MIRACLE DURING WORLD WAR II
Bhai Ranjit Singh
Kaki Pind, Jalandhar

In 1964, when some of the holy weapons of Guru Gobind Singh were brought back from England, an Englishman, in complete Sikh form accompanied the weapons. The Englishman was asked by someone the reason for his adopting the Sikh form. Was it due to respect for the weapons or was there any other reason? The explanation given by him at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is being reproduced for the benefit of the readers.

" My name was A. David. I happened to be commanding a Sikh Regiment during World War II. My Regiment suffered very heavy losses fighting the Germans. Most of the "jawans" (soldiers) of my Battalion were killed. Only a few survived and we were all surrounded by the Germans. As there were very remote chances of our survival, I called the Subedar major of the Battalion and informed him about our precarious situation. Death was facing us and there was no chance of our survival. I suggested to him that the jawans should individually attempt to escape from the enemy encirclement and save their lives.

"The Subedar Major replied, 'We cannot bring ignominy to the Sikh Regiment by running away from the battlefield.' However, he had a suggestion that they should perform "Akhand-Path" ceremony and take action as per the Divine Hukam (Holy Command). Accordingly, necessary security arrangements were made and the Akhand-Path ceremony was completed without interruption. After the supplicatory prayer ("Ardas"), the Divine Hukam from the Holy Book was explained to me by Subedar Major and the religious teacher ("granthi"). As per the Divine Hukam, we should not abandon the battlefield; victory will be ours.

"Then I conveyed to them the miracle that I had witnessed during the supplicatory prayer. While standing with my eyes closed during the Ardas, a fully armed Sikh on horseback with a unique grandeur appeared in front of me and ordered 'Follow me.' I pointed out the direction in which the fully armed Sikh went after giving the order and asked them about the identity of the warrior. The Subedar Major said that as per my description, he was none other than Guru Gobind Singh.

"So, we got ready and launched an attack in the direction pointed out by the Guru. After a short while, we were able to break through the German encirclement and save ourselves. We then got in touch with the Brigade Cammander on wireless and requested for additional help.

" After the war, I reflected upon the incident and the divine personality who had saved mine and my men's lives from an impregnable enemy encirclement in a desperate situation by ordering me to follow him. I made up my mind to follow him for the rest of my life. I resigned from the Army and along with my daughter, embraced Sikhism with the initiation ceremony of the Khalsa. Now my name is Devinder Singh and my daughter's name is Surjit Kaur.....This is due to the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh that he took pity on us and made us his disciples."

This incident was narrated to me by my younger brother Sardar Raghbir Singh (Retired Subedar), who happened to be present at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib on the day the Englishman (Devinder Singh) narrated his above mentioned personal experience.

In the first World War, the British (with British Indian army) troops wanted to attack Mecca, the holiest Muslim shrine. A Sikh (I do not remember his name) who was leading the unit in Saudi Arabia, was ordered by his British supperior to attack the holy shrine. He refused to do so. In military, refusal to obey an order either meant death or a prolonged period behind iron bars. The Sikh knew it and shot and killed his superior. The Sikh was later was put in a jail, not killed. I think he died in some Rajasthan area.