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Dr Madhulika Singh
Sardar Chabeel Singh was a resident of the village Patusa, in Choora, located in the Baramulla district of Kashmir. On 22nd October 1947, the barbaric Trans-Indus Pashtun tribal raiders, aided and abetted by the Pakistani Army, entered Indian territory and unleashed a reign of terror in the frontier regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
Organised into lashkars (armed legions), these raiders advanced rapidly, spreading terror and destruction across numerous towns and villages. They targeted non-Muslim communities, where massacres of men, women, and children occurred. Women were abducted, and homes were looted of their valuables. Many, fearing dishonour at the hands of the raiders, chose to sacrifice themselves—jumping into rivers and wells in acts of unimaginable despair.
However, there are exemplary instances that reflected the valor and courage inhibited by the people, particularly the Sikh community, who laid down their lives to encourage the distressed people against the terror of Pakistan. The saga of Sardar Chabeel Singh of village Patusa of Baramulla district is worth mentioning. Chabeel Singh, who had joined the State forces during world war IInd. This presumably gave him some familiarity with military and strategic tactics. As the news of the advance of marauding raiders spread, he was apprehensive of such an attack in their region too. Soon his apprehensions turned out to be true and as Chabeel Singh saw that the trucks and lorries packed with tribal raiders, guided by local co-religionists, had reached near village Choora, he anticipated the critical situation that was going to arise within no time.
Being army personnel with thorough strategic awareness, Chabeel Singh acted pragmatically and confronted the marauding raiders bravely. Without caring for his own life, he made a gallantry move and with the help of other community members, he snatched some chests of ammunition from them and made a successful attempt to destroy the whole truck of tribal invaders. In this, he got badly injured and before leaving for heavenly abode, he persuaded his wife to embrace death in order to safeguard her honour along with their infant child who was born after ten years of their married life. An exemplary courage and devotion reflected in the character of Chabeel Singh is unforgettable and deserves appreciation. His actions are credited with saving a number of people from what might otherwise have been a catastrophe in the area by the Pakistani raiders.
(The Author is Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Jammu)
