Diwan Singh Kalepani

He was a doctor, a poet and a builder of a gurdwara that welcomed everyone. In the Andaman Islands, people knew him as Kalepani.

When Japan seized the islands, he stood between the occupiers and his people. In October 1943 he was arrested, and he did not come out alive.

1Who was Diwan Singh?

Our story begins in a village near Sialkot, in 1897. A baby boy is born to Sunder Singh and Inder Kaur. By the age of two, he has lost his mother.

His father then dies of plague. The orphan is raised by his uncle, Sohan Singh, and by his grandmother.

He studies at the Scotch Mission School at Daska. He learns literature and science there. Later he trains in medicine at Agra, and becomes a doctor.

• Born on 22 May 1897 in Little Galotian, Sialkot district.
• Mother died when he was two; father died of plague.
• Raised by his uncle Sohan Singh and his grandmother.
• Schooling: Scotch Mission School at Daska.
• Medical training: Agra.
• He took part in the Non-cooperation movement of the 1920s.

2How did he reach the Andamans?

As a young doctor, he joined the army’s medical service. Soon his work took him far from Punjab, to the Andaman Islands.

The islands had a dark name. For years the British had sent prisoners there, and Indians called the place Kala Pani. Many accounts say Diwan Singh worked in the jail hospital at Port Blair. He treated sick prisoners, whatever their crime.

The islands became his home. His fellow islanders came to trust the young doctor.

• Joined the army medical service as a doctor.
• Posted to the Andaman Islands, then a British penal outpost.
• Accounts say he served in the Cellular Jail hospital.
• The name Kalepani echoes “Kala Pani”, the islands’ prison name.
• Exact posting dates differ between sources.

3What did he build in Port Blair?

Then Diwan Singh did something his neighbours never forgot. At first, only police and officers could enter the gurdwara in Port Blair. He wanted one for everybody.

He built a new “Gurdwara for all”. Many prisoners helped to build it, of their own will. A managing committee included people of different faiths.

He did not stop at prayer. An evening school opened in the same compound. Classes ran in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali and Urdu. There was also evening training in practical skills.

• He built the Gurdwara for all in Port Blair.
• Prisoners joined the building work voluntarily.
• An evening school ran inside the gurdwara compound.
• Languages taught: Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali and Urdu.
• An evening programme taught practical skills.
• The gurdwara drew people of every faith.

4What did he do under Japanese rule?

In March 1942 the war reached the islands. Japanese forces took the Andamans from the British. Suddenly the islanders had new masters.

The Japanese named Diwan Singh the Chief Medical Officer. He also headed the Red Cross, the Peace Committee and the Public Welfare Department.

He became President of the Indian Independence League in Port Blair. That body backed the Indian National Army. But he was never a soldier of that army. His work was to protect the islanders.

• Japan took the islands in March 1942.
• He became Chief Medical Officer.
• He also headed the Red Cross, Peace Committee and Public Welfare Department.
• He was President of the Independence League’s regional wing at Port Blair.
• That role is not the same as joining the INA as a soldier.
• His aim was to shield ordinary islanders.

5How did he die?

By 1943 the Japanese had grown suspicious. They arrested Diwan Singh on 23 October 1943. The charge was spying.

He was locked in a cell of the Cellular Jail. Many accounts say he had once treated prisoners there. Now he was the prisoner.

For about 80 days he was tortured. Some accounts say 82 days. On 14 January 1944 he died in custody.

After his death his poems found readers. The second collection came out in 1962. A museum now keeps his memory alive in Punjab.

• Arrested: 23 October 1943, on a charge of espionage.
• Held in the Cellular Jail, Port Blair.
• Tortured for about 80 days; some accounts say 82.
• Died: 14 January 1944.
• Museum: Shaheed Dr. Diwan Singh Kalepani Museum, Siswan, Mohali district.
• The museum has five sections, with his photographs and writings.

6What are the exam traps?

Three details trip students most often. Keep them straight.

• He was a poet in free verse, and wrote in Punjabi.
• Vagde Pani came in 1938. Antim Lehran came in 1962, after his death.
• His poems criticised British rule and organised religion.
• He led the Independence League wing; he was not an INA soldier.
• He was tortured by the Japanese, not the British.
• Do not confuse Andaman’s Kala Pani with a mainland jail.
• Read about the Indian National Army.
• Read about the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Read about Netaji’s escape.