"A Saint?........Yes! But a Soldier Nevertheless"
On the old Lhasa-Kalimpong trade route (now called JN Marg), at a height of 14,200ft, lies the famous Nathu La in Sikkim. Just over 50 Kms from Gangtok, this pass, besides other things, is famous for a Sikh soldier’s shrine that is located close to it. The veneration for this shrine is so extraordinary that historically important gurudwaras (associated with Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji’s visit to Sikkim in 16th century) take a back seat, at least as far as popularity per se is concerned. The shrine-cum-memorial belongs to a soldier who had belonged to a village that is located on the other geographical extreme of the country.
The presiding soul, late Sepoy Harbhajan Singh was born in the village of Browndal in Kapurthala (Punjab) where he grew up to join an infantry unit in February 1966. After the move of the battalion to Sikkim, he was deployed at the LAC near Nathu La in 1968 when unprecedented floods hit the region. On 04 October 1968, while shepherding a mule train from Tukla to Deng Chukla, he slipped into a fast- flowing rivulet and was washed away. An immediate search for his body was launched but it had to be abandoned after a couple of days due to stormy weather that had refused to abate. However, on the following night, Sepoy Harbhajan Singh appeared in the dream of one of his buddies and gave directions to the exact spot where his mortal remains had been lying downstream. He also urged him to construct a memorial in his remembrance. He further committed to his friend that he would always watch the area and would never give up being a soldier. However, the dream was discarded soon since it was taken as just a manifestation of his buddy’s grief.
However, when another soldier of the unit had a dream that had absolute similarity with the first one, things began to move. The body was found at the spot that had been indicated in both the dreams with an unqualified accuracy. His body was then cremated with full military honours and a memorial was constructed at Chhokya Cho as desired by him in the dreams. The final part of his wish-list, therefore, stood fulfilled. However, as the incident began to slip from unit chinwags, gossips of a man seen patrolling the area began to come in. Soldiers deployed in the area began reporting about the sighting of a solitary, uniformed man on a horse, patrolling the expanse. Chinese troops too established such reports and claimed that they too had seen the presence. Over the next few months and years, soldiers were guided to the existing lacunae in the defence layout of own forces. Whatever was shared in such dreams, was found to be dead accurate and as a result, the legend of Baba Harbhajan Singh started to grow. As per commitments made by Baba to many officers and commanders, he would issue out a warning of any foul play by Chinese, at least 72 hours in advance. It is believed that the mysterious entity would not hesitate slapping a sentry who might be feeling sleepy while on duty and might be dozing off.
Meanwhile, the popularity of the shrine also started to grow, especially when it was thrown open to tourists. It also gained import as a spiritual spot and people started to come with the faith that their problems would be solved and their infirmities would be cured by the Baba who had come back from the dead. There is a tradition of offering water and taking another bottle back, preferably the one that has been there for 40 days. The water is considered to be possessing miraculous healing powers.
The memorial-turned-shrine consists of a three room complex where a bed is laid out for Baba and his uniform and boots are displayed for the visitors. As in the case of Jaswant Garh, the soldiers on duty confirm the fact that each morning the bed sheets are found crushed as if someone had slept in the bed the previous night and the carefully polished boots are found to be soiled and covered with mud. Officially considered to be alive and on duty, Baba kept on getting his promotions till he retired as a Honorary Captain a few years back. Now, he is on his pension. All these years, his salary has regularly been sent to his kinfolks in Punjab every month (he was unmarried).
He has also been proceeding on annual leave on 14 September every year. (This ritual actually started much later in 1985 when Baba expressed his desire for the same). Soldiers would pack his box with basic essentials and he would be accompanied by two soldiers all the way to Kapurthala by train and brought back after the expiry of the leave in the same way. Even Chinese regard him highly and during flag meetings with their Indian counterparts, the Chinese are said to set aside a chair for the Baba.
While researching for the subject, I came across an interesting piece of work by a journalist, Mr HS Bal# who has thrown a new light on the whole issue. After his visit to Baba’s native place in Punjab, he had been trying to fathom the real reason behind such a manifestation. Having ruled out the rituals related to ardaas, as done for martyrs (since the Baba had not died in real action), he stumbled upon an unusual ritual that is followed by Baba’s community back home.
It was while consulting “A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier”, by an ICS officer Horace Arthur Rose of British era, that he came across this entry: ‘When a new colony or village is founded in the South-east Punjab, the first thing, that is done before houses are actually built, is to raise a mound of earth on a spot near the proposed village and plant a jand (Prosopis cineraria) tree on it. Houses are then built in the settlement. The first man who dies in the village, irrespective of his status, is burnt or buried on this mound, and on it is built a masonry shrine which is named after him. The fortunate man is deified as the Bhumia or earth-god, and worshipped by Hindus of all classes in the village, being looked upon as its sole guardian deity.’
Reading those words, Mr Bal recalled that the Baba’s unit had just been raised when he had died in the flash flood. He was the first of its recruits to die. In Sikkim, far from their villages in Punjab and Haryana, the new recruits had recalled an old custom…..Baba Harbhajan Singh was their Bhumia!
The shrine has a feast of red and saffron flags fluttering in the cool breeze round the clock. A langar (community kitchen) is organised on every Friday. Pictures of gods of all religions sit alongside a huge framed portrait of the Baba, giving the shrine a look of feel of a typical IA sarv dharam sthal. The original shrine that had been created at Chhokya Cho, was actually moved almost six Kms to the present day camp as a part of watershed memorial complex. The management is with army and funds received in the form of offerings are used, in addition to other activities, for the welfare of local community. A wreath-laying ceremony is held to pay homage to Baba and all those soldiers who have made the supreme sacrifice for the nation on Infantry Day every year.
War is an integral part of military life. It is soldiers’ duty to be ready to defend their nation when the moment comes even though they may not be the initiators in the first place. In the dynamics of international relationships and conflicts where we have been back-stabbed on more than one occasions, it is a great solace to have someone watching over us as we hoist our flag next to a red flag somewhere in North-eastern part of our country on daily basis, well aware of the fact that such show of friendship and brotherhood can never be taken for granted.
(Author’s Notes:- From my book, A Soldier's Faith: Country Above Gods.
1. #Cited from http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/ nation/the-ghost-in-uniform
2. The unit of the Baba, 23 PUNJAB, had been newly raised when the incident had happened. As mentioned before, it was its first recruit casualty. Interestingly, 23 PUNJAB finds its mention at two places in this book.
3. Incidentally, even Jaswant Singh also proceeds on leave. Even though the ritual and frequency differ a lot in two cases of Baba JaswanSingh and Baba Harbhajan Singh, the fact remains that there is a semblance of being officially on/off the duty in both the cases. For the soldiers as also commanders posted in those areas, there is nothing unnatural about the whole thing and that is where beauty of a faith system comes to the fore.
4. A rationalist mind may attribute such happening to a phenomenon called "place memory." As per this theory, at times some recording of a previous event may get imprinted on an area for some unexplained reason. Einstein believed that the past present and future existed right now, and many other physicists have endorsed his belief. But then the place memories are more strongly imprinted from strong personal feelings put out by people because of traumatic experiences going on at that particular moment. Here, that generation of soldiers is long gone but the phenomenon continues even decades later. Also, one off sighting may be attributable to such a phenomenon, how do we explain what happens on daily basis. Moreover, place memory may re-construct or recreate a scene but not a physical sensation like a slap on the face of a sleepy sentry or signs of usage on bed and/or boots. In any case, while granting full respect to the great scientists, I would rather disagree with likely applicability of such theories in this case since the context remains unique – something that only soldiers who have had the privilege of ‘being there’ can truly appreciate!
5. Some organisations in Punjab have been questioning the very existence of such a system in IA and courts have also been approached in this connection. While the author would refrain from commenting on issues that may be sub-judice, the whole issue needs to be seen and understood from the perspective of soldiers who stand guard at one of the harshest terrains on the globe).
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