Bhai Gajinder Singh

Bhai Gajinder Singh was a founder of Dal Khalsa and the leader of the hijackers of an Indian Airlines flight to Lahore on 29 September 1981. He was born on 19 November 1951 in Patiala, in a family that came from Haripur Hazara, the town founded by Hari Singh Nalwa, and resettled in Patiala after 1947. He lived in exile for more than four decades and died in Pakistan on 3 July 2024.

The World Sikh News account of Dal Khalsa's history says the founding decision was taken at Chandigarh on 6 August 1978 and announced on 13 August 1978. It names Gajinder Singh among six founders and says the name was given by Sirdar Kapur Singh. The Tribune also calls him a co-founder.

Key moments

• 29 September 1981. Gajinder Singh and four others hijacked an Indian Airlines plane carrying 111 passengers and six crew and forced it to land at Lahore. They demanded the release of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and others. The Tribune reports they were also protesting the deaths of 16 Sikhs in police firing at Chowk Mehta earlier that year.
• 30 September 1981. The Christian Science Monitor reported that Pakistani commandos disguised as sweepers boarded the plane after about 20 hours and overpowered five Sikhs armed with long knives, and that the hostages were unharmed. A special court in Lahore sentenced the hijackers, and the Tribune reports that they completed their sentences on 31 October 1994.
• 1996. He flew to Germany but was not allowed to enter after India objected, and he returned to Pakistan.
• 2002. India placed him on a list of 20 most wanted fugitives.
• September 2020. Five Singh Sahiban at Sri Akal Takht Sahib decided to honour him with the title Jilawatan Sikh Yodha, the Sikh warrior in exile. The ceremony was not held then.
• 3 July 2024. He died of a heart attack in a hospital in Pakistan, aged 74. His last rites were held at the Nankana Sahib cremation ground, with his daughter Bikramjit Kaur present.
• 13 July 2024. At Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh announced the title Jilawatan Sikh Yodha. The SGPC, with Dal Khalsa, held an Akhand Path at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Gurbaksh Singh, and his brother Darshan Singh and family were given siropas.

He wrote poetry and political books, among them Panj Tir Hore and Gangu Di Rooh, which India banned. Dal Khalsa's Kanwarpal Singh said he spent 53 years in struggle and belongs to the entire Khalsa Panth.