Saved 65 lives, he’ll now receive Bhagat Puran Singh Award

Neha Saini

Tribune News service

Amritsar, September 13

On the fateful night of November 16, 1989, Jaswant Singh was just another officer working at one of the coal mines in the Raniganj area of West Bengal. By daybreak, he became a hero, not just for the 65 miners whose lives he had saved, but for an entire community and the country. His act of bravery was rewarded with the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak in 1991 by the then President, Ramaswamy Venkataraman.

Twenty three years later, Coal India recognised his bravery and conferred him with a lifetime achievement award. And now, he will receive the prestigious Bhagat Puran Singh Award for Service to Humanity for 2016 on September 23 at the annual Baba Farid Heritage Festival.

Elated over the generous recognition, Jaswant Singh, who lives a quiet life now in Amritsar, says that given a chance, he will not shy away from putting others’ lives ahead of his own, “You only get one life, you need to make it count,” he says. Remembering the time, he shares, “Everything happened so suddenly that no one had the time to think. When I got to know that 65 miners were still trapped inside the coal mine, I told the chairman of Coal India, who was present there, that I was going inside. His immediate reaction was, “I cannot sacrifice a senior officer like you.” So, I assured him that I’ll return safe and have a cup of tea with him in the morning. Somebody had to bell the cat,” he says.

A student of Khalsa College, Amritsar, Jaswant was serving as a general manager at Mahavir coal mines in Raniganj at that time and saved 65 lives trapped in the flooded mine by using a capsule. He was the last person to come out after hours of rescue operation.

His family stood by him through all this and is extremely proud of his achievements. “He has been instrumental in shaping our perspective and ideas about bravery. He remains our biggest inspiration till date,” says his son, Dr SS Gill.

Receiving the Bhagat Puran Singh award is special, says Jaswant as he had met the philanthropist and founder of All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society several times in his lifetime. “He was a man of utmost courage, for he changed many lives just by his act of kindness. I feel fortunate enough to have met him a few times and I’m humbled to receive an award in his memory.” Inspiring many youngsters, he also has a message for them, “Your duty should come above all. If you perform your duty, without compromising on your integrity, it makes you courageous.”