DW BUREAU / Ludhiana Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday inaugurated the statue of legendary Sikh revolutionary leader Baba Maharaj Singh at Rabbon Uchi village in Ludhiana district. Later, he also paid obeisance at Gurdwara Damdama Sahib in the village. Channi was accompanied by MP Amar Singh and MLA Payal Lakhbir Singh Lakha. Speaking on the occasion, Channi said Baba Maharaj Singh led an anti-British movement in Punjab after the first Anglo-Sikh war and exhorted the people to strive for unity and integrity of the nation and follow the path shown by the first Sikh martyr of the Independence struggle. The Chief Minister said Baba Maharaj Singh was a great patriot who sacrificed his life for the sake of freedom of the country. He said attempts were made to portray the 1857 revolt as the beginning of the freedom movement of the country but the history proved fact that Baba Maharaj Singh had started the struggle for Independence at the time when he tried to free the last Sikh ruler Maharaja Dalip Singh from the clutches of the British regime.But, the British got a tip-off of the plans made by Baba Maharaj Singh in league with his comrades and imprisoned and sent him to Singapore where he suffered innumerable hardships and martyred on July 5, 1856, Channi added. After paying obeisance at Gurdwara Damdama Sahib, the Chief Minister also honoured religious personalities with appreciation certificates for work done by them during the Covid-19 pandemic.On his way back to the helipad, Channi saw a group of villagers standing along the road. Signaling his cavalcade to stop for a while, the Chief Minister interacted with residents to listen their grievances and assured for its quick resolution to their satisfaction. The story of Bhai Maharaj Singh connects the Sikh diaspora in Singapore to its community's resistance to British domination in India in the mid-19th century. The iconic figure, considered to be the first Sikh to set foot in Singapore, arrived at the island nation in 1850 as a political prisoner. Six years later, in 1856, he died in prison. In spite of his short stay in Singapore, during which he was incarcerated, Bhai Maharaj Singh is revered and admired by many Sikhs and non-Sikhs, so much so that there's a memorial dedicated to him at gurdwara. (editor@dailyworld.in)