Sant Sipahi: Shaheed Bhai Ravinder Singh Ji Babbar

[lowest of the low singhni]

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh

[Taken from here.]

Introduction

It is not easy to be a Shaheed. An abhyaasi Gursikh once told me that a Shaheed does find a place in Sach Khand but only if his last moments are free from ego and he has died not for glory or out of stubbornness but for the sake of the Panth. In the final moments of the Shahid's life, if his consciousness is absorbed in naam, Guru Sahib does kirpa and jyot vigaas occurs at that moment.

The example of Bhai Ravinder Singh Babbar's life is that of a Gursikh life and glorious martyrdom.

Childhood

Bhai Ravinder Singh was born in village Shatrana, Amritsar. His parents were Giani Harbhajan Singh and Mata Gurnam Kaur. He was the youngest of six brothers. From birth, Bhai Sahib was raised in a Gursikh environment. His father, Giani Harbhajan Singh jee was a close companion of Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh jee. Bhai Ravinder Singh was given amrit at a very early age and also kept bibek as a child.

Bhai Ravinder Singh was not an ordinary child. He from an early age had dedication and love for Gursikhi and his family recalls that his bravery and courage were unparalleled.

Once when he was just four or five years old, Bhai Ravinder Singh fell off a wall and broke his arm in two places. His father, Giani Harbhajan Singh said to him as he was being taken to have his arm set, Puraatan Singhs would be cut apart, piece by piece but they would not even make a sound. You too should be brave like them. The two reached the home of the person who set broken bones and showed him the arm. He said that because the bone was broken in two places, he would need to twist the bone back into place. Giani jee had bought some grapes for little Ravinder Singh and told him that while his arm was being set, he could eat them. As the man twisted the boy's arm, Ravinder Singh calmly ate the grapes and did not make a sound.

After the arm was set, Giani ji asked how much he should pay. The man replied, "I will take no payment from you. I feel like I should give this boy a reward from my own pocket. I have seen big burly men scream in pain while I am setting a bone that is this badly broken. I used to wonder about the stories of Singhs in old times not crying out in pain, but if Sikh children can be like this now, what were those Singhs like?"

Moving to Panjokhra Sahib

Puraatan Singhs like Bhai Atma Singh Panjokhra, Dr. Surinder Singh jee and Baba Surain Singh jee used to regularly come to Giani ji's home and Bhai Ravinder Singh had the opportunity to do their Sangat. Bhai Atma Singh used to call the little boy 'Jathedar'.

Dr. Surinder Singh jee was quite close with Giani jee. On one occasion in 1978, he told Giani jee that in the future, Darbar Sahib would be attacked and the parkarma would be bathed with blood. He also encouraged Giani jee to move away from Shatrana and go somewhere else. So in 1979, Giani jee took his family to Panjokhra Sahib in Haryana. Giani jee's younger brother also moved with them. (Later, Shatrana village would be very hard hit by the Indian Security forces and many of the young boys were tortured and killed. The picture of Bhai Avtar Singh Shatranaâ's body is one of the main exhibits of Punjab Police torture techniques and is very commonly displayed.)

Jathedar

When Bhai Ravinder Singh started school at Panjokhra Sahib, the local boys considered him and his cousins outsiders and were unfriendly. One day, a boy came to him at school and said, "Do you know what happened today? Someone slapped your cousin! He got slapped like THIS!!" and with this, he slapped Ravinder Singh across the face. Bhai Ravinder Singh pounced on the boy and began to beat him. The other local boys joined in the fight and thought there was strength in numbers. Bhai Ravinder Singh broke a branch off a nearby tree and chased the group of boys away. The Physical Education teacher was watching all this and called the young boy and patted him on the back and said he should be proud. He then called all the boys who had attacked Ravinder Singh together and punished them. He also asked them, "How is it possible that one boy chased all of you away?? After this day, everyone began to call Bhai Ravinder Singh 'Jathedar', just as Bhai Atma Singh had been doing from a very early age.

Bhai Sahib & The Drunk

Once, Bhai Ravinder Singh was on his tractor at night, coming from his fields when he saw someone run towards him with a sword. Ravinder Singh was still a young boy and it would have been natural for him to be afraid and run away, but he took a crow bar from the tractor and began to run towards the man with sword. When he came near, the man yelled, "No! Don't hit me! It's me!!" It was a drunk who said that his enemies were after him and he carried the sword to protect himself and he had mistaken Ravinder for one of them. Ravinder Singh came home and everyone was amazed at the young boy's daring.

Joining the Movement

Bhai Ravinder Singh studied until the tenth grade and completed it in 1987. He then worked on the family farm for a year. The Sikh Liberation Movement was growing in these days and Bhai Ravinder Singh was interested in joining. He asked his father whether he should join. Giani jee told him that the path he was interested in was very difficult. "This is not something easy. If you are captured and falter, not only will you commit the sin of turning in others and having them killed, but you will also disgrace your family and the entire Sikh community."

After this, Bhai Ravinder Singh began to keep to himself more. He increased his nitnem and naam abhyaas. Before becoming a 'Sipahi', he would first become a 'Sant'. He wanted to reach a stage where he would be confident that he could face torture and be able to withstand it. He wanted to be spiritually prepared for the battle ahead. Slowly, he made links with Singhs from Babbar Khalsa. The family home was raided in 1988 by the police and the next day, Bhai Sahib left home, never to return. His beard had still not grown in and the picture above is the final picture Bhai Sahib's family had taken.

Focus on Gurmat & Chardi Kala

Bhai Ravinder Singh made frequent trips to training camps in Pakistan and became a trusted member of the Jathebandi. Although he was young, everyone respected him and knew that his decisions were always firmly based on Gurmat. There was once a group meeting in which many senior Singhs were in attendance. Bhai Sahib was also present. The issue being discussed was how to fund the movement. Some suggested robbing banks and other means. Ravinder Singh rose after all had had their say and asked, "May I speak?" Although permission was granted, because he was the youngest person at the meeting, some Singhs did not think a youngster like him would have anything worthwhile to say. Bhai Ravinder Singh said, “We are all fugitives here, and our properties are useless to us. Why don't we sell those first, to make money? Everyone at the meeting was amazed at how Gurmat oriented and wise his suggestion was.

In 1989, Bhai Ravinder Singh met one of his brothers. He was in chardi kala. His elder brother encouraged him to do as much naam abhyaas as possible. Bhai Sahib confided that with Guru Sahib's kirpa, now whenever he woke up in the middle of the night, he noticed that he was either reciting bani or his naam khanda was going automatically. Bhai Ravinder Singh asked his brother to take him into town on the back of his bike. His brother recalls that although there were security forces all around, Bhai Sahib kept smiling and showed no sign of fear.

~l~

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh