Great Freedom Fighter from Punjab.

Baba Jawala Singh

He was born in village Thatian, District Amritsar. His father was a small land-owner and the family eked out their living with great difficulty. He left India in 1905 and went to California. He along with other settlers built a gurudwara at Stockton, which subsequently became a center of a revolutionary activities.The freedom and liberty that people enjoyed in America created a deep impression upon his young mind and with a view to making his own countrymen imbibe that spirit, he invited four students from India to study there and all their expenses were met by him. His patriotic spirit earned him great popularity and he was elected President of the California Branch of the Indian Association, the first organization that had been set up by the Indian settlers over there to guard their interests. Taking advantage of the outbreak of the First World War Baba Jawala Singh, Baba Wasakha Singh, Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna and Lala Hardyal toured the Pacific Coast impressing upon their people the urgent need of a powerful political organ to bring about a revolution in India. The new organ that thus came into being was the famous Ghadar Party with the Ghadar as its vehicle of political propaganda.The main aim of the party being to organize an armed rebellion in India, Several batches of revolutionaries were sent to India. Baba Jawal Singh was one of the principal leaders of the first big batch which left sand Francisco for India on 29th August, 1914 by the ship called Korea. From Hong Kong a new ship Tosha Maru was hired for the onward journey to India. At Singapore Jawala Singh and some other leaders tried to win over the loyalty of Indian regiments and to incite them for a national revolt against the British, but not much success was achieved.As soon as they landed at Calcutta, most of them were arrested including Baba Jawala Singh and all their plans were frustrated. In 1915 the Baba was tried in the First Lahore Conspiracy Case and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He remained in jail for 18 years and was released in 1933.