International Gatka Organisation

 

Jathedar Mohan Singh 

 

After a while Mohan Singh’s bravery and skills in Gatka were being noticed and he was made a
Farilla Hari Jathedar   of Buddha Dhal. Baba Gian Singh also passed the Guddhi of the famous Ranjeet
Akhara on to late Jathedar Mohan Singh. Due to pressure from his parents to settle down and get married.
Jathedar Mohan Singh left Buddha Dhal and got married and settled down at the family home in Patiala.
Jathedar Mohan Singh soon became a Granthi at Gurdwara Dukenwaran Sahib Patiala, at the time Gianni Pritam Singh was the head Granthi. Now living in UK (he was also a master of Gatka and was also a student of Baba Gian Singh).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next step in Jathedar Mohan Singh’s life was that he was given Guddhi of the famous Ranjeet Akhara that was stared off by Guru Hargobind Sahib in 1608; Jathedar ji opened Ranjeet Akhara and started teaching in Patiala. Jathedar Ji and his Akhara won numerous medals and trophies for Gatka at various events such as Holla Mahalla. Fategur Sahib Mela and Vasakhi, Jathedar Ji’s reputation for skill in Gatka and being a Puran Gursikh were starting to spread throughout India.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the late 1960’s Jathedar Mohan Singh was promoted to Jathedar of Guru Ram Das Niwas which is in the Golden Temple Complex, and was also appointed as Chief Gatka Ustad for the SGPC. Jathedar ji had many mukabalas in his life one was at the Fategur Sahib Mela, he was doing Gatka with five of his students ( 5 on 1) and was showing the Sangat that Gatka is very effective against multiple opponents. While doing Gatka Jathedar ji heard a young javan man in the crowd from another Akhara saying to his friend that people are going easy on Jathedar ji because he is old and if they wanted to, they could easily beat him to death with their dhangs. On hearing this Jathedar ji immediately stopped doing Gatka and challenged the man and his friend to do Gatka with him, they readily accepted the challenge and both of them picked up their dhangs and started to do Gatka with him. It has been said from many eye witness accounts that within the first minute both men had taken such a beating from Jathedar Ji that they put down their dhangs and were begging for him to forgive them. When their Ustad had found out that two of his students had a mukabala with Jathedar Mohan Singh he immediately threw them out of his Akhara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the late 1970’s Harbajan Singh Yogi took the first American Sikhs to India on a Yatra when they visited Amritsar they came across Gatka and were very keen to learn. It was in Amritsar that they were sent to Jathedar Mohan Singh for training. Jathedar ji was the first person to teach the American Sikhs Gatka.

While Jathedar Mohan Singh was at Amritsar it was known to all pickpockets and thieves who used to operate in the Golden Temple Complex, They were to stay well away from the Golden Temple or take a good beating from Jathedar Ji.]Jathedar Mohan Singh achieved quite a lot of things during his life time from being Nihang Singh in Buddha Dhal to Jathedar of the entire Golden Temple complex.
 

He was a devout Sikh and was a every aspect of a saint soldier. It was very well known throughout all of India that when you were doing Gatka with Jathedar Ji his attack was of such a ferocious extent that no one could withstand it. Also he was a man of very high calibre and strict morals he was very against the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and Bhang.

Jathedar Mohan Singh passed away due to a heart attack on February 6th 1980 in Amritsar at the age of 56.
The SGPC wanted to cremate him in Amritsar but his family insisted on him being cremated at his hometown in Patiala. Jathedar ji was cremated on 7th February, 100s of people attended including all heads of SGPC members, baba Santa Singh (Jathedar of Buddha Dhal and very close friend), Baba Nihal Singh and many other people, between 50-80 Akhara’s from all around India and Punjab attended. Before Jathedar died he passed the Guddhi of Ranjeet Akhara on to his disciple Nihang Mohinder Singh (Jathedar of Buddha Dhal for Patiala)
 

The Ranjeet Akhara is still around today under the command of Gatka master Jagat Singh
Pirthi’s father was the younger brother of Sant Pirthipal Singh Patiala wala –Pirthi passed away 7th December 2004.