Harjot Singh Sidhu

DURING a visit to Sikkim with my household earlier this yr, I visited the Nathu La, which is of strategic significance to the Military. Heavy snowfall usually restricts entry to the go, with temperatures reaching as little as -25°C, accompanied by robust winds. From there, we travelled to go to a temple named after Baba Harbhajan Singh. He was a soldier who died younger again in 1968. Sepoy Harbhajan Singh was posthumously given the rank of honorary captain.

Harbhajan Singh was born in a Sikh household on August 30, 1946, in Sadrana village (now in Pakistan). He joined the Military in February 1966 and was recruited within the twenty third battalion of the Punjab Regiment. It was this regiment that he served until his dying on October 4, 1968, close to Nathu La.

On that fateful day, Sepoy Harbhajan Singh was escorting a mule caravan from his battalion headquarters at Tuku La to Dongchui La. He slipped and fell right into a nullah; the gushing waters carried his physique downstream. A search operation proved to be futile. Legend has it that certainly one of his comrades had a dream wherein Harbhajan Singh knowledgeable him concerning the tragic incident and the situation of his physique. It was discovered just a few days later and cremated with full navy honours. The story goes that he then appeared within the desires of fellow troopers and requested them to construct a samadhi for him. The unit duly constructed a shrine.

A temple devoted to him was inbuilt 1982. Individuals go to it to pay their respects to Sepoy Harbhajan Singh, now higher often called Baba Harbhajan Singh. There’s a superstitious perception that the water stored on the place can remedy ailing individuals. Additionally it is believed that his ‘spirit’ protects Indian troopers who guard the border publish at Nathu La.

On the temple’s premises, there’s a room with a mattress, Harbhajan Singh’s portrait, uniform, footwear, slippers and a stick. The place is managed by barefooted uniformed personnel from the close by Military unit; they make the mattress and preserve the footwear polished.

Throughout my go to, I additionally bought to find out about one other soldier named Harbhajan Singh. A Main, he hailed from Bhatte Bhaini village in Patti tehsil of Punjab’s Tarn Taran district. He did his matriculation from DAV Excessive Faculty, Patti, in 1956. Later that yr, he bought himself enrolled as a ‘boy soldier’ on the Military recruiting workplace in Amritsar and joined the Corps of Alerts. He died combating Chinese language troops within the Nathu La clashes of September 1967. Main Harbhajan Singh, who was simply 26 years previous when he made the supreme sacrifice, was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second highest gallantry award. I marvelled on the Nathu La connection between the 2 troopers, each named Harbhajan Singh, who died a yr aside.

#Sikkim

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