- Hardial Singh
Hardial Singh Bajaj (born
April 05 ,1905 inKhanga Dogran ,British India diedSeptember 18 ,1967 inSingapore ).Son of Mehar Singh (father) and Thakur Devi (mother), the eldest of six children. In the early years, he worked as a porter unloading trucks. He was ridiculed by family for selling celebrity photos. He then worked as a hawker selling textile pieces from rolls he carried on his shoulders.
He was first married in 1920 (at age 15) to Kirpal Kaur, daughter of Tara Singh (Lalaji). He then migrated to
Kuala Lumpur , Malaya and became a renowned textile merchant. He was associated withGian Singh & Co. , Hardial Singh & Co. and Hardial Singh & Sons. "King of Textiles" as pronounced by "The Statesman " when he landed inCalcutta ,India . He was a property investor and a spices and films trader.During
World War II in Singapore, theImperial Japanese Army Anti-Espionage Department imprisoned and tortured him, burning him with cigarette butts thinking him to be a spy.Sardar Singh Chatwal arranged for special meals and his release. He was implicated in a tax evasion case on thefalse complaint of Prem Singh Soni. He was rumoured to have been considered forknighthood and having lost the chance by unwittingly importing shirts in violation of the "Arrow " (shirts) trademark.He joined the
Indian Independence League in 1945, during World War II. He served as Special Supply Officer forSubhash Chandra Bose . He handed over custody of the sacks of gold entrusted to him during the War, to theIndian Overseas Bank in Singapore.Jawaharlal Nehru took possession of the gold on behalf of the Indian government.Source:
Narinjan Singh Bajaj , son of Hardial SinghA Singapore pioneer. President of the Indian Chamber in Singapore from 1949 to 1953. Source: "
The Straits Times "External links
* [http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=garybajaj&id=I2 Hardial Singh's Genealogy]
* [http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~warcrime/Japan/singapore/Trials/Hyodo.htm Hyodo Case]
* [http://www.sikhnation.com/ebooks/EARLY%20SIKH%20PIONEERS%20OF%20SINGAPORE.pdf Early Sikh Pioneers of Singapore]
* [http://www.bajaj.com Hardial Singh's Family – Bajaj Family Web Site and Blog]
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