GURDWARA SAHIB BRICKFIELDS, KUALA LUMPUR
(Formerly known as Gurdwara Sahib Railway Police)
(No longer exists)
The Malayan Railway Police, a majority of whom were Sikhs, was established before 1913. Of the recruits enlisted from 1915 to 1923, a total of 492 person were Sikhs. They were employed as security police in the trains as well as at the Railway Station, Kuala Lumpur. Some of these Sikhs worked in the Malayan Railway workshops in Brickfields as well as in the brick kilns in this area.
In the early 1920’s, these Sikhs built the Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Temple Road off Brickfields Road (now known as Jalan Tun Sambanthan). The exact location of this Gurdwara Sahib was behind the late Sardar Gajjan Singh’s house, near the junction of present day Jalan Vivekananda and Jalan Berhala (Temple Road).
Around 1925, Bhai Heera Singh Ji served as a Granthi in this Gurdwara Sahib. Bhai Ragunandan Singh Ji of village Dalla, Jagraon, District Ludhiana, served as a Granthi in this Gurdwara Sahib for about 12 years from around 1934 to 1947 after which he left for Punjab. Bhai Ragunandan Singh Ji was a very humble person who was highly respected for his proficiency in the reading of the Gurbani. The last Granthi of this Gurdwara Sahib was Bhai Santa Singh of village Desanj, Moga who served in this Gurdwara Sahib for nearly 20 years from 1950 to 1970. Bhai Santa Singh’s salary was between RM30.00 to RM40.00 which was very much dependent on donations and subscriptions received from the Sikh congregation. In 1961, Bhai Santa Singh’s salary was fixed at RM80.00 per month.
As the Malayan Railway Police was disbanded in 1938, these Sikhs gradually moved to other areas. Eventually, the management of this Gurdwara Sahib was taken over by the Sikhs who were residing in Brickfields.
In the 1940’s and 1950’s, the President of this Gurdwara Sahib was Sardar Choor Singh who was popularly known as "Khoonday wala" (the one with the walking stick). In the 1960.s. Sardar Gajjan Singh, who was the owner of the Brickfields Shell petrol station, became the President of the Gurdwara Sahib.
Gradually, most of the Sikhs in Brickfields dispersed moved to other areas and this Gurdwara fell into disuse. Finally in 1970, this Gurdwara Sahib was closed. The assets of this Gurdwara Sahib were all transferred to the Gurdwara Sahib Tatt Khalsa Diwan, Selangor.
The above information is derived from personal interviews with the late Sardar Sardool Singh of Merdeka Trading, Sardarni Balwant Kaur w/o the late Sardar Gajjan Singh and Sardar Balbir Singh s/o late Bhai Santa Singh Ji.
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