Baba Jawala Singh
Baba Jawala Singh | |
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| Born | Jawala Singh 1866 Thathian village, Amritsar, Punjab |
| Died | 8 May 1938 (aged 71–72) Comilla, Bengal Presidency (Now in Bangladesh) |
| Known for | Ghadar Movement and Indian freedom movement |
| Part of a series on |
| Sikhism |
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Baba Jawala Singh (1866 – 8 May 1938), also known as "Potato King" was an active member of the Ghadar Movement who participated in the Indian freedom movement.[1][2]
Baba Jawala Singh was born in a non-farming village family where economic hardships forced him to leave his village, and in 1905, he moved to Central American countries, where he worked in Panama and then Mexico. In 1908, he finally settled in San Francisco. Here he met with Vasakha Singh Dadehar and they bought 500 acres of land near Stockton and there they became successful potato growers. This is the reason why he is called "Potato King".[1] With their combined efforts, they successfully established the first ever Sikh Gurdwara in the United States of America in the year of 1912.[3]
He established good relations with University of California, Berkeley and with his efforts, he founded scholarships for the Indian students studying in the United States of America.[4]
Along with Vasakha Singh Dadehar, he decided to take part in the Ghadar Mutiny, an armed rebellion against British Colonialism in India. When he arrived in Kolkata on 19 October 1914 to participate in Ghadar Mutiny, he was arrested and taken to Ludhiana. He was tried in the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial (1915) and, on 13 September 1915, sentenced to life imprisonment and forfeiture of property.[1] He spent 18 years in jail and was released in the year of 1933. Even after that he participated in Indian Freedom Movement activities and once again, he was sentenced to jail for one year in 1935.
During his travel to attend the All India Kisan Sabha conference in May 1938, his bus was met with an accident in Comilla of Bengal Presidency, which is now in Bangladesh. He died of his injuries on 8 May 1938.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Unsung heroes detail. amritmahotsav.nic.in
- ^ The Holt Farm: Nursery of the Ghadar Movement (pdf)
- ^ Sikh Gurdwara Sahib Stockton. www.sikhiwiki.org
- ^ Jawala Singh, a unique Ghadri Baba. www.bharatsandesh.com