Jaswant Singh Gill (1939-2019) was an Indian engineer-in-chief who risked his life to save 65 coal miners during a coal mine tragedy in Raniganj, West Bengal, in 1989. The rescue operation is considered India’s and the world’s first successful coal mine rescue operation. On 26 November 2019, he died of a cardiac arrest at his home in Amritsar, Punjab, India
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Wiki/Biography
Sardar Jaswant Singh Gill was born on Wednesday, 22 November 1939 (age 80 years, at the time of death) in Sathiala, Amritsar, Punjab, India. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. From class 1 to 4, he studied at an Urdu School in Amritsar, Punjab. He then completed his class 12 at Khalsa College School, Amritsar, Punjab, India. He attended Khalsa College, Amritsar, to pursue a B.Sc. (non-medical) in 1959. He then attended Panjab University, Chandigarh. From 1961 to 1965, he did graduation in Mining Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand. In 2018, he attended Khalsa College, Amritsar, to pursue LLB. However, he could not complete the degree as he passed away in 2019.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Jaswant Singh belonged to a Sikh family.
Parents & Siblings
His father, Daswandha Singh Gill, was a senior clerk at the postal department in Amritsar, Punjab. His mother’s name is Sardarni Preetam Kaur Gill. He had two brothers named Kulwant Singh Gill (retd. bank manager) and Dr Harwant Singh Gill (D. Ortho, retired as SMO from the PCMS College). He had two sisters. His sister Narinder Kaur was a teacher, who retired as a headmistress of a government school. His second sister Dr Raminder Kaur was a pathologist and former HOD at Rajindra Medical College, Patiala, and GMC, Amritsar. Jaswant Singh was the fourth child of his parents.
Wife & Children
On 19 October 1969, he got married to Nirdosh Kaur. The couple had two sons and two daughters. One of his sons Sarpreet Singh Gill is a cardiologist who works at Johns Hopkins University in the USA, and one of his daughters’ names is Poonam Gill.
Jaswant Singh Gill and his wife
Jaswant Singh Gill with his son Dr Sarpreet Singh Gill
Jaswant Singh Gill’s daughter Poonam Gill
Career
After completing his graduation in mining engineering, he got a job offer from the coal firm Chand Thapar & Bros (coal Sales) Ltd. After working there for a few years, Jaswant resigned from his job, and in 1972, he started working at Coal India Limited as an engineer. After a few years, he was promoted to Sub-Divisional Engineer and then Executive Engineer at Coal India Limited. Later, he was promoted to Chief General Manager ED (Safety & Rescue) at Coal India Limited, Raniganj, West Bengal.
Coal Mine Rescue Operation 1989
In 1989, Jaswant was working as a Chief General Manager ED (Safety & Rescue) at Coal India Limited, Raniganj, West Bengal. On 13 November 1989, while 220 coal miners were working at a coal mine in Raniganj, West Bengal, during a series of blasts to break the coal mine, someone accidentally touched the upper seam of the mine, due to which water started flooding the mine. In the ruckus, out of 220 miners, 71 miners were left trapped in the borewell and others were evacuated from the mine immediately. Soon, the shafts started flooding with water in which 6 coal miners drowned, and 65 coal miners were left trapped.
Jaswant Singh at the site of the coal mine tragedy in Raniganj (1989)
When Jaswant Singh arrived at the site, he decided to save the lives of 65 miners at any cost. He then came up with the idea of making a steel capsule which would help in evacuating one person at a time. Immediately, a borehole of 22 inches in diameter was drilled through which the capsule could travel. After a day-night effort of 2 days, the capsule was ready. Jaswant Singh had briefed the rescue process to two rescue men, but at the last moment, they ran away. Jaswant Singh then decided that he would himself carry out the rescue process. He then sought the chairman’s permission to go into the steel capsule. However, the chairman was not ready to risk Jaswant’s life. Later, Jaswant somehow convinced the chairman, who said,
The man who rescues these miners, his name will be written in golden letters in the history of mining.”
On 16 November 1989, at 2:30 am, Jaswant entered the capsule and went down into the borewell to save the trapped miners. In an interview, Jaswant’s son, while sharing the whole incident, said,
At 2:30 am, on the night of 16 November 1989, my father entered the Capsule to go down into a certain death trap. Almost a hundred thousand people who had by now gathered at the site shouted slogans to encourage him. As the Capsule began its descent, the torque in the new steel rope started relieving and made the Capsule spin at a high speed in a clockwise motion and then in an anticlockwise motion. It was a nerve-wracking endeavour, yet my father conquered his fear with sheer determination and concentration. In about 15 minutes he reached the pit bottom as a manual winch was being used to lower the Capsule.”
His son further shared how Jaswant Singh saved the miners one by one. He said,
As soon as he opened the front hatch of the Capsule, he saw 65 scared faces in front of him with the fear of impending death writ large on their faces. He caught hold of the nearest worker, put him into the Capsule and signalled with a hammer he was carrying for the Capsule to be hoisted up. He then turned to the remaining miners and asked if any of them was injured or sick. The first 9 tokens were given to those who had injuries and those who had a fever. He then asked for the hierarchy of the workers and gave out tokens from the junior most to the senior-most workers and told them that he would vacate the mine last after sending all of them out one by one.”
Jaswant Singh Gill with the capsule used in coal mine tragedy
After evacuating all the miners, Jaswant Singh came out from the borewell in the last. The whole process took around 6 hours. Later, he assisted in another rescue operation of 14 miners trapped in the coal mine at East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. Jaswant Singh retired from his services at Coal India Lt. in 1998, and in 2008, he was appointed by the Disaster Management Committee, Amritsar, Punjab, India, as one of its members. On 26 April 2018, he started working as the President of Rotary International.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- 1991: Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak by the then President Ramaswamy Venkataraman
Jaswant Singh Gill holding Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak
Jaswant Singh Gill’s Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak by the then President Ramaswamy Venkataraman
- 2005: Limca Book of Record as the national record holder for the most successful & largest rescue operation in mining history
- 29 November 2009: Lifetime Achievement Award for Mining by the Indian School of Mines Alumni Association (ISMAA), Delhi
- 1 November 2013: Lifetime Achievement Award and Rs 1 lakh by the then Union Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal
- 2013: Swami Vivekanand Award of Excellence
Jaswant Singh Gill receiving Swami Vivekanand Award of Excellence
- 24 December 2014: Outstanding Services to Humanity Award from Harman Educational & Social Welfare Society, Amritsar
- 7 June 2018: World Book of Record, London, UK, for Largest Coal Mine Rescue operation
Jaswant Singh Gill receiving a certificate from the World Book of Records
- 2018: Indian Iconic Award by Real Flavours Media Group
Jaswant Singh Gill receiving Indian Iconic Award
- 2019: Pride of the Nation Award, Delhi
Jaswant Singh Gill receiving Pride of the Nation Award
- 12 May 2019: Honorary Doctorate (PhD) by Universal Achievers University, Tamil Nadu
Jaswant Singh Gill’s awards
Other Award(s)
- Vijay Rath National Award from IICM, Ranchi
Jaswant Singh Gill’s Vijay Rath Award
- Excellence in Safety Award from Coal India Ltd, Calcutta
- Bhagat Puran Singh Award from Guru Arjun Dev Mandal, Patiala
- Farishta-E-Kaum Award from Sache Patshah Magazine, New Delhi
Jaswant Singh Gill receiving an award
Death
On 26 November 2019, he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Amritsar, Punjab, India. His antim ardaas (last rites) was performed at Gurudwara Chhevin Patshahi, A/B Block, Ranjit Avenue, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
Facts/Trivia
- Jaswant Singh is also known as ‘The Capsule Gill.’
- In India, 16 November is marked as ‘Rescue Day’ to commemorate the rescue operation carried on by Jaswant Singh in 1989.
- In 2019, he was invited to the talk show ‘Josh Talks’ (Punjabi), as a guest speaker.
Jaswant Singh Gill in Josh Talks
- In memory of Jaswant Singh Gill, an award Jaswant Singh Gill Memorial Industrial Safety Excellence Award was started with award money of Rs 50,000.
- A chowk on Majitha Road in Amritsar, Punjab, India, is also named after him.
The chowk on Majitha Road which is named after Er Jaswant Singh Gill
- In his remembrance, a memorial gate at Kunustoria Area, Eastern Coalfield Limited, and a garden in ECL West Bengal are constructed. A bulletin is also released in his memory.
A memorial gate made in remembrance of Jaswant Singh Gill at Kunustoria Area, Eastern Coalfields Limited
A garden named in remembrance of Jaswant Singh Gill
- On 11 April 2022, his portrait was unveiled at the Sikh Museum in the Holy Golden Temple. The event was attended by his family members.
Jaswant Singh Gill’s family members at an event where his portrait was unveiled at the Sikh Museum at the premises of the Holy Golden Temple
- During an interview, while talking about making a biopic on Jaswant Singh Gill, his son said,
In 2017, he (Jaswant) was approached by Tinu Desai from Mumbai, who had directed the Bollywood movie Rustom with actor Akshay Kumar and offered to make a Hindi movie on the rescue. Unfortunately, my father passed away on 26 November 2019, following a massive cardiac arrest.”
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Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn