Kartar Singh Sarabha Biography: Indian revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha (24 May 1896 – 16 November 1915). He joined the Ghadar Party when he was 15 years old; he then became a prominent member and began fighting for the independence movement. He was one of the movement’s most active participants. At the age of 19, he was executed for his participation in the movement in November 1915 at Central Jail, Lahore.
Kartar Singh Sarabha Biography
Early years
Kartar Singh was born into a Grewal Jat Sikh family in the Punjabi village of Sarabha, close to Ludhiana. His mother was Sahib Kaur, and his father was Mangal Singh Grewal. When his father died when he was very small, his grandfather raised him. After completing his primary education in his hometown, Singh attended the Malwa Khalsa secondary school in Ludhiana through the eighth grade. He then pursued his unver education. In July 1912, he left for San Francisco. He was expected to enrol at the University of California, Berkeley, but the evidence that he did so varies. Baba Jwala Singh mentions in a historical notation that when he visited Astoria, Oregon in December 1912, he discovered Kartar Singh working in a mill factory. Some claim that he attended Berkeley, but the college could not locate any records of his enrollment.
His association with the Berkeley Nalanda club of Indian students awoke his patriotism, and he felt agitated about the treatment of Indian immigrants, particularly manual labourers, in the United States.
Singh was inspired by the Ghadar Party’s founder, Sohan Singh Bhakna, to campaign against British colonial rule for the sake of an independent nation. Sohan Singh Bhakna dubbed Kartar Singh “Baba Gernal”. Americans taught him how to fire a gun and construct explosive devices. Kartar Singh additionally took flying instruction. He frequently discussed the necessity of Indian independence from British authority with other Indians, many of whom supported colonial rule.
Kartar Singh Sarabha Career
In July 1912, Kartar Singh Sarabha relocated to San Francisco and was accepted to Berkeley University. He joined the Ghadar Party and the Nalanda association of Indian Students to overthrow British rule in India. Native Americans taught him how to construct explosive devices, shoot firearms, and fly an aeroplane. He participated actively in the independence movements organised by the Ghadar Party in order to spread the revolt against British authority in India. Punjabi Indians in California established the Ghadar Party to rebel against the British through armed conflict.
Kartar Singh Sarabha, Sohan Singh, and Lala Har Dayal joined the newspaper printing and distribution efforts of the party. Sarabha penned articles and patriotic poetry for the newspaper, which encouraged Indians residing in the United States and Canada to join the revolutionary movement. On August 5, 1914, a revolutionary article titled “Decision of Declaration of War” was published. To provoke the Indians against the British, the Ghadar Party disseminated a revolutionary article. Kartar Singh Sarabha, Satyen Sen, and Vishnu Ganesh migrated to India in October 1914, where they met Rash Behari Bose and Jatin Mukherjee.
The British police apprehended them and organised a meeting in Ladhouwal, close to Ludhiana, to raise funds for their arms and ammunition requirements. Waryam Singh and Bhai Ram Rakha perished in the same bombing. In 1915, Rash Behari Bose and Kartar Singh Sarabha organised a summit in Amritsar to launch a movement against colonial rule. On 19 February 1915, the British police apprehended a number of Ghadar Party members, some of whom managed to escape. On 2 March 1915, Kartar Singh and his two companions returned to India, where they began distributing anti-British propaganda and chanting anti-British slogans.
Kartar Singh Sarabha Death
The British government executed Kartar Singh Sarabha and the other Ghadar Party suspects on November 17, 1915. At Lahore Central Jail, Punjab Province, British India (present-day Punjab, Pakistan). They were accused of conspiring against the government of the United Kingdom. At the time of his demise, Kartar Singh Sarabha was 19 years old.
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Facts
- The 1977 Punjabi film Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha was based on the sacrifices made by Kartar Singh during the Indian Independence War.
- The state administration of Punjab later erected a statue of Kartar Singh in Ludhiana to commemorate his name and efforts for India’s independence.
- The patriarch of Kartar Singh Sarabha visited his grandson while he was incarcerated in Lahore. His grandfather asked him why he was squandering his life at that moment.
- His grandfather was rendered speechless by Kartar Singh’s astounding reply. Kartar said,
- In March 1926, the renowned Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and his companion Bhagwati Charan Vohra founded Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
- Kartar Singh Sarabha reportedly acquired 14 pounds of weight while incarcerated at the Lahore Central Jail. This demonstrated his fearlessness.
- Kartar Singh’s disciple was the revolutionary Indian liberation fighter, Bhagat Singh.
- A message to Indian Youth from the mother of Bhagat Singh in which she mentions Kartar Singh Sarabha.
- A message to Indian Youth from the mother of Bhagat Singh in which she mentions Kartar Singh Sarabha.
- During his judicial trials, Kartar Singh Sarabha was deemed the most dangerous revolutionary by his judge.
