Battle of Bolowali - Shaheed Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal

When 5 Kharkus fought 12,000-30,000 Soldiers to their last breath

Introduction

In this article, we will discuss the Battle of Bolowail, also known as the Bolowali Encounter, or as the army codenamed it, Operation Vadhi Pahar. In this battle, five warriors -

Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal, the chief of Dasmesh Regiment, Bhai Tarsem Singh Mattewal, Bhai Gurdial Singh Mari Panuaa, Bhai Gurmukh Singh Bagga, and Bhai Gurnam Singh Sectary Mattewal - fought for 30 hours without eating or drinking anything. They faced a force of 12,000-30,000 and managed to kill over 2,000 of the enemy before the end of the battle.

Prelude

Bhai Sukhwinder Singh Pappu Gora had shot and wounded Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal some time before the encounter over a dispute. Since the beginning of September 1991, the police had been searching for any hideouts and homes near Mattewal in search of Kharkus. Two days before the battle, Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal made a donation to the local hospital near the Pind. The highest-ranking generals of the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force, and National Security Guard had all decided to capture Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal and his allies, codenaming it Operation Vadhi Pahar.

Battle

On September 11, 1991, at 9:00 am, Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal and his allies were in Bolowali near Majitha, and by that time, it had been 14 hours since any of them had eaten or drunk anything. They sat at the tubewell of Sardar Santhok Singh, who brought them food. However, as they were about to eat, a Bibi saw the cars of the Indian Security Forces in the corner of her eye coming. The Singhs quickly picked up their weapons and told her to go to safety. The Singhs made their way and entered a 12-acre field of Sugarcane and went until the end of the field, from where they saw the large army of the Security Forces that seemed as if it never ended. This did not drop the Singhs’ morale. In fact, they were excited that their Ardas of becoming Shaheed fighting in battle would now be fulfilled. The Singhs, fearless of this large force of 12,000-30,000, opened fire. The officers who were shot at went fleeing upon hearing the sound of a powerful gun, the gun being Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal’s Dragunov Rifle. The other guns the Singhs had were a General-Purpose Machine Gun and three AK-47s. This was the first time the security forces faced a Kharku with a Dragunov Rifle. It had never been used by a Kharku before.

Bombardment

The Singhs continued to open fire. According to residents of the Pind, whenever the Dragunov Rifle was fired, a car of dead and wounded would leave the Pind for the hospital in Amritsar. Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal only fired his Rifle when a soldier was perfectly in his line of vision. The Singhs would shoot from the Sugarcane field, then flee to a Rice field and fire from there, then back to the Sugarcane field, using the crops and acres of land as cover. The Army, Police, and Paramilitary began firing mortars, bombs, and every bullet they had at the Singhs. Motor after motor, with thousands of bullets, was fired, but the Singhs were unaffected. Any soldier and officer who moved forward to the Singhs were slaughtered. They continued to fire dozens of mortars and thousands of bullets.

Shaheed Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal Ji’s Kara

Reinforcements arrive

After hours of battle, the Army and officers believed that the starving and thirsty Singhs would surrender if given a chance now. They called for the Singhs to surrender on the loudspeaker. The Singhs responded by opening fire, which sent shivers down the Army and police forces. They assumed Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal and his allies had a bunker where they had so many bullets to keep fighting and hide during bombing, but the Singhs did not. The Singhs continued fighting as the evening dawned. The Army and police feared the Singhs would be able to escape during the night and requested more soldiers and bulletproof tractors from higher-ups, which were granted. They also increased their siege by 10 kilometers, which was filled with soldiers and officers. Thousands of additional officers and soldiers from the Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force also arrived.

Bulletproof tractors

A day prior to this account, the chief of police in Tarn Taran, Narinder Pal Singh, had described the bulletproof tractors as unstoppable and capable of defeating all the Kharkus they face. Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal and his allies awaited the arrival of this supposed 'Kharku Killer.' As a bulletproof tractor approached, Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal used his rifle and expert marksmanship to fire at the door right where the armor was not. After a few shots, the door went flying off, and the Central Reserve Police Force Deputy Commandant Bhanu Partap Singh jumped out of the tractor, fleeing for his life. Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal destroyed four bulletproof tractors like this. He also wounded the Central Reserve Police Force Commandant SS Yadav, who foolishly tried advancing in a bulletproof tractor. No officer or soldier had the courage to advance now in a bulletproof tractor.

Night

As the sun began to set and darkness rose, the Indian forces tried to throw chemical gas, but the cans were shot down by Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal. Any lighting machines the army put up were destroyed by Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal. It was pure darkness, and light would only appear when the Singhs opened fire. Taking advantage of the night, multiple Kharkus came attempting to break the siege. Bhai Balwinder Singh Ramdiwali (Panjwar), Bhai Kulwant Singh Yadpur (Dasmesh Regiment), and Bhai Hardev Singh Kaliaa (Tiger Force) all led forces of Kharkus who attacked the Army and Police's siege in the villages of Takel, Tahli Sahib, and Rupowali. Bhai Sukhwinder Singh Pappu Gora, who had previously shot Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal, put aside his personal enmity and joined in breaking the siege, attacking the Indian army in Udoka. Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochahal also arrived in that pind to face the army. The army was defeated in many villages, and civilians celebrated, thinking Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal had escaped. However, the Kharkus were unable to break the entire 10-kilometer siege, and the battle raged on in Bolowali. Bhai Tarsem Singh Mattewal became Shaheed in the night, taking a bomb to the head. The control room of Generals overseeing the Operation prepared to send tanks if the Operation lasted until another night, fearing stronger Kharku attacks in the darkness.

Shaheedi

On the next day, September 12, at around 11 am, Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal stopped his constant firing on security forces following the Shaheedi of Bhai Gumukh Singh and Bhai Gurdial Singh. Despite the fire ending for 2 and a half hours, the Army and Police remained put, fearing to move ahead. At 2 pm, with more bulletproof tractors arriving, the Police and Army moved forward in the tractors. Bhai Gurnam Singh, who was injured, attacked the tractors with Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal firing from a distance. The army shot and grabbed the wounded Bhai Gurnam Singh and used him as a human shield, preventing Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal from opening fire. Seizing the opportunity, Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal was shot by them, and they made Shaheed along with Bhai Gurnam Singh. Bhai Seetal Singh Mattewal became Shaheed at 2:45 pm, ending this battle. The 5 Singhs fought until the end, facing over 12,000-30,000 Soldiers, Paramilitary, and officers. They killed over 2,000 of this force.