Officials from both sides ended the discussions on the issue in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, and signed on the agreed minutes on the 18th of June that same year.

Now, the Nathula Pass has become a major tourist attraction in Sikkim. It is located at a height of about 14,000 kms from Gangtok. The number of tourists visiting this place can only be surpassed by those visiting Tsongo Lake in Gangtok. The re – opening of the Nathula Pass has brought a great change in the relationship between India and China. An important aspect of the Nathula Pass is the Baba Mandir built in the memory of Baba Harbajan Singh.

Baba Harbhajan Singh – The Immortal Soldier

‘Baba’ Harbhajan Singh (August 3, 1941 – October 4, 1968) was an Indian army officer who died near the Nathula Pass in eastern Sikkim. He is revered by the soldiers of the Indian army who have built a shrine in his honour. Baba is reported to have granted favours to the soldiers besides guarding each of them in the inhospitable terrain.

Harbhajan Singh was born into a Sikh family on the 3rd of August 1941 in the village of Batthe Bhaini in Punjab. He completed his preliminary schooling at the village school and then did his matriculation from DAV High School in Patti in March 1955. In June 1956, he enrolled himself as a soldier in Amritsar and joined the Corps of Signals. On the 30th of June 1965, he was granted a commission and posted as an Adjuntant of his unit. Later he was transferred to the 18 Rajput regiment. It was while he was in this regiment that he met his demise on the 4th of October 1965 in Sikkim.

Harbhajan Singh joined the 23rd Punjab Battalion in February 1966 as a sepoy. 1968 was the year when Sikkim and North Bengal were devastated by natural calamities where landslides, floods and heavy rain took thousands of lives in these places. On the 4th of October 1968, while sepoy Harbhajan Singh was escorting a mule caravan from his battalion headquarters in Tekula to Dengchukla, he fell into a fast flowing stream and drowned. A search for him was organised with no results. Five days after his disappearance, his colleague Pritam Singh had a dream where Harbhajan Singh informed him of the tragic incident that had befallen him and that his body was under a heap of snow. He also said that he wanted a Samadhi made in his memory. Pritam Singh ignored the dream, thinking that it was just imagination but later, when sepoy Harbhajan Singh’s body was found at the spot mentioned in the dream, Pritam Singh was taken aback and as a show of respect to his last wish, a Samadhi was constructed near Chhokya Chho.

A shrine was built at his Samadhi, at an elevation of around 4,000 meters (13,123 feet). According to army folklore, Baba is a stickler for discipline and is known to admonish those who do not tow the line. A camp bed is kept for him, his boots are polished and his uniform is kept ready every night. The sheets are reportedly crumpled every morning and the boots are muddy by evening. The major continues to draw a salary and takes his annual leave. Legend also has it that in the event of a war between India and China, Baba would warn the Indian soldiers three days in advance. During the flag meetings between the two nations at Nathula, the Chinese set aside a chair for the saint. Every year, on the 14th of September, a jeep departs with his personal belongings to the nearest railway station, New Jalpaiguri, where it is then sent by train to the village of Kuka, in Kapurthala district in Punjab. A small sum is also sent to his mother each month.

He has conquered death. According to army lore, this man from the Indian army is still doing his duty at the Nathula border though he died three decades ago. 60 kms from Gangtok, a road leads towards the valley of Kupup. Here lies the shrine of Baba Harbhajan popularly known as Baba Mandir. Baba Harbhajan has been guarding the international boundary of the two Asian giants over the last three decades. Even the army men on the other side of the international wall claim that they have seen a man riding a horse all alone patrolling the border.

Baba Harbhajan Singh warns of the dangerous activities on the border through the dreams of fellow army men. Even Chinese army men believe to have seen him on his nocturnal patrols. Baba Harbhajan Singh is today honoured and is an Honourary Captain and his Samadhi has been reconstructed at the junction of Kupup Gnathang road and the pathway leading to Menmoichu Lake as a part of the watershed memorial complex.

Temple of Baba Harbhajan Singh Baba used to get his salary from the defense funds that were sent to his family but for some reason, it has been stopped now and the donations collected from the offering made by the devotees are sent to his home by an army official. Over the years, the shrine of Baba Harbajan has garnered a huge number of devotees across all frontiers. Baba is respected and revered by every army man in Sikkim. They believe that Baba will foretell accidents in the valley well in advance of their actual occurrence.

The Baba Mandir is made up of three rooms, the central room has a large portrait of Baba along with other Hindu deities and Sikh Gurus. To the right of the central room is Baba’s room. The room has all the household items needed for daily activities by way of clothes, shoes, slippers and a neat bed and is well maintained. The uniforms are neatly ironed and the shoes polished, ready for use. Opposite this room is a small room that has an office cum store room. This room is filled with water bottles, unused slippers, tooth brushes and other items offered to Baba. The followers believe that the water kept in the Mandir turns to holy water after a week and can cure any ailment. People believe that the slippers kept here help patients with gout and other foot problems and so on. Those devotees who can not visit the shrine send letters to Baba which usually contain requests for problem solving and gratitude for the rendered help.

Every 4th of October, a special ceremony is organised by the Indian Army to honour Baba Harbhajan Singh as well as those soldiers of the Indian Army who laid down their lives for the safeguard of the country. Every Sunday and Tuesday throughout the year, puja is observed at Baba Mandir where free meals are distributed among the devotees. These are the best days to visit Baba Mandir.

Despite the vigilance of Baba, the army personnel posted at the Nathula border are on high alert when Baba is on his annual leave from September 15th to November 15th every year. Leave for other personnel which coincide with these dates are cancelled and extra caution is sought after. In the importance given by the people of Sikkim, only one can rival Baba Harbhajan; namely Lord Kanchenjunga.

Rinita Ganguly