Background
Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon was born at Algon on 18 March 1914, the fourth child of Sardar Takhar Singh, a veterinary surgeon in the 8th King George's Own light cavalry.
Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon was born at Algon on 18 March 1914, the fourth child of Sardar Takhar Singh, a veterinary surgeon in the 8th King George's Own light cavalry.
Dhillon's exposure to many different religions during the educational period made him into a secular person. He was a member of the Boy Scout Association. He spoke Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and English.
In 1931, he graduated from Dayanand Anglo Vernacular High School, Montgomery, and joined the faculty of science in Gordon Mission College, Rawalpindi. He failed to qualify for an F.Sc. at Punjab University in 1933, ending his dream of becoming a doctor. Early that year, his father had retired from service, and after matriculation, he was unable to get a job.
The start of World War II cut short his training in the Academy by one term and he graduated in March 1940. He was posted to the 1st Battalion of the 14th Punjab Regiment, which was called "Sher Dil Paltan". He joined this battalion on the last day of March 1940 at Lahore, in the same barracks where he had been a sepoy. His battalion moved from Lahore to Secunderabad in September 1940. In February 1941, Dhillon and his battalion were ordered to move overseas. They left Secunderabad on 3 March 1941 for Penang Island and from there to Ipoh, north of Kuala Lumpur in British Malaya. After about two months at Ipoh, the battalion moved to Sungei Pattani in South Kedah as a part of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade under Brigadier Garrett.The 3rd Cavalry was allotted the defence of Penang. Dhillon disembarked at Singapore and reported at the 7th Mixed Reinforcement Camp at Bidadari. From Singapore he was sent to Jitra, situated on the main road to Thailand, 16 miles (26 km) south of the border. He arrived at Jitra on 5 December 1941.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the bombing of Singapore on the early morning of 7 December 1941, the United States declared war on Japan. The Japanese forces completely destroyed the squadrons of the Royal Air Force at Sungei, Alor Star, and Kota Bharu airfields. On 11 December 1941, 1/14th Punjab Regiment fought a pitched battle at Changlun near the Thai frontier. Dhillon commanded the Headquarters Company with his C.O. Colonel Fitzpatrick. The Battle of Changlun went on for eight hours, before ending in defeat. The Alor Star had also fallen.
On 13 December 1941 Dhillon arrived at Miami Beach near Penang. The unit was ordered to evacuate Penang, and guard a railway bridge at Nibong Tabol. They guarded the bridge for another two days until the arrival of Japanese. Then they were ordered to withdraw to Ipoh, where Dhillon contracted malaria. He was hospitalized and sent to Singapore.
By the dawn of 9 February 1942, almost two divisions of the Japanese had landed on Singapore. On 10 February 1942, 7 MRC was moved to Raffles Square, a business area. By that time it was apparent that the surrender of Singapore was imminent. On 13 February 1942, Raffles Square was bombed. 7 MRC suffered heavily, with about 300 killed and many more wounded. Dhillon, together with the second-in-command of the unit, an English major, had a difficult job disposing of the corpses, dropping them in the ocean. Singapore capitulated on 15 February 1942 and British Forces surrendered unconditionally to the Japanese.
On 17 February 1942, Dhillon decided to join the Indian National Army and took a vow not to drink until India became free. Along with over thirty important senior officers from among the Indian POWs, he attended the Bidadari conference called by Mohan Singh on 24 April 1942. The resolutions of this conference, which came to be known as the "Bidadari Resolutions", formed the backbone the INA. As resolved at the Tokyo Conference, a representative conference of the Indians met at Bangkok on 15 June 1942, and continued for ten days, and resulted in the Bangkok Resolution.Dhillon received his commission on 1 September 1942, and was posted as a major on 10 September 1942.
Dhillon attended the first review of the INA, held at Padaung in front of the municipal buildings on 2 October 1942, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. The Japanese had not yet ratified the Bangkok Resolutions, nor recognized the INA as an independent army. In early December 1942, the Japanese asked the INA Headquarters to dispatch an advance party to move to Burma to prepare camps and accommodation for the main body of the army. On the advice of Rash Behari Bose, Dhillon continued in the INA despite the resulting crisis of command, and also encouraged others to remain.
Meanwhile Subhas Chandra Bose was trying to come to the East. In anticipation of Netaji’s arrival, the revived INA was reorganized under its new headquarters, the Directorate of Military Bureau (DMB), with Colonel J.K. Bhonsle as the director. Dhillon was appointed as Deputy Quartermaster General in the "Q" Branch at Army Headquarters. He was to look after the Technical Branch, and was also responsible for accommodation. The Army Headquarters was organized by the middle of March 1943, and gazetted on 17 April 1943. On appointment, Dhillon collected the kit and clothing of those personnel who had decided to leave the INA. When Netaji arrived on 2 July 1943, the Army was enlarged, and Dhillon was transferred to the 5th Guerilla Regiment.
Dhillon met Subhas Chandra Bose on 15 October 1944 at his residence in Rangoon, and on 26 October, was promoted to commander of the Nehru Brigade, where he served till the end of war. At the begining of May, when INA learned that Germany had recently surrendered, and Japan was suffering heavy bombing, the surviving forces of INA decided to surrender to the British, whose forces had already occupied Pegu. On 17 May 1945, the British encircled the Indian National Army, which surrendered without any formal ceremony. The POWs were sent to Pegu, and Shah Nawaz and Dhillon were taken to No. 3 Field Interrogation Centre under the command of Major C. Ore on 18 May 1945. On 31 May, Dhillon was sent to Rangoon Central Jail, where he was joined by Shah Nawaz on 9 June.
On 1 July 1945, Dhillon was brought to Calcutta by plane and from there, sent to Delhi by train. On 6 July he was sent to the Red Fort and interrogated by a man named Bannerjee from the Central Intelligence Department. The interrogation was concluded by the third week of July. On the 6 August 1945, Shah Nawaz, Sahgal, and Dhillon were jointly summoned to the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre for a trial of the INA. On 17 September 1945, the trio were charged with waging war against the King. The news of the trial was made public through the press and All India Radio.
The trial began on 5 November 1945, while a mass demonstration was going on outside the Red Fort. The trial concluded on 31 December, and Dhillon, along with the other two defendants, became a symbol of the ongoing struggle for Indian independence. The verdict came the following day. All three were found guilty of waging war against the King Emperor, and the court was bound to sentence the accused either to death or to deportation for life. However, the Commander-in-Chief, Claude Auchinleck, taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances, decided to remit the sentences, and all three defendants were later released.
The release was of momentous significance at a national level, because the unprecedented publicity in the national papers and other media during the proceedings had enhanced the credibility and legitimacy of the freedom struggle by the Indian National Army.
Dhillon's exposure to many different religions during the educational period made him into a secular person.