Desh Sevak Sena

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Desh Sevak Sena
ਦੇਸ਼ ਸੇਵਕ ਸੈਨਾ
देश सेवक सेना
FounderGeneral Mohan Singh
SenapatiGeneral Mohan Singh
Dates of operation21 October 1947- 6 August 1948
Merged intoNational Volunteer Corps
AllegianceAzad Hind
HeadquartersMajithia House, Amritsar
IdeologyAnti-India, Islamophobia
StatusDisbanded
Battles and warsSecond Battle of Kasur, Montgomery Massacres
ColoursMazri and Maroon

The Desh Sevak Sena (D.S.S.) was a private military created by the founder of the Indian National Army, named General Mohan Singh to protect the Sikhs and Hindus during the Partition of India from the armed Muslim groups.[1][2] It was staunchly an Indian nationalistic volunteer group although in time General Mohan Singh devised a plan to attack Simla as an act to promote Sikh nationalism and start the Proposed Sikhistan Liberation War,[3][2] although he was reprimanded and the Desh Sevak Sena was quickly absorbed into the National Volunteer Corps.[4] They were inspired by the various private militia of the Sikhs such as the Akal Regiment.[5][2]

It was Gopi Chand Bhargava who had originally given land to General Mohan Singh in Gurgaon, Hissar and Rohtak to train his army along with other bases in Bombay and Jodhpur, although their main soldiers came from other areas in Punjab.[6] General Mohan Singh performed the inaugural ceremony of the Desh Sevak Sena,[7] on the fourth anniversary of the Provisional Government of India,[7] and although the Indian Government helped them;[7][2] they were against India and instead fought for Azad Hind.[7] General Mohan Singh and other Indian National Army leaders decided to start a press at Ludhiana under the charge of Colonel Gurdial Singh Dhillon was made the Chief of Staff and published the "Hamara Desh."[8] An important amendment was made in the constitution of Desh Sevak Sena and Azad Hind.[9]

During the Partition of India[edit]

On 21 October 1947, in the presence of about 500 persons at Amritsar, General Mohan Singh declared the Desh Sevak Sena as a volunteer force to protect Sikhs and Hindus from Muslim armed gangs, they had an alliance with the Congress Seva Dal, Punjab Home Guards and Punjab Raksha Dal.[10][2] He called for "Sons of the Gurus and Kshatriyas" to come to him to save India from Islam, generally Sikhs joined, although they did have some Jat Hindus as well in the force.[11] The uniform of the Desh Sevak Sena was to be a Mazri shirt and trousers and a turban or a cap of similar color.[12] Desh Sevak Sena Sada Jeev (Long live Desh Sevak Sena) was the main slogan that they had and the soldiers generally had and the Lee-Enfield Rifle was the standard rifle of the force;[13][2] Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Subhas Chandra Bose both supported him despite his anti-India standpoint. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel supplied him with monetary funds to create a grenade factory in Amritsar which was supplied to other Sikh Jathas as well.[14]

A pledge taking ceremony of Desh Istri Sena, the women's wing of the D.S.S., was held on 30 November at the Majitha House.[15] There was some resentment in INA leaders over the inclusion of Colonel Narinjan Singh Gill in the set up of D.S.S. as Colonel Siri Ram and Colonel Fauja Singh and others felt that Narinjan Singh Gill was suspected of being a British agent when he was working in the Indian National Army, and considered that he should not be given authority.[2] Although all of them managed to save thousands of lives in East and West Punjab, they cooperated with the 123 Infantry Regiment under Major General Mohindar Singh Chopra to create a boundary and peacefully allow both sides to migrate,[2] although the D.S.S. had also supported the Sikh Jathas in certain cases, which Mag. Gen. Chopra did not agree with.[2] The force did get radicalized in two isolated cases, specifically the Second Battle of Kasur and the Montgomery Massacres, where they massacred Muslims and ate pork in mosques.

After the Partition of India[edit]

On 6 August 1948 after a plan created by Maharaja Yadavindra Singh to conquer Lahore and declare Sikhistan, General Mohan Singh in a speech in Bombay saying that in 1948 itself he would declare war on India, conquer Simla and announce it as the capital of Sikhistan.[6] This information was given to Gopi Chand Bhargava who took immediate action and absorbed it into the National Volunteer Corps.[14] Colonel Bhan Singh who fought in Malaya and Burma for India was shot and killed by Punjab Police in Kangra as he tried to reestablish the Desh Sevak Sena in the Shimla Group of states.[13][6]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Assembly (Legislative), India Constituent. The Constituent Assembly of India (Legislative) Debates: Official Report. Manager of Publications.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Chopra, Mohindar Singh. 1947, a Soldier's Story. Military Studies Convention.
  3. ↑ Carter, Lionel. Towards a Ceasefire in Kashmir: British Official Reports from South Asia, 18 September – 31 December 1948. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-95854-0.
  4. ↑ Datta, Nonica. Violence, Martyrdom and Partition: A Daughter's Testimony. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-908804-1.
  5. ↑ Chopra, Mohindar Singh. 1947, a Soldier's Story. Military Studies Convention.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 CHOPRA, P. N. WHO'S WHO OF INDIAN MARTYRS VOL.I. Ministry of Education and Youth Services, Government of India. ISBN 978-81-230-2180-5.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Patel, Vallabhbhai. Sardar Patel's Correspondence, 1945-50. Navajivan Publishing House.
  8. ↑ Patel, Vallabhbhai. Sardar Patel's Correspondence, 1945-50: Patel-Nehru differences, assassination of Gandhi, services reorganised, refugee rehabilitation. Navajivan Publishing House.
  9. ↑ Nehru, Jawaharlal. Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru: 7 April 1948 to 21 June 1948. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund.
  10. ↑ Tanwar, Raghuvendra. Reporting the Partition of Punjab, 1947: Press, Public, and Other Opinions. Manohar. ISBN 978-81-7304-674-2.
  11. ↑ Sabha, India Parliament Rajya. Who's who. Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
  12. ↑ Sabha, India Parliament Rajya. Parliamentary Debates: Official Report.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hasan, Mushirul. India Partitioned: The Other Face of Freedom. Lotus Collection. ISBN 978-81-7436-013-7.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Journal of Indian History. Department of Modern Indian History.
  15. ↑ Hopkinson, Peter. Split Focus: An Involvement in Two Decades. Hart-Davis. ISBN 978-0-246-64468-8.
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