the police then began to
focus their attention on Bhai Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal. They used to come to
Bhai Sahib’s house many times. The police began to get very frustrated
that they couldn’t catch this beloved Singh of Dhan Dhan Guru Gobind
Singh Ji Maharaj. One time when they came to Bhai Sahib’s house they
found his father there. They began to interrogate Bhai Kulwant Singh Ji
and when he didn’t reveal any information they arrested him and kept him
in detention for one and a half years.
A few days after Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji left his home for good the police
came and began to ask Mata Ji about the last time that she had seen him.
Mata Ji told the police that she had seen Bhai Ajmer Singh a week ago.
When she saw him he had a bag on his shoulder and after that he never
returned home. She had sent him to study and as Mata Ji said this tears
began to fall and she stopped speaking.
Manjeet ‘Singh’
There was one police officer called Manjeet ‘Singh’ who used to come to
Bhai Sahib’s house many times. When he walked into their home he used to
shout at Bhai Kulwant Singh Ji and he used to ask Bhai Sahib where his
son was. Bhai Kulwant Singh Ji used to plead with this officer, and he
used to tell him that Bhai Ajmer Singh had done nothing wrong. Bhai
Kulwant Singh Ji used to repeatedly tell this police officier that,
“Bhai Ajmer Singh has left us to go and study and do seva, please don’t
ruin his life”.
But this shameless Police officer instead of listening to Bhai Sahib’s
father began to hurl insults at him before slapping him in front of the
whole village.
“You will reap what you
sow”
When news of what had happened was flashed to Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji he
immediately got up and lifting his AK-47 in the air he declared before
all the Singhs who were with him,
“Now I’m not going to leave
Manjeet alone!”
After it came in the newspaper that the ‘brave’ Manjeet ‘Singh’ had been
shot dead in an encounter with ‘terrorists’, people in the village
Lodhiwal who had witnessed what Manjeet ‘Singh’ had done to Bhai Kulwant
Singh Ji began to say, “you reap what you sow”.
As soon as Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji had sent Manjeet ‘Singh’ to face Dharam
Raj in broad daylight, a big load was lifted of his head.
Agent’s Reports
After this incident no more news was heard about Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji for
a while. The Police under the head of one, Kufiar Thudher took it on
themselves to find out who the next dusht Bhai Sahib’s AK-47 was pointed
at.
During
this time the legend of Bhai Ajmer Singh began to spread and soon his
name began to echo in all the corners of Punjab. People used to say that
there was nothing that Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji couldn’t do. In an attempt to
catch this lion of Guru Sahib the police sent out many agents across
Punjab. These agents used to send reports back to their head quarters
every time they would learn something new about Bhai Sahib. It is said
that upon reading these reports the whole Punjab Police began to shiver.
Bhai Sahib at College
Before Bhai Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal began to walk on this path of truth and
justice he used to go to Akaal Degree College in Mastuana where he was
studying for a BSC. Bhai Sahib was over six foot tall. When he was at
college he used to do Bhangra on the stage. Bhai Sahib was liked by all
those who would meet him but no one would have ever thought that one day
this Singh would walk through the fields of Punjab with an Ak-47 on his
shoulder.
The College that Bhai Sahib used to attend was built in memory of Sant
Baba Attar Singh Mastuanawale. Near this college was a Gurudwara Sahib
which students used to go to when they were free.
There were many people in that college who used to hate Sikhs. As a
consequence of this one day they got together and under the cover of
darkness they sprayed graffiti which contained some very hurtful
comments about Sikhi and Guru Sahib on the walls of the Gurudwara Sahib
and the College.
When Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji and his friends saw this they immediately began
to look for those who had dared to defile the house of God. In addition
to this they all joined the Sikh Student Federation. Eventually Bhai
Sahib and his Singhs managed to set up a cell at their college. During
the 80s and early 90s this cell produced many soldiers who took up arms
and who eventually sacrificed themselves for the good of the Kaum.
The Lion’s Den
In Patiala two IPS officers who had committed crimes against the
Sikh Kaum had been shot dead by Singhs in the Khalistan Liberation Force
under the command of Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji. This action was a very brave
one undertaken by the Jhujaroo Singhs. After this incident other IPS
security officials began to fear for their lives. They used to talk
amongst themselves that if you were given a posting in Punjab as a
security official it was like being sent into a lion’s den to meet death
itself. As a consequence of the daring actions of the Khalsa the
security forces began to send many messages to their commanding officers
in Dehli. In these messages they always used to say that if Dehli does
not give the Sikhs what they want there will be no peace and tens of
thousands of security officials would continue to die at the hands of
the Khalsa.
A New Home
The Police in Jagroun had kept Bhai Ajmer Singh Ji’s father in jail for
one and a half years. They never thought of raiding Bhai Sahib’s house,
as they knew that he would not come back, such was his determination and
commitment to Khalistan. This was an amazing testament to the iron
character of Bhai Sahib who had now made his home and place of refuge in
the caring hands of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Bhai Ajmer Singh had simply got up one day and picked up his sword in
defence of the Kaum. Once he had done this he never looked back but only
marched forward towards his Guru. As a Jujharoo Singh not much was
written about Bhai Sahib in the newspapers. This was because most of the
seva Bhai Sahib did was kept very gupt and only known by the Singhs who
were very close to him. The police simply could not figure out whom the
lion was who was striking so daringly and devastatingly in the heart of
the Punjab Police.
Shaheedi
On the 28th of February 1989, Bhai Ajmer Singh, Bhai Bakthar Singh and
Bhai Jagdeep Singh Vakheel were close to Ludhiana Railway Station. These
three Singhs were waiting at an agreed meeting point for Bhai Sher
Singh. As Bhai Sher Singh was making his way towards this place the
police spotted him. An encounter then began and during this exchange of
fire Bhai Ajmer Singh Lodhiwal drank the nectar of martyrdom.
Conclusion
Bhai Sahib’s Shaheedi was a big loss to the movement, as Singhs like him
aren’t born everyday. Bhai Sahib was a complete Gursikh who walked on
this path with his head held high. He never lowered it before anyone
apart from his beloved Guru. There is no doubt in my mind that even
though he may have been forgotten in this shameful world, Guru Gobind
Singh Ji embraces him now, just as Guru Sahib does for all shaheeds who
broke their bodies and who spilt their blood to keep the Kesri Nishan
Sahib flying.
After Bhai Sahib took his place at the feet of Guru Nanak Dev Ji the
village Lodhiwal used to celebrate his shaheedi divas with great love
and many Akhand Paths were held in remembrance of this brave soldier.
Nowadays things have changed. Both Bhai Sahib’s parents, Bhai Kulwant
Singh Ji and Mata Kuldeep Kaur have become very ill and find it hard to
organise the same celebrations, which were conducted year after year in
memory of the Shaheeds of Khalistan.
Even though this family has faced so many difficulties due to their
son’s actions, and due to the indifferent attitude of the current
leaders of our panth, they still remain happy and proud that they could
give their son to the same Kaum who today has forgotten about them. They
happily accept everything as the sweet will of Akaal Purakh but a
mother’s love is a mother’s love and sometimes Mata Ji looks at Bhai
Ajmer Singh Ji’s picture and begins to cry as she remembers her
beautiful son smiling and embracing her.
Despite no help coming for the Sikh Kaum, Bhai Kulwant Singh and Mata
Kuldeep Kaur don’t ask for anything. They don’t want any maya or any
other materialistic things. Bhai Kulwant Singh Ji even today says that
Guru Sahib has already blessed his family with so much, he is the father
of a Shaheed, of a rare jewel of the Panth, what more could he ask
Waheguru for? The only benti these two beautiful souls put at the feet
of today’s Sikhs is that they remember and reflect, on the blood, which
was given, on the sacrifice that was made, and on the love that inspired
their older brothers and sisters to wake up and walk on this path with
an Ak-47 strapped across their shoulders.
Taken from ikonkaar.blogspot.com
