Farmers Movement Archive

‘Soft-spoken, altruistic’ farmers’: Followers pay respects to priest who died by suicide

Baba Ram Singh had barely turned four years old when his parents noticed that their son had the traits of an ascetic. The devout Sikh couple handed over the toddler to Gurudwara Nanaksar, located in Kaleran village of Jagraon in Ludhiana district of Punjab, to pursue the path of spirituality. Gurudwara Nanaksar was his abode for many years. A little before 1990, he left Jagraon to spread the message of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. And his next destination, and permanent abode, became Gurdwara Nanaksar Singhera--a small Sikh shrine then spread across one acre in Karnal, Haryana. On Thursday, shocked admirers and followers of Singh came in droves to Gurdwara Nanaksar Singhera to pay their last respects to the Sikh priest. Singh, 65, died after allegedly shooting himself on Wednesday at the Delhi-Haryana border in Singhu where he had joined the farmers’ protest against three farm laws. He was unmarried and is survived by his sister and a brother, who live in Punjab. The soft-spoken Baba, known for his sense of charity and in-depth knowledge of Sikhism, had a huge following across religions, castes, communities and countries. Singh became head of Gurdwara Nanaksar Singhera in 1990 following the death of his predecessor Baba Jang Singh. He worked relentlessly to expand the shrine and visited many places in India and abroad to encourage people to donate to the gurdwara, said Gupal Singh, a follower from Peont village.His efforts paid off .From the small shrine it was in 1990, the gurdwara is now spread over 16 acres. It has a huge langer (community kitchen) hall with the capacity to serve meals to hundreds of visitors every day. The campus has residential buildings for about 400 sewadars (volunteers) and visitors, a sprawling lawn and parking lot. According to Satnam Singh, who has been with the Sikh priest since 1995, the Baba also set up two gurdwaras in Ulhasnagar of Mumbai and Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. He is credited with the construction of gurdwara also in Jalandhar district of Punjab. “He was very polite and always available to all. We never saw him angry,” recalled Jasvinder Kaur,70, a follower. She said she has been a regular visitor to Gurdwara Nanaksar Singhera for the past 20 years and he also had followers from the Hindu and Muslim communities. A confidant of the Baba, Satnam Singh, said that on December 9, he had visited the protesting farmers for the first time and donated Rs 5 lakh to farmers’ organisations spearheading the agitation. On December 15, he again visited the protest site and donated blankets to farmers. “After returning from Delhi on late night on December 15 he was very upset and told me that the farmers were being forced to spend their nights in open in harsh winter conditions and the government was insensitive to them”, said Satnam Singh. Satnam Singh said on December 16, the Baba again decided to go to the protest site and that his driver Gurpartap Singh and his aide Manjeet accompanied him. “At the dharna spot, Babaji asked his driver to bring tea... when the driver returned he found Babaji dead with a bullet injury on his forehead... but the driver did not find the weapon,” said Satnam Singh, who hails from UP and who is considered the successor to the Baba.“In fact, Sant ji never carried a weapon with himself,” he added.

Hindustan Times

18-12-2020

India