Believe it or not, the ghost of the deceased Indian Army trooper Baba Harbhajan Singh apparently guards one of India’s most secluded outposts in the Indo-China frontier—Nathu-La. You may call it Military Mythology!
Image courtesy: Open
Born in Punjab in 1941 and commissioned in 1965, he was posted to the 14 Rajput regiment in 1966. In 1967, however, he met a tragic end when he drowned in a glacier near the Nathu-La pass while leading a pack of mules carrying supplies to the secluded outpost.
It is said that his body was recovered only after three days of search.
Now, here’s the story. It is believed that it was a ghost that led the search team to Singh’s corpse. Following his cremation, the ghost reappeared in one of his friends’ dream and asked him to build a shrine in Singh’s memory.
A shrine was, in fact, built in Singh’s memory at the Nathu-La pass.
Image courtesy: www.sikkimstdc.com
Even to this day, the soldiers posted at Nathu-La feel that Singh’s ghost protects them day in and day out. Commissioned troopers at the post believe that the ghost warns them of impending attacks at least three days in advance. The ghost visits the camp regularly and wakes up sleeping on-duty sentinels at night.
It is said that the Chinese soldiers too have set aside a chair for the ghost during the routine flag meets. The water from Singh’s shrine is believed to heal ailing soldiers. Singh’s uniforms and boots at the shrine are regularly cleaned and the shrine itself is guarded by barefooted soldiers.
The belief in this uncommon paranormal existence is so firm that soldiers in the shrine carry his uniforms and boots to his home in Punjab every year on 11 September. Apart from that, he was steadily promoted posthumously until his expected date of retirement whereby he retired from the honorary rank of Captain.
It is also said that his salary was regularly disbursed to his family until his retirement. Today, Singh is hailed as saint soldier and is referred to as the ‘Hero of Nathu-La’.
