Bhagat Jaswant Singh (? – 22.8.1967), son of Chowdhry Sajjan Singh, was born at village Banda (district Rawalpindi). Chowdhry Sajjan Singh, a businessman, had been the President of Gurdwara Singh Sabha Rawalpindi for several years. As a child Bhagat Jaswant Singh was very intelligent. In those days, he was one of the few children of his village who passed B.A. examination. Bhagat Jaswant Singh had a religious bent of mind and he used to meditate for hours; hence he was known as Bhagat instead of Chowdhry. When Gurdwara Reform Movement began, Bhagat Jaswant Singh made active participation. He was one of the first members of the S.G.P.C. He was elected to the Executive of the S.G.P.C. In 1922, he was elected General Secretary of the S.G.P.C. During the Keys’ Agitation and Guru Ka Bagh agitation, he played active role. In 1923, when the S.G.P.C. was declared as an unlawful organisation, he was arrested on October 13, 1923. He spent three years in Lahore Fort Prison. On January 25, 1926, he was released on assurance of acting upon the Gurdwara Act (which came into force on November 1, 1925). This led to division in the rank and file of the Akali Dal. After this Bhagat Jaswant Singh resigned from active political activities and became busy in business. He spent rest of his life as a successful businessman. He died in 1967.
(Dr. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)