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Major "Baba" Harbhajan Singh (August 3,
1941 – September 11, 1967) (Punjabi: ਹਰਭਜਨ ਸਿੰਘ) was an Indian army soldier
who died near the Nathula Pass in eastern Sikkim, India. He is revered
by soldiers of the Indian army as the "Hero of Nathula" and the army
men have also built a shrine in his honour. He has been accorded the status of
saint by believers who refer to him as the Baba (saintly father). Many of the
faithful people, chiefly Indian army personnel posted in and around the Nathula
Pass and the Sino-Indian border between the state of Sikkim and Chinese
occupied Tibet have come to believe his spirit protects every soldier in the
inhospitable high altitude terrain of the Eastern Himalayas. As with most
saints, the Baba is said to also grant favours presumably to those who revere
and worship him.
Death and associated legend
Harbhajan Singh's early demise at the young age of just 26
years is the subject of legends and religious veneration which has become
popular folklore among Indian Army regulars (jawans), people back at his
village and apparently also soldiers of the Red Army across the border guarding
the Indo-Chinese border between Sikkim and Tibet. However, the official version
of his death is victim of battle at 14500 feet of the Nathula Pass, Sikkim
where there were fierce skirmishes between the Indian and Chinese Red Army
during the 1965 Sino-Indian war. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra medal for
his bravery and martyrdom on September 11, 1967.
According to legend, Harbhajan Singh drowned in a glacier
while trying to lead a column of mules carrying supplies to a remote outpost.
As the first casualty of the 23rd Punjab Regiment in
that war, a manhunt was launched to find him. His remains were found after
three days and he was cremated with full military honours. The legend further
claims that it was Harbhajan Singh who himself helped the search party to find
his body.
Still later, through a dream, he instructed one of his colleagues to
build and maintain a shrine in his memory.
Some Indian soldiers believe that in the event of a war
between India and China, Baba would warn the Indian soldiers at least the three
days in advance of any impending attack. During flag meetings between the two
nations at Nathula, the Chinese set a chair aside to honour of Harbhajan Singh
who has since been known to be saint. Every year on September 11, a jeep
departs with his personal belongings to the nearest railway station, New
Jalpaiguri, from where it is then sent by train to the village of Kuka,
in Kapurthala district in Punjab.
While empty berths on any train of the Indian Railways are invariably allocated
to any passenger without a confirmed reservation (Reservation against
cancellation, RAC, or wait listed) or first come first served basis by the
coach attendants, a special reservation for the Baba is actually made for him
and left empty for the entire journey to his home town every year with other
soldiers travelling along so as to reach him till his home. A small sum of
money is also contributed by soldiers posted in Nathula and sent to his mother
each month.
Many other stories about him have spread among believers and
also through social network posts. While all of these stories often contain
elements of supernatural sightings and events, there is very little evidence
besides anecdotal tales which cannot be reliably verified or traced to their
source. He has been attributed the character traits of a disciplined warrior
who was a "stickler for following rules" and is said to have fallen
out with comrades in arms because of this reason. Given the deeply held beliefs
and the warrior traditions of the culture of his ethnicity (Sikhs), it is highly
probable such uncompromising disciplinarian character idealized by the
believers may have been projected on to him as further evidence of his
saintliness even though there is no confirmed or authentic evidence about it.
There also events like discovery of visits to the camps, use
of bedclothes and boots that can be found in various social network posts about
him. It has also been claimed that the regiment still keeps an empty bed and
other items of daily use. Some source suggest that he continues to draw a
major's salary every month till date.
Old Baba Mandir
At a distance of 60 km from the majestic Gangtok city
towards the legendary Nathula, you will find a road leading towards the Kupup
valley up to Tukla. A bifurcated road from Tukla would connect to the Old Baba
Mandir (Bunker). At this place; the samadhi of Baba Harbhajan, famously
known, as Old Baba Mandir has been built.
New Baba Mandir
However, for the tourists’ convenience, the samadhi of Baba
Harbhajan Singh has been reconstructed at the junction of Kupup Gnathang
road and the trail leading to Menmecho Lake, on November 11, 1982. And this
shrine is popularly recognized by tourists as New Baba Mandir.
Hoards of devotees visit the shrine of Harbhajan Singh every
year. The shrine features three room structures. There is a large portrait of
Baba in the central room, which has been placed with other Sikh Gurus and Hindu
deity. At the right of the central room, there is the personal room of Baba.
The room houses all essential household belongings, needed for daily
livelihood, starting from clothes, slippers, shoes to a clean sleeping camp
bed. Neatly ironed uniform and polished boots are also kept. The bedsheets are
reportedly found crumbled each morning and the boots become muddy by evening.
There is another small room, which is used as office cum storeroom. The room is
filled with unused slippers, water bottles, toothbrushes and other items that
are offered to Baba. The salary of Major Harbhajan Singh has not been stopped
and he is also granted his annual leave.
There is a strong belief that water kept in the shrine of
Baba gains healing property and turns into sacred water that can cure all possible
ailments. This blessed water is needed to be consumed within 21 day and in this
period, no family members of the ailing person is supposed to have
non-vegetarian food. It is also believed that the slippers kept in the temple,
help to cure gout and other foot problems. Followers, who cannot reach to
Baba’s temple, are allowed to send letters to Baba, which are opened by Baba’s
associates.
It is believed that Baba Harbhajan Singh guards the
international boundary between India and China, over the last three decades and
he is accomplishing this task alone. Even the Chinese army also confirms that
they have noticed a human figure, guarding the border at night, riding on a
horse. It is also said that Baba Harbhajan Singh foretells any dangerous
activity on the border through the dreams of the fellow army men and safeguards
the force.
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