The Punja Sahib Incident

Bhai Karam Singh Ji and Bhai Partap Singh Ji are the first 2 Singhs that went under the wheels of the train... all the rest at the front just sustained injuries. (Punja Sahib Incident – An Eye-Witness Account)

Giani Bhajan Singh, a very good Sikh writer, himself went to Bibi Harnaam Kaur the wife of Shaheed Bhai Partaap Singh and interviewed her on what exactly happened at Punja Sahib railway station. Following is the the translation of Giani Bhajan Singh jee’s interview with Bibi Harnaam Kaur
jee:

Giani Bhajan Singh: Mata jee (wife of Shaheed Bhai Partaap Singh jee), could you please tell us something about the Punja Sahib incident? I have specially came to see you to get first hand information from you.

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: Why won’t I tell you what happened on that fateful day at Punja Sahib? I remember the whole incident as if it occurred yesterday. I was one of those people who were sitting on the railway tracks to stop the train. I was sitting just behind my martyr (shaheed) husband. I have been getting the urge for long time, to tell the true story of Punja Sahib incident but no one took the effort to write what I had to tell. I am glad to hear that you came specially to hear about this incident and would be writing the story as I tell you.

Giani Bhajan Singh: How did this whole incident occur? Please tell me in detail. Assume that I don’t know anything and you are telling a new person this incident.

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: This was the time of Guru kaa Baagh Morcha (1922). Police had arrested the singhs and trains of these arrested singhs of Morcha, were being taken to the Attock and Kaimelpur jails. Two trains had passed Punja Sahib. My shaheed (martyr) husband approached the station master, who was a very kind Hindu gentleman and asked him why he was not informing the Sangat of the arrival of the trains carrying the Sikh prisoners. My husband told him that the sangat wanted to do some sewa of the Sikh prisoners.

At that time my husband was the member of the managing committee of Siri Punja Sahib and he served in the capacity of the treasurer. Prior to that he served as the general secretary of the committee. Anyway, one day, the Hindu station-master informed my husband that next day at 8am the train was scheduled to arrive at the Punja Sahib railway station. As soon as the sangat heard of this, they started preparing langar for the Sikh prisoners. After the completion of the morning congregation (diwaan), an ardaas was performed as follows:

“O Sache Paatshah (True King), we have prepared Parshaada (food) for your Gursikhs. Please fulfill our wish of feeding langar to our gursikh brothers and grant us the boon that we come back to the Gurdwara Sahib only after serving langar.”

After the ardaas (prayer) when we arrived at the station, we were informed by the station master that as per orders from the top, the train will not stop at the station. The sangat was at once overwhelmed by sadness and anger. They got together and decided through a Gurmata that langar would be served to the sangat at any cost and that they would not let the train proceed further without this. After this decision, the despondence that the sangat was in, at once disappeared.

Giani Bhajan Singh: What was the total number of sangat?

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: It must have been about 300.

Giani Bhajan Singh: Then what happened?

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: When the train arrived, all the sangat sat on the railway tracks with their legs crossed and started doing paath. Some men sat by the signal.

Giani Bhajan Singh: Did anyone flee after seeing the train arriving?

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: There was no question of fleeing. Everyone had decided unanimously. At that time, those present there did not have any fear of death. Motivating lectures and motivated everyone to die for this noble cause.

Giani Bhajan Singh: Then what happened:

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: The train arrived, it whistled but no one got up. At the front of everyone, my shaheed husband Sardar Partaap Singh jee was sitting.  
Along his side was Sardaar Karam Singh. The train hit my husband and crushed him and Sardar Karam Singh. Many were thrown off the track by the bumper of the train.

My husband and Sardaar Karam Singh got shaheed there and six others who had been crushed under the train did not die but had their legs and arms severed.  
I too suffered massive wounds and stayed in the hospital for many months.

Giani Bhajan Singh: Did Sardar Partaap Singh get shaheed right at the spot, or later? Please tell me everything.

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: Shaheedi did not occur right on the spot. When the train stopped, people rushed to see the singhs crushed under the train. My shaheed husband, who was very seriously injured at that time said: “First go and serve langar to the gursikhs prisoners, then come for our care. If you take us out of from under the train, the driver would take the train away and we will not be able to serve langar to our brothers”.

After serving langar to the prisoners, then my husband was taken out. Bhai Karam Singh left his body within few hours but my husband gave his life at amritvela, next day.

Giani Bhajan Singh: Please tell us something about the time between he got crushed under the train and till he died the next day.

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: When I tried to go near him, after he got severely injured, he said, “If you are my wife, then don’t come to me crying, rather be happy because I have passed my test of Gursikhee”. His jaw was severely injured and had been ripped apart from one side. His forehead had a very severe and deep cut. He himself kept thanking Vaheguru that he was able to fulfill his vow of serving langar to Gursikh brothers.

Giani Bhajan Singh: Please tell me some incident of his life. How old was he?

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: At the time of shaheedi his age was about 24 or 25. We had been married for about 4 years. He was serving in the military back then but had to leave job for wearing Black turban. We came to Rawalpindi (a city near Punja Sahib, Pakistan) and started living there. He was in the forefront when the jatha went to free the Punja Sahib Gurdwara Sahib. After relinquishing Mahant control from the Gurdwara Sahib, my husband was appointed the first Manager Secretary of the Gurdwara Sahib. He kept working without any pay or salary. At that time, we got by, by selling our possessions. We did not have any money with us but my husband did not care about these things. When he attained martyrdom, at that time too he was working in the management.

Before shaheedi, we had a son who died when he was 2 years old. At his death, my husband gave proof of obeying will of Vaheguru by accepting the will of Vaheguru. He did not cry at all and not only that but he called a band group and played the band in the front of the procession as my son’s dead body was taken for cremation. I gave birth to our second child, few months after the shaheedi of my husband. That child is our only daughter – Joginder Kaur (She was standing by us).

Giani Bhajan Singh: Can you mention any other significant incident related to this great Saaka (incident) of Punja Sahib?

Bibi Harnaam Kaur: The driver of the train was an Araayeen Muslim from Gujrat city of Pakistan. I don’t remember his name. The government had filed a case against him and he was investigated by a retired judge as to why he stopped the train despite orders not to do so. That driver gave a statement in front of that tribunal and this statement is of great historical significance. His statement was as follows:

“I had been given orders to not stop the train at any cost. As per the orders, I did not stop the train and it was moving at full speed. When the train hit shaheed Partaap Singh, I felt as if it had hit a huge mountain. I fell down and my hand got lifted from the speeder and the train stopped.  
After investigating the engine, it was found that the brake had not been applied. I felt that some unseen, hidden power (Vaheguru) stopped the train”.

This driver was subsequently fired from his position. His statement proves that Satguru jee himself stopped the train.

Q - Do we have Gursikee of this order? It is for each one of us to answer to our self.