One the day of 27th September, 1907 a son was born to Mrs. Vidyawati, the wife of Sardar Kishan Singh of Banga village which was in Layalpur district of Punjab province. The village now is in Pakistan subsequent to the partition of India in 1947.
The grandfather of the newborn, Sardar Arjun Singh was a farmer of a good standing, a respected figure of the village.
Sardar Arjun Singh celebrated the birth of his grandson with the female members of his family, relatives and village folk. His wife Jai Kaur was ecstatic. The baby was so cute that the women had to fight hard to seize a chance to hold and fondle the baby.
But the joy of the family was incomplete in the absence of the baby’s father and two uncles who were languishing in the British jails.
Family Background
The family of Sardar Arjun Singh was anti-British and its male members were freedom activists. That is why they were paying the price by spending time in the prisons of alien rulers.
Then, India was suffering the brutal British rule. The natives were fighting back on two fronts.
One of the freedom movement was being led by politicians under the banner of Congress. It was prominent in Bengal. This movement was using the tactics of demonstrations, protest marches, boycott of British goods and adoption of Swadeshi.
The second movement was prevalent in Punjab which was then a vast province comprising of today’s Pakistani Punjab, India’s Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Here it was open revolt against the British.
Sardar Arjun Singh’s sons were leading the revolt. His second son Ajit Singh was the main force of the militant activity. He had set up a society named ‘Bharat Mata’. His younger brother Swaran Singh was its publicity minister. He had toured the villages to fan the fire of the revolt. Their elder brother Sardar Kishan Singh also supported them.
Meanwhile, British administration arrested Ajit Singh. The responsibility of the family fell on Kishan Singh’s shoulders. But he too was on the hit list of the authorities. So, the family advised him to flee to Nepal.
Sardar Kishan Singh tried to escape to Nepal with two other activists namely Nand Kishore Mehta and Sufi Amba Prasad. But they could not evade the British police. The three were arrested and sent to jail. The youngest brother Sardar Swaran Singh had already been nabbed. That is how the three brothers were in jail when the baby arrived in the family.
Although Sardar Arjun Singh was not overtly in active militant politics yet it was no secret that he passively despised British and approved of the activities of his sons.
The new born, later to be named Bhagat Singh brought some luck to the harassed family. His father and two uncles were released from the prisons on bail. Sardar Kishan Singh and Sardar Swaran Singh had been in Lahore Central Jail. They came home to join the celebrations.
The most dangerous of the three, Sardar Ajit Singh was in Rangoon jail in far off Burma (Myanmar) from where he was let off.
Sardar Kishan Singh had reasons to believe that if Ajit came home the authorities would put him in prison again on some pretext or the other. Ajit Singh was too dangerous for British to be allowed to run loose. So, Kishan Singh wrote a letter to his brother advising him to escape to some neutral country. Ajit Singh took his advice and slipped away to Germany via Iran, Turkey and Austria.
The youngest Sardar Swaran Singh was rearrested shortly after his release. He was put to hard labour in Lahore jail and tortured. The ill treatment and poor diet led to his falling victim to T.B. After release from the prison on health grounds, the family saw him die slowly on the sick bed.
Ajit Singh’s wife, Harnam Kaur was forced to live like a widow as her husband stayed away from her to evade the British police. Swaran Singh left behind 20 year old widow, Hukm Kaur.
Now the situation had become tricky. The entire responsibility of supporting the large family had fallen on Kishan Singh. He could no more take the risk of being involved in aggressive politics and thus exposing himself to arrest by authorities. For the sake of the family he must kill his own political ambitions.
Meanwhile, the Congress was spreading its influence fast and emerging as the biggest challenge to the British rulers. Non-violence was its plank. Kishan Singh got drawn to the Congress. By supporting Congress passively he could remain part of the independence struggle and stay free at the same time to take care of his tormented family. He chose that safe path.
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