|
Blood
Sprinkled
on
the
Day
of
Holi
What
a
beautiful,
sanctified
scene
it
must
have
been,
when
these
people
who
had
given
up
all
of
their
family
affections,
were
taking
such
an
oath
!
Where
is
the
end
of
sacrifice
?
Where
is
the
limit
to
courage
and
fearlessness
?
Where
does
the
extremity
of
idealism
reside
?
Near
a
station
on
Shyam
Churasi-Hoshiarpur
railway
branch
line,
a
Subedar
became
the
first
victim.
After
that,
all
these
three
declared
their
names.
The
government
tried
its
best
to
arrest
them,
but
failed.
Sardar
Kishan
Singh
Gadagajja
was
once
almost
trapped
by
the
police
near
Roorki
Kalan.
A
young
man
who
accompanied
him,
fell
down
after
getting
injured,
and
was
captured.
But
even
there,
Kishan
Singhji
escaped
with
the
help
of
his
arms.
He
met a
Sadhu
on
the
way
who
told
him
about
a
herb
in
his
possession
which
could
materialise
all
his
plans
and
work
miracles.
Sardarji
believed
him
and
visited
this
Sadhu
unarmed.
The
Sadhu
gave
him
some
herbs
to
prepare
and
brought
the
police
in
the
meanwhile.
Sardar
Saheb
was
arrested.
That
Sadhu
was
an
inspector
of
the
CID
department.
The
Babbar
Akalis
stepped
up
their
activities.
Many
pro-government
men
were
killed.
The
doab
land
lying
in
between
Beas
and
Sutlej,
that
is,
the
districts
of
Jullundur
and
Hoshiarpur,
had
been
there
on
the
political
map
of
the
country,
even
before
this.
The
majority
of
martyrs
of
1915
belonged
to
these
districts.
Now
again,
there
was
the
upheaval.
The
police
department
used
all
its
power
at
its
command,
which
proved
quite
useless.
There
is a
small
river
near
Jullundur;
"Chaunta
Sahib"
Gurudwara
is
located
there
in a
village
on
the
banks
of
the
river.
There
Shri
Karam
Singhji,
Shri
Dhanna
Singhji,
Shri
Uday
Singhji
and
Shri
Anoop
Singhji
were
sitting
with
a few
others,
preparing
tea.
All
of a
sudden,
Shri
Dhanna
Singhji
said
:
"Baba
Karam
Singhji
! We
should
at
once
leave
this
place.
I
sense
something
very
inauspicious
happening."
The
75-year
old
Sardar
Karam
Singh
showed
total
indifference,
but
Shri
Dhanna
Singhji
left
the
place,
along
with
his
18-year
old
follower
Dilip
Singh.
Quite
suddenly
Baba
Karam
Singh
stared
at
Anoop
Singh
and
said:
"Anoop
Singh,
you
are
not a
good
person",
but
after
this,
he
himself
became
unmindful
of
his
own
premonition.
They
were
still
talking
when
police
made
a
declaration:
Send
out
the
rebels,
otherwise
the
village
will
be
burnt
down.
But
the
villagers
did
not
yield.
Seeing
all
this,
they
themselves
came
out.
Anoop
Singh
ran
with
all
the
bombs
and
surrendered.
The
remaining
four
people
were
standing,
surrounded
from
all
sides.
The
British
police
captain
said:
"Karam
Singh
!
drop
the
weapons
and
you
will
be
pardoned."
The
hero
responded
challengingly:
"We
will
die a
martyr's
death
while
fighting,
as a
real
revolutionary,
for
the
sake
of
our
motherland,
but
we
shall
not
surrender
our
weapons."
He
inspiringly
called
his
comrades.
They
also
roared
like
lions.
A
fight
ensued.
Bullets
flew
in
all
directions.
After
their
ammunition
exhausted,
these
brave
people
jumped
into
the
river
and
bravely
died
after
hours
of
ceaseless
fighting.
Sardar
Karam
Singh
was
75
years
old.
He
had
been
in
Canada.
His
character
was
pure
and
behaviour
ideal.
The
government
concluded
that
the
Babbar
Akalis
were
finished,
but
actually
they
grew
in
strength.
The
18-year
old
Dilip
Singh
was a
very
handsome
and
strong,
well-built,
though
illiterate,
young
man.
He
had
joined
some
dacoit
gang.
His
association
with
Shri
Dhanna
Singhji
turned
him
from
a
dacoit
into
a
real
revolutionary.
Many
notorious
dacoits
like
Banta
Singh
and
Variyam
Singh,
too,
gave
up
dacoity
and
joined
them.
There
were
not
afraid
of
death.
They
were
eager
to
wash
their
old
sins.
They
were
increasing
in
number
day-by-day.
One
day
when
Dhanna
Singh
was
sitting
in a
village
named.
Mauhana,
the
police
was
called.
Dhanna
Singh
was
down
with
drinks
and
caught
without
resistance.
His
revolver
was
snatched,
he
was
handcuffed
and
brought
out.
Twelve
policemen
and
two
British
officers
had
surrounded
him.
Exactly
at
that
moment
there
was a
thunderous
noise
of
explosion.
It
was
the
bomb
exploded
by
Dhanna
Singhji.
He
died
on
the
spot
along
with
one
British
officer
and
ten
policemen.
All
the
rest
were
badly
wounded.
In
the
same
fashion,
Banta
Singh,
Jwala
Singh
and
some
others
were
surrounded
in a
village
named
Munder.
They
all
were
gathered
on
the
roof
of a
house.
Short
were
fired,
a
cross-fire
ensued
for
some
time,
but
then
the
police
sprinkled
kerosene
oil
by a
pump
and
put
the
house
on
fire.
Banta
Singh
was
killed
there,
but
Variyam
Singh
escaped
even
from
there.
It
will
not
be
improper
here
to
describe
a few
more
similar
incidents.
Banta
Singh
was a
very
courageous
man.
Once
he
snatched
a
horse
and a
rifle
from
the
guard
of
the
armoury
in
the
Jullundur
Cantonment.
Those
days
several
police
squads
were
desperately
looking
for
him;
one
such
squad
confronted
him
somewhere
in
the
forest.
Sardar
Saheb
challenged
them
immediately:
"If
you
have
courage,
come
and
confront
me."
On
that
side,
there
were
slaves
of
money;
on
this
side,
the
willing
sacrifice
of
life.
There
was
no
comparison
of
motives.
The
police
squad
beat
a
retreat.
This
was
the
condition
of
the
special
police
squads
deputed
to
arrest
them.
Anyway,
arrests
had
become
a
routine.
Police
checkposts
were
erected
in
almost
every
village.
Gradually,
the
Babbar
Akalis
were
weakened.
Till
now
it
had
seemed
as if
they
were
the
virtual
rulers.
Wherever
they
happened
to be
visiting,
they
were
warmly
hosted,
by
some
with
fear
and
terror.
The
supporters
of
the
regime
were
defeatist.
They
lacked
the
courage
to
move
out
of
their
resicdences
between
the
sunmset
and
the
sunrise.
They
were
the
'heroes'
of
the
time.
They
were
brave
and
their
worship
was
believed
to be
a
kind
of
hero-worship,
but
gradually
they
lost
their
strength.
Hundreds
among
them
were
imprisoned,
and
cases
were
instituted
against
them.
Variyam
Singh
was
the
lone
survivor.
He
was
moving
towards
Layallpur,
as
the
pressure
of
police
had
increased
in
Jullundur
and
Hoshiarpur.
One
day
he
was
hopelessly
surrounded
there,
but
he
came
out
fighting
valiantly.
He
was
very
much
exhausted.
He
was
alone.
It
was a
strange
situation.
One
day
he
visited
his
maternal
uncle
in
the
village
named
Dhesian.
Arms
were
kept
outside.
After
taking
his
meals,
he
was
moving
towards
his
weaponry
when
the
police
arrived.
He
was
surrounded.
The
British
officer
caught
him
from
the
backside.
He
wounded
him
badly
with
his
kripan
(sward),
and
he
fell
down.
All
the
efforts
to
handcuff
him
failed.
After
two
years
of
suppression,
the
Akali
Jatha
came
to an
end.
Then
the
cases
started,
one
of
which
has
been
discussed
above.
Quite
recently
too,
they
had
wished
to be
hanged
soon.
Their
wish
has
been
fulfilled;
they
are
now
quiet.
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