NAND SINGH

NAND SINGH or Anand Singh was still in his teens when he went to Anandpur to see Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) and stayed on until his parents arrived to complain to the Guru that the boy, who had lately been married, had forsaken his bride and took little interest in family life. The Guru, records an eighteenth century chronicle, Gur Ratan Mdl, called the boy and instructed him with the help of two parables in the virtues of the life of a householder. Nand Singh thereafter led a married life remaining in the service of the Guru.

According to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratdp Suraj Granth, Nand Singh fought in the battle of Anandpur as well as in that of Chamkaur. He fell a martyr at Chamkaur on 7 December 1705. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth. Amritsar, 1927-35 2. Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Guru Khalsa [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970 3. Nayyar, G.S., ed.. Sou Sakhi. Patiala, 1985 NAND SINGH, of Rai ka Burj, a village in Amritsar district, was a soldier in the 23rd Cavalry, with headquarters at Miarimir cantonment, Lahore.

He was one of the so wars who came in contact with the Ghadr leaders and who raised their hands in meetings to indicate that they would take part in the uprising against the British. According to the plan, the so wars were to bring arms to a meeting of the Ghadr leaders at Jhar Sahib on 6 November 1914. On 19 February 1915, word was received that a part of the regiment was to be sent to the war front and the depot moved to a new cantonment. On 13 May 1915, as the baggage was being loaded, a box fell and a bomb exploded.

The explosion gave the officials the clue to the plan of the so wars to join the Ghadr revolution. This led to the detention of eighteen men, all belonging to the troops of Dafedar Lachhman Singh, of Amritsar, and Dafedar Vadhava Singh, of Runvala. They were court martialled at Dagshai, in Shimla hills, and ordered to be shot. Later, the sentences of six, Nand Singh among them, were commuted to transportation for life, with forfeiture of property. The other five were Bishan Singh, Bishan Singh No. 2, Nattha Singh and Kehar Singh, all of Dhotiari (Amritsar) and Charan Singh, of Dhand Rasel (Amritsar).

They were sent to the Cellular Jail at Port Blair, Andamans, to serve their sentences. Nand Singh died there as a result of the torture which was commonly the lot of the prisoners. He was 26 when he was sent to prison. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Saihsara, Gurcharan Singh, Ghadr Parti da Itihas. Jalandhar, 1961 2. Jagjit Singh, Ghadr Parti Lahir. Amritsar, 1955 SS.J. NAND SINGH (1895-1926), a Babar revolutionary, was born in 1895 at the village of Ghurial, in Jalandhar district. He lost his father, Gariga Singh, in his early childhood and was brought up by an elder brother.

He was married at the age of fifteen and worked as a carpenter in his own village until he left for Basra, in Iraq, in search of a better living. While he was in Basra, he was deeply moved by events in the Punjab such as the Jallianvala Bagh tragedy and the Nankana Sahib massacre. Resolved to dedicate himself to the cause of Gurdwara reform, he returned to India and was sentenced to six months` imprisonment for participating in Guru ka Bagh agitation. The atrocity perpetrated on peaceful Akali volunteers had embittered his heart and he decided to renounce nonviolence in favour of violence.

He joined the radical Babar Akali Jatha and encompassed the murder, on 17 April 1923, of Subadar Genda Singh of his own village. The Subadar had incurred the displeasure of the Babar Akalis by acting as an informer against the group and against the Akalis of the area. Nand Singh was arrested five days after the murder. He was awarded death sentence and was hanged, with Kishan Singh Gargajj, leader of the Babar Akali movement, on 27 February 1926.

References :

1. Ghosh, Kali Charan, The Roll of Honour: Anecdotes of Indian Martyrs. Calcutta, 1965
2. Makhsuspuri, Sundar Singh, Babar Akali Lahir. Amritsar, 1970
3. Chand (Phansi Ank). November 1928
4. Nijjar, B.S., History of the Babar Akalis. Jalandhar, 1987