NEW DELHI: Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu attended a Vishesh Kirtan Darbar organised at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Janakpuri, to commemorate the 100th martyrdom anniversary of Sardar Teja Singh Samundri. Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood also attended the event.
The L-G, along with the Sangat, listened to Gurbani Kirtan rendered by Bhai Surjeet Singh Ji (Hazoori Raagi) and Bhai Jaskaran Singh Ji (Patiala Wale), followed by the Ardaas.
Addressing the gathering, Sandhu recalled that Sardar Teja Singh Samundri attained martyrdom in Lahore Jail in 1926 under circumstances that Master Tara Singh had described as mysterious. He said Bhai Vir Singh had hailed him as a supreme, holy martyr, while Master Tara Singh had called him a complete Sikh, saying that “his entire life was the life of a martyr.”
The L-G said that of the 53 Sikh leaders arrested and imprisoned in Lahore, only 11 refused to apologise to secure their release, and Sardar Teja Singh Samundri was among them. He added that Teja Singh Samundri Hall in the Darbar Sahib complex remains the only building named after an ordinary Sikh, reflecting the high esteem in which he continues to be held by the Panth.
Highlighting his contribution to the freedom and Sikh reform movements, Sandhu said Sardar Teja Singh Samundri was among the first to court arrest during the Shaheedi Morchas between 1914 and 1920 and was chosen by the Sangat to lead the Kar Seva at Darbar Sahib in 1923.
Recalling an episode from the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha, the L-G said scholar Professor Ruchi Ram Sahni had once asked Samundri how he could claim the agitation had succeeded. In response, Samundri pointed to the spontaneous support extended by the Hindu community of Amritsar in arranging mats and supplies for protesters, which, Sandhu said, reflected the Hindu-Sikh unity of that period.
‘Samundri attained martyrdom in Lahore Jail in 1926’
Sandhu recalled that Sardar Teja Singh Samundri attained martyrdom in Lahore Jail in 1926. He said Bhai Vir Singh had hailed him as a supreme, holy martyr, while Master Tara Singh had called him a complete Sikh, saying that “his entire life was the life of a martyr.”