Bhai Maharaj Singh: The man, the legend

Vandana Aggarwal

Bhai Maharaj Singh died in Singapore as a political prisoner in 1856, six years after he was banished from India. Though a revered figure in Singapore, his memory was slowly fading from public memory. The documentary, therefore, couldn’t have come at a better time.

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The story of Bhai Maharaj Singh connects the Sikh diaspora in Singapore to its community’s resistance to British domination in India in the mid-19th  century.

The iconic figure, considered to be the first Sikh to set foot in Singapore, arrived at the island nation in 1850 as a political prisoner. Six years later, in 1856, he died in prison. In spite of his short stay in Singapore, during which he was incarcerated, Bhai Maharaj Singh is revered and admired by many Sikhs and non-Sikhs, so much so that there’s  a memorial dedicated to him at gurdwara.

Documenting his journey 

The Saint Soldier — Uncovering the Story of Singapore’s First Sikh, a 60-minute documentary on Bhai Maharaj Singh, directed by Singaporean Upneet Kaur-Nagpal, was premiered recently in the United States and Singapore. For Upneet, the documentary in some ways is a coming of age conversation of a diaspora that is trying to connect to its colonial past. It has always been believed that the earliest Sikhs came to Singapore as part of the security forces. Upneet hopes the documentary will “encourage questions, perspectives and reflection on the heritage and evolving identity of the Sikh community”.

Legend has it that as a young lad, Bhai Maharaj Singh was responsible for preparing langar at a dera in Naurangabad, where he humbly addressed everyone as Maharaj ji. Soon, in reciprocation, people started calling him Bhai Maharaj Singh. By the 1840s, the dera, under his leadership, had become a hotbed of Sikh insurgency. The deeply spiritual Bhai Maharaj Singh displayed superb military leadership and became a hero in the eyes of the people. His fiery speeches aroused people in the Doab region. Claiming that Bhai Maharaj Singh was a party to a plan to assassinate the British Resident, Henry Lawrence, the British government announced a bounty of Rs10,000 for his arrest. 

He was finally arrested in December 1849. The very next year he was banished for life and sent to Singapore as his continued presence in India, it was feared, might cause unrest. However, unlike other convicts, he was sent by a specially chartered ship. Rules were bent to allow a companion, Khurruck (Kharag) Singh, to accompany him. Official letters went back and forth to make sure that he was not treated with ‘unnecessary vigour’. He was kept in solitary confinement, where he lost his eyesight and died of cancer in a dark and dingy cell at Singapore’s Outram prison. 

First Sikh in Singapore

For decades an unmarked tomb at the Singapore General Hospital was believed to be the final resting place of Bhai Maharaj Singh and the devotees held regular prayer sessions there. The shrine was relocated to the Gurdwara Sahib, Silat Road, in 1966, where a permanent memorial was built in 1995. His barsi is still celebrated there annually. 

In 2015, as part of a month-long celebration to honour Bhai Maharaj Singh, an exhibition was held at the Gurdwara, where some personal artefacts like his rosary, turban quoits, and salottar (wooden stick), sourced from his descendants in India, were displayed. 

It was executive producer Simranjit Singh who realised that Bhai Maharaj Singh’s story was a lesser-known narrative and needed to be retold in a manner that would be attractive to youngsters. Simranjit had grown up in the Gurdwara compound listening to elderly women telling the story of Bhai Maharaj Singh, and hence felt deeply connected to the historic figure.

The memory of Bhai Maharaj Singh was slowly fading from public memory. It was time to revitalise and honour the legacy of the first Sikh in Singapore, who had brought the message of Guru Nanak Dev to its shores.

The plans for the documentary coincided with the commemoration of the 550th  birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and the bicentennial celebration of the founding of Singapore.

It takes viewers on a journey through three countries — India, England and Singapore. The team met descendants of Bhai Maharaj, visited places where he had lived and spoke to academics and historians in a painstaking attempt to piece together the story. According to Upneet, she has tried to combine visual and oral tradition to give the story a more wholesome perspective.

During the course of their research, several nuggets of history that had been lost were uncovered. They found documentation to show that on the request of Bhai Maharaj Singh, the then Governor-General of the Straits Settlement, Lord Butterworth, arranged for a 115-year-old manuscript of the Guru Granth Sahib to be brought to Singapore at his own expense. Though currently untraceable, it is believed to be the first copy of the holy book that was brought to Singapore.

Interest revived 

In an acknowledgement of Bhai Maharaj Singh’s importance, London’s British Library has preserved day-to-day artefacts like his karas, a miniature kirpan, needle, thread and some personal manuscripts in Gurmukhi, all of which had been confiscated from Bhai Maharaj Singh when he was arrested. A conch shell in this collection symbolises his role as a spiritual leader and a seal ring indicates his political power. They are testimonials to the life of a saint-soldier who was on the run from authorities but not willing to give up his fight. 

Bhai Maharaj Singh’s story remains relevant even today. His spirit is entrenched in the Sikh community as he exemplifies a key tenet of Sikhism— charhdi kala or unwavering resilience in adversity. He also embodies miri piri, a belief that temporal as well as spiritual power has to be wielded in a fight against injustice. 

The documentary is timely as it serves to revitalise the memory of Bhai Maharaj Singh. Stories about his courage and selfless service are all legacies that the future generations must carry forward. And like Simranjit says, people may not remember the man but his values are eternal and they have to be kept alive.

The Karniwala

Bhai Maharaj Singh’s ability to work miracles cemented his position among the masses. Stories about his supernatural powers circulated among the people. He is said to have once stirred a boiling pot of dal with his bare arm, with no sign of burns. It was believed that the langar he cooked would increase in quantity if there were more people to feed. An overawed McLeod, the Commissioner of Doab, noted, “I am convinced that Bhai Maharaj Singh is a remarkable person. He has all the attributes of a saint. He has unusual self-control and self-confidence. He seems to have the power to foresee the coming events and has the qualities of a great leader whom people would like to obey.” 

He was given the title of Karnivala — a person with supernatural powers. The British further fueled this belief as cover up for their inability to catch him.

Henry Vansittarat, the Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar who finally arrested him following a tip-off, claimed that he was no ordinary man and likened him to Jesus for his ability to bring about miracles. Even today the people in Naurangabad recount his miracles with a great deal of pride. In Singapore, devotees speak about how Bhai Maharaj Singh would miraculously be seen outside his cell even though he was detained in solitary confinement. The older generation remembers him as Baba Karam Singh, ‘Karam’ being another variation for a man with mystical powers. They still visit his shrine to offer prayers when their wishes are fulfilled.

Life and times of Bhai Maharaj Singh

• Bhai Maharaj Singh was born in Rabbon village in Ludhiana district in the later part of the 18th century
• As a young lad, he served at the dera in Naurangabad where he imbibed the virtues of politics and spirituality
• In 1844 he became the head of the dera
• Due to the weakening of the Sikh empire following the 1st Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46), he toured extensively to motivate the people to rise against foreign power
• Bhai Maharaj Singh was said to have planned the assassination of the British Resident at Lahore in 1847. A bounty of Rs10,000 was put on his head.
• Following the defeat of Sikhs in the 2nd Anglo-Sikh War and annexation of Punjab in 1849, he did not lay down arms but chartered a fresh plan to continue tactical warfare against the British
• In December 1849, he was arrested at Adampur in Punjab following a tip-off
• Fearing that a trial in India would result in a popular uprising, he was first sent to Allahabad, from where he was moved to Calcutta
• In 1850, a chartered ship Mohammad Shah ferried political prisoner Bhai Maharaj Singh and his companion to Singapore. He had been deported for life and would live out his days in solitary confinement.
• He was housed in the Outram prison where he breathed his last in 1856