Life Extraordinaire

Gurmukh Panth Rattan Veer Jaspal Singh -a gem extraordinaire

Weeks before the division of Punjab, born to parents Inderjeet Singh and Prakash Kaur on 7 June 1947 at Sargodha, the child Jaspal Singh came and settled at Rohtak and then Hoshiarpur before making Mumbai his home. In the last decade of his life, he returned to Ludhiana, where he left for his eternal abode on 15 May 2021.  He leaves behind his wife Harinder Kaur, one son and two daughters.

14-year-old Jaspal Singh joined his father and grandfather in setting up and building a branded textile business and hence could not pursue his formal education.  When he returned to Ludhiana in 2011, he and his son Navdeep Singh set up a textile enterprise with the latest state-of-the-art machines.  A true Kirti, he imbibed the fundamental principles of Sikhism in all walks of life. 

Blessed with Godly traits, ethical qualities, a noble soul, a true practising Sikh, mentor and guide to hundreds of students and families in Mumbai and around, Jaspal Singh was the leading light of the Gurdwara library and religious books distribution movement in Western India at a time when getting even a Gutka Sahib in Mumbai was a challenge.

Sensing the needs of the Sikhs, he pioneered the Sikh renaissance movement. This affable ebullient personality and respectable social activist of Mumbai widened the sphere of his work to include the whole of Maharashtra and then Ludhiana and Ropar over a span of 5 decades.

Starting way back in 1960 with many religious personalities, he ushered in the concept of Gurmat and Punjabi learning classes. He set up the Gurmat Prachar Charitable Trust, Mumbai in 1989, which continues to this day.

With his learning and exposition of Gurbani, Gurbani grammar and living life as enunciated in Guru Granth Sahib, Jaspal Singh, actively associated with the Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Missionary College at Ropar, making a marked change in the life of young missionaries.

Prof. Maninderpal Singh, writing about him says, “He was Gurmat Class personified. His mannerism, talk and empathetic behavior was purely spiritual, endearing him to one and all.”

In 1960, Giani Jit Singh started the Sikh missionary movement in Mumbai. Jaspal Singh joined him in 1968. Gurmat classes and Punjabi classes on Sundays, as early as 6 am, became a habit with a large number of Sikh youth in Mumbai. Starting from the densely Sikh-populated Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar, the classes were held at Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Khar West and slowly but steadily spread across metropolitan Mumbai.

Providing the students with a platform to express their knowledge of Sikhism, acquired through these classes, the response was phenomenal leading to classes on Saturday mornings from 5am to 7 am.

Adopting the dictum of Ghar ghar andar dharamsal -a religious centre in every home, the classes moved to other days of the week and from Gurdwaras to homes.  Many of these were conducted on such a regular basis that it became a movement. From Mumbai, with the association of Prof. Maninderpal Singh of the Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Gurmat Missionary College at Ropar and his Gurbhai-brother in faith -Kulwant Singh, the word of the Guru was spread around Maharashtra.

Not to be outdone by illness, he continued his Sewa even after undergoing a heart operation some years ago. In the last months of his life, during the Covid19 pandemic, he continued to conduct online Gurmat classes for batches as well as individuals, which he had started in 2011 upon shifting to Ludhiana.  Students and affiliates from across the world, including the villages of Punjab, attended his classes.  As in Mumbai, he organized Teacher Training Classes in the backward areas of Jalalabad too.

Satisfied with the overwhelming response of Sikh youth -boys and girls, his wife Harinder Kaur mooted the idea of Kirtan classes and that was an instant hit amongst the attendees of Gurmat classes.  His wife was his constant companion in all his Gurmat endeavors and he had the full and unwavering support of his family at all times.

Formalising their widespread work, the Gurmat Prachar Charitable Trust was founded in 1989, with the opening of a Medical Rehab facility in the garage of Ray Heaven, Khar -the building where Jaspal Singh’s life-long friend Devinder Singh lives.

This garage became the hub of the Gurbani books distribution and cost-to-cost sale centre from where stalls were set up at Dadar and other Gurdwaras around Mumbai during Gurpurabs and other public functions. 

At the time of the setting up of the facility, getting a Sikh religious book in Mumbai was a far cry. Such a situation exists even today in many towns and cities in India, where getting a Gutka Sahib or other religious book is not possible, though online availability has eased the situation.

The religious, historical and motivational books, including Reference books caught the fancy of the growing number of Gurbani learners. On some Gurpurabs books worth Rupees Hundred thousand were sold through one stall. In 2004, the Gurmat Library was shifted to premises of Gurbakshish Singh in the Andheri-Kurla area of Mumbai. Even while living in Ludhiana, Veerji Jaspal Singh, meticulously tracked the working of the Gurbani Books Library and distribution movement. 

As the years went by and the children whom he and his associates taught and mentored grew into young adults, a need was felt to add a little adventure to the Gurmat Training camps. Jaspal Singh and Kulwant Singh chose adventurous and scenic locations for the Gurmat Camps to beat the heat of June every year when the students were on their summer holidays. Comfortable with all age-groups, he was ubiquitous by his presence, mingling with the young at age and the young at heart.  Striking a deep chord with them, he inculcated in them the love of Gurbani and the Sikh way of life. 

At one time in 2006, there were close to 2000 students and more than a 100 teachers at various locations in Mumbai, who were painstakingly nurtured by Jaspal Singh and Harinder Kaur.

The able administrator in Jaspal Singh ensured that every fortnight review meetings and brainstorming for future activities were held at Guru Harkrishan Dispensary, Khar, Mumbai, which were subsequently shifted to the Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle centre at Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar. Emphasizing the need for self-analysis, he never missed attending these meets.

As learning of Punjabi in Gurmukhi script was a challenge, the “uneducated man” -as he used to smilingly and humbly call himself, worked hard with his wife Harinder Kaur to prepare ‘Gurmat Praveshka’, which continues to be the main source of learning at Gurmat classes and Gurmat camps.  His attention to detail and his thrust on excellence is reflected in every work that he accomplished.

He edited 11 books which are now part of the curriculum in many Gurmat colleges across India and in some parts of USA and Canada. Students who pass the Gurmat exams are honoured in local Gurdwaras and this continues till this day in Mumbai.

To add more value to the Gurmat class movement, Jaspal Singh conducted seminars in Mumbai and Chattisgarh where stalwarts like Giani Amrik Singh, Principal Giani Baljit Singh and Prof. Maninder Pal Singh dwelt upon Gurbani and Sikh history.

Recognising his work in Mumbai, the team at Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Gurmat Missionary College in Ropar wanted him to join the College, which he did in 2011 when he and his family shifted to Ludhiana. Visionary Jaspal Veerji turned around the functioning of the College by the addition of computing skills and formal education for the Gurmat students. He introduced changes in the syllabi to make it holistic and prepared them for challenges of life. 

Under his able guidance, a computer lab and a dispensary were set up in the college premises.  Students were given training in life skills to enhance their capabilities and employability.  The two-year Gurmat course was made a Graduation course for three years. Apart from participating in Gurmat training, students joined formal education classes. Since the start of this program, many students have completed post-graduation and PhD.  A few students have joined the Indian Armed Forces as chaplains.

When the need arose, he was on the streets doing Sewa. When floods hit Mumbai in 2005, day and night, his wife and he, in the company of scores of volunteers, were preparing and distributing food packets to the stranded commuters at railway stations and airports for nearly a month.

While still on the ventilator, he spoke to Prof. Maninder Pal Singh through a video call, which should be shared for posterity. He said, “I have completed assigning the syllabus for the Gurmat teachers in Mumbai, but the part relating to Gurbani grammar and Fundamental Principles of Sikhism still remains to be done and you may please do it.”  This is diligence and commitment.

It will be a long time till we can get an organiser, manager, public speaker, adviser and leader like him again.  This father figure will be missed by many for his humility and it is hoped that his family and friends will carry on his legacy.

This fondly called Mumbai-wale Veerji, with always a smile on his face will be remembered by family, friends, associates and everyone in whose life he made a positive difference, in the true light of Gurbani.

His loving associate Kulwant Singh, hiding his tears, said, “We have not lost an individual, but an institution.”