Baba Harbhajan Singh, a soldier deployed in the Nathula pass in Eastern Sikkim has been guarding the India China border for the past 50 years. He is just like any other soldier. He takes two months a year off to visit his parents in Kapurthala district in Punjab, stays up at night for our safety, has promotions that he is entitled to (currently an honorary captain) and sends his salary home.
But there is one big difference, he is dead.
What Truly Happened
He died 48 years ago. He slipped accidentally and was drowned in a glacier while carrying supplies to a remote outpost. His body got carried 2 km away from the site. The interesting thing was that he himself helped his unit to discover his body for cremation.
Then paid a visit to one of his friends in his dreams and asked for a shrine to be built in his name. The unit obliged and Harbhajan Singh became Baba Harbhajan Singh after that.
The spirit of Baba Harbhajan Singh warns his unit of any impending dangers at least three days in advance. He does the duty of keeping the soldiers on the night duty awake. His colleagues polish his shoes, wash his clothes and carry his portrait to his office and back. They also randomly find his shoes muddy and his bed sheet disturbed.
The legend has become so popular that a special reservation for the Baba is actually made and his berth left empty for the entire journey to his home town every year with other soldiers accompanying him so as to reach him till his home. A small sum of money is also contributed by soldiers posted in Nathula to be sent to his mother each month. Even the Chinese respect him, they leave a seat vacant for him at flag meetings.
A Soldier Is Never Off Duty
Colonel Rajinder Singh’s comment on this answer:
For about a year plus in the seventies, I had the good fortune of commanding the Army Post at Nathula Pass, Sikkim. “La” literally translated means a Pass. The Post included the Shrine of Baba Harbhajan Singh on the roadside with a sheer 300 – 400 feet drop on one side. During this tenure, we were responsible for the upkeep of the Shrine through harsh snowfall in winters and short pleasant summers with pink, white and red Rhododendron flowers in full bloom. The Shrine has his complete military uniform and even a pair of slippers for Baba Harbhajan Singh. He is considered the Guardian of all vehicles and living beings traversing through this Pass and the surrounding areas. It is a miracle that, to the best of my knowledge, there wasn’t a single accident or fatality on this Pass even with snow piling up a couple of feet on the road requiring special driving precautions. There were talked of instances, especially during zero visibility/night with dangerous snowy conditions, where Baba Harbhajan Singh himself appeared and guided vehicles for a safe passage.
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