CHANDIGARH: The Sikh movement recently suffered a big setback when it lost a live-wire militant, Bhai Amar Shahbaz Singh. He belonged to Shahbaz pur village in Hoshiarpur district. He was 35. He was attracted to the militant movement about 10 years ago.

He worked as one of the close lieutenants of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Along with Bhai Surinder Singh “Sodhi” Bhai Amar Shahbaz Singh was a trained activist who carried out difficult tasks assigned to him by the Sikh leadership from time to time. He never held any high profile post. Yet, he was a key figure not only as leading activists of the Panthic committee associated with Bhai Daljit Singh, and Dr.Sohan Singh, etc. but was respected by almost all militant groups.

He came to be known as a “coordinator.” He was at one stage a close associate of the late Bhai Labh Singh. After initial years of struggle, Bhai Amar Shahbaz Singh set up a amrita shop at Khanna which for him was a cover to carry out militant activities.

Although business was merely a diversion for him, he was a fair businessman and had endeared himself among his clients. But actually he used the business of transporting wheat in bags to carry weapons from one to another place,

His “business” was soon exposed to the police but he had to desert Khanna, The biggest setback the militant struggle suffered was during the hey-day of Prof. Darshan Singh.

In the government-sponsored Panthic unity, the locations of militants came under the police eye largely thanks to the collaborator Atanderpal Singh.

But it was Bhai Amar Shahbaz Singh who re-established the militant hide-outs all over again,

He was instrumental in punishing several anti-Sikh elements masquerading as leaders who really worked at the behest of the Indian government.

He also tried to frustrate the plans of those who obtained contracts for building S.Y.L. canal in collaboration with the Indian government.

It was Bhai Amar Shahbaz Singh who eliminated Baba Dalip Singh of Damdami Taksal. This man was suspected as a link in the Indian conspiracy to bring Sikhs “back to national mainstream.” Bhai Amar Shahbaz Singh was killed at the hands of the Indian army last month,

The incident occurred unexpectedly. Bhai Amar Shahbaz Singh was travelling by a Maruti wearing an Indian colonels dress.

He was accompanied by an associate who on a routine checkup of the vehicle by an army unit lost his nerve and started firing. This alerted the army unit who killed Bhai Amar Shahbaz Singh along with his associate.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 22, 1992