KARTAR SINGH SARABHA

Bhai Kartar Singh (1896 – 16.11.1916) was the son of Bhai Mangal Singh, of village Sarabha (district Ludhiana). As a boy he was very talented and active. In 1912, he moved to the U.S.A. and joined degree course in chemistry at the University of California at Berekley. The discrimination against the non-whites agitated his mind so much that soon he turned a strong anti-white activist. When Ghadr party was formed, he became an active member of the organisation. He was also the editor of the Punjabi section of the Ghadr Di Goonj, a journal of the organisation. It was he who had finalised the party flag with three colours depicting three nations, the Sikhs, the Muslims and the Hindus. On September 15, 1914, he left the U.S.A to return to Punjab to lead an armed struggle against the British regime. He participated in various actions of the organisation. He contacted various revolutionaries. He approached the army units at Agra, Allahabad, Ambala, Lahore, Merrut, Rawalpindi, and Varanasi etc. and incited the soldiers for rebellion. When major Ghadr action failed, he, along with Jagat Singh of Sur Singh and Harnam Singh Tundi Laat, escaped to Afghanistan. When they could not get any help there, they returned to the Punjab after a few days. On March 2, 1915, they reached Wilsonpur, near Chakk No. 5 Shahpur (district Sargodha), where a friend betrayed them and got them arrested. He was tried in the First Lahore Conspiracy Case. On September 13, 1915, he was sentenced to death. He was hanged in Lahore jail on November 16, 1915.

(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)