This episode relates to the period a few years prior to my life imprisonment. The Akhand Kirtani Jatha used to join the Sikh Youth Association in Ludhiana at their Gurdwara for the weekly and Gurpurb Samagams. The Gurpurb of Guru Nanak Sahib and Guru ‘Dasmesh Sahib’ The tenth Nanak; used to be particularly well attended. Under the able organization of the association secretary Bhai Lal Singh Jee (now Sardar Bahadur Lal Singh Jee) and Giani Nahar Singh Jee, the Sikh students of other schools of the city were also invited. On the occasion of ‘Katak Pooranmashi Gurpurab’, a group of Sikh students from Mission High School Ludhiana also came to join the Gurpurab celebration. Listening to the stimulating Kirtan by the Jatha many of the young, uninitiated souls got inspired.

One of the students from the mission school was the young Vir Jaswant Singh Jee. Though he was very young and belonged to a poor family, yet he was gifted with excellent qualities of head and heart. As a student of a Christian school, he had his hair cut and was totally ignorant of the Sikh Faith and the tenets. As a participant at the Gurpurb celebrations, he experienced spiritual joy with a new awakening of his spirit. He was so moved that he left the Mission School to join the Khalsa High School.  His high academic standing had earned him a very good scholarship in the Mission school.  He decided to forego the scholarship to be able to enjoy the new spiritual environment.  He joined the Khalsa High School Boarding House. I am not sure of the extent of financial help extended to him by the Khalsa School management. However his scholarship was restored and he was given some benefits like exemption from school fee etc. The Sikh students contributed towards the cost of his books expenditure.  This Vir Jaswant Singh was not greedy nor had he changed to the new school with such a motive. This was his spiritual yearning that had wrought the change. He resolved to grow hair to establish his Sikh identity.

Soon he had tress-knot on his head. So, on the next Gurpurb of ‘Dasmesh Guru Jee’ he got Baptised and became a full-fledged ‘SINGH’. His spiritual progress astounded many well-experienced Sikh missionaries. He had profound insight of ‘Gurmat’, the divine wisdom of the Guru.  He had innocent looks, very high ‘Gurmat’ thoughts and a spiritual glow on his face.

Soon after Baptism his inner-being blossomed forth with Divine Light and his face reflected the glory. His ‘Kirtan’ singing was extremely emotional and heart piercing at such young age. What distinguished him most was that inspite of his being engrossed in spiritual development, he retained his high academic performance. He was soon a young graduate with the B.A qualification.

By this time many of the Jatha, got imprisoned. During the Rakab Ganj Gurdwara agitation all the students, particularly this newly baptised, cute, young, little Singh, were advised against participating in the agitation. He was highly insistent to join the brothers from Jatha in jail. It took quite a bit of trickery on our part to deny him this. Though he was refrained from joining agitation, yet he could not reconcile with parting from the jailed Singhs and became very sick. Every effort was made to make him accept Divine-Will, yet nothing worked and his love yearnings and his love-lorn state proved fatal. He passed away before my return from jail. Having found peace in Abode-Divine, he never returned to soothe those of us left behind. What more to write? At such a young age, it was amazing to see such deep study of Gurmat tenets and devotion.  He would be in trance for hours during contemplation of Naam. His concentration was phenomenal. This was without a parallel, considering his age. This was the brief life story of young little Vir Jaswant Singh Jee that was short-lived but bright!