Bhai Randhir Singh: Sikh writer and Ghadar-era activist

Narangwal and religious life

Bhai Randhir Singh was a Sikh writer and religious figure associated with Narangwal in Ludhiana district. A biography published by the Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh Trust describes his family, religious practice and association with a group devoted to kirtan. The account describes his religious work in Punjab and the importance of congregational singing in his later life. The trust preserves his memory and writes from a committed perspective, which helps explain the emphasis of its account. His life linked religious practice, writing and political activity, but those subjects deserve attention in their own right. The honorific Bhai and the name Randhir Singh are also used for other people, so Narangwal is a useful identifier.[1]

Ghadar and prison

Randhir Singh was imprisoned in connection with the Ghadar-era Lahore conspiracy proceedings. An English edition of his autobiography and jail writings, made available by the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, presents his own memories of prison and religious experience. Personal testimony is valuable evidence of how he understood events, while it must be compared with court and prison records and with other participants’ accounts. A narrative written or translated later can reflect memory, editorial choices and the purposes of its publication. The experience of imprisonment was central to his later writing and to the way followers remember his life.[2]

Kirtan and remembrance

Historian Harish K. Puri examines the influence of the Ghadar movement on Bhagat Singh’s thought and political activity. His study offers context for later revolutionary politics, but does not establish a meeting between Bhagat Singh and Randhir Singh. The history of Ghadar involved many people and political ideas, and no one participant’s beliefs should be assumed to represent every anti-colonial activist.[3]

The Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh Trust describes a congregation associated with his religious life that later became known as the Akhand Keertani Jatha. Its account emphasises collective singing of sacred texts and prolonged gatherings. This is a community’s account of its history, and it should be read alongside other evidence and the perspectives of participants. Randhir Singh’s religious commitments and political involvement were related parts of his life.[1]