Shaheed Bhai Rashpal Singh Chandra

Priceless Jewel Of The Sikh Struggle

In June 1984, the evil army's attack on Darbar Sahib has stained the Sikh Nation with marks of Slavery. To wash this with blood, Thousands of Sikh youths, putting the noose of death around their heads, followed the Gurmat teachings of "purja purja ghat mare" and achieved martyrdom. The poets who wrote about these Martyrs have yet to achieve a fistful of work! From this, pops up a famous name: Rashpal Singh Chandra who raised the sword against the tyrants of Delhi by participating in the struggle so greatly and sacrificed his adulthood for the struggle.

Bhai Rashpal Singh's father was Ranjeet Singh and was born from Mother Gurmej Kaur in 1965. After passing the 10+2, he began to do farming. As a result of the evil event of June 1984, when Sikhs formed groups of youths, Rashpal Singh also joined the freedom movement. When this became known, he decided to leave home in 1986 and never looked back. The Police began to harass Bhai Rashpal household. At that time many homes were broken up, due to the leaving of their youths, and while the children were killed off by the Police, The Chandra family also went through this difficulty and after their whole house was looted, his parents began to live undercover.

Bhai Rashpal Singh Chandra was married to Bibi Charanjit Kaur, from the village Rampura. When his son was born, Bhai Chandra and his father were driving in their jeep, to meet their son, but since they didn't have the paperwork with them, they were arrested on the way. However, no Police Officer recognised him, as there was always the fear of coming across a police official who would recognise him. The lavatory was on the roof. Using this as an excuse, he climbed onto the roof of the building and jumped off at the back, escaping successfully.

Now the Police got suspicious and began to thoroughly question Chandra's father. Then a police officer arrived, who recognised him. After recognising Chandra's father, he worked out that it was Rashpal Singh who escaped recently. The police officers got mad and tortured Chandra's
father there and then, before sending him to the CIA, Ludhiana, where he got horrifically tortured repeatedly to death. The police announced they found an unidentified body killed by an unknown person.

Now the Police got suspicious and began to thoroughly question Chandra's father. Then a police officer arrived, who recognised him. After recognising Chandra's father, he worked out that it was Rashpal Singh who escaped recently. The police officers got mad and tortured Chandra's father there and then, before sending him to the CIA, Ludhiana, where he got horrifically tortured repeatedly to death. The police announced they found an unidentified body killed by an unknown person.

Rashpal Singh Chandra, without concern about anything else, kept to the same path. He sold off his land and fortunes, donating that money to the struggle. The police used many up to date methods of trapping and of committing injustice, but even this didn't deter warriors off their path. Although the police had great power, their main source of power were towts/informers. One towt/informer became of good use on 11 June 1992, near the Gill Canal at Ludhiana, where at about 8pm Bhai Rashpal Singh Chandra and Bhai Jagdeesh Deesha were travelling on a motorcycle. A gipsy hit them from behind. After falling the warriors stood up. Noticing that they were fully surrounded, they both tried to put a Cyanide capsule in their mouths. Jagdeesh Singh Deesha successfully ate the Cyanide capsule, but Bhai Chandra's hands were firmly held by the police, not letting the capsule near his mouth. After a struggle, he was finally arrested alive.

Now, the evil game of Police Brutality had begun. Famous Police officers from Ludhiana's CIA got together. Then arose the desire to get as much information as possible out of Bhai Chandra. Even the drunk officers used countless techniques of immense torture in such an inhumane way, and gave up, but this son of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, never got tired from challenging the devils and shouting "Sat Sri Akaal!". Due to a leak of information, the story became famous, of how Bhai Chandra challenges the Police "Not one, there are 75 fighters all in Ludhiana! If ANY of you have any power, I want to see you try capture them!"

The insane Police officers burnt his skin using hot metal, separated his legs from the middle, pulled out his eyes using hot iron rods, yet not even one piece of information escaped Bhai Chandra's heart. As a result of the Police's countless methods of brutality, this warrior became a martyr on the morning of 12th June 1992. After getting this news, people got together and pressurized the CIA staff so much, that they were unable to get the Police to secretly cremate the body of Bhai Chandra. The marks on the body told the whole story.

Shaheed Bhai Chandra's wife and mother were not spared either, and were picked up by the Police. It is unknown what has happened to them.

Looking at the fallen martyrs, the enemies celebrated; whilst the Sikh Sangat was crying, but the logs of the martyrs' burning pyres smiled, saying the following lines:

"A colour of such wonder will stain the craze of sacrificing Like a Dark Red Storm, was the blood of youth spilt."