Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly: Sikh Philanthropist and Visionary
This article is a short biography of Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly of Mumbai, India. It is the story of his early life, how he set up a charitable trust and what he set up for those in need.
Early Life
Shamsher Singh Jolly was born in Amritsar on 1st November 1922.
Shamsher Singh Jolly was the oldest of eight children, of whom only three survived to adulthood. His father, Bhagat Singh was working class but still wanted his son, Shamsher Singh Jolly to become a doctor and therefore prioritised the funding of his education.
Shamsher Singh Jolly studied and gained his BSc in Amritsar and then went to the National Medical College in Lahore to study Medicine. In 1946, in his fourth year of Medical School, Shamsher Singh Jolly came first in his class at Punjab University and won a gold medal.
Impact of Partition
In 1947 Shamsher Singh Jolly was caught up in the unrest due to Partition and was unable to complete his final year exams. Every day for the next three months, Shamsher Singh Jolly’s mother, Upkar Kaur along with his ten-year-old brother, Madan Singh Jolly travelled to Amritsar station from Taran Tarn to see whether he had made it back from Lahore. Eventually, his mother stopped making the journey and assumed the worst and thought that he would never come back.
Six months after partition, Shamsher Singh Jolly surprised his family by returning home to Taran Tarn. He, along with a few other students were protected by a Muslim cook in Lahore and they returned home when it was safe to do so. During this time, Shamsher Singh Jolly was working in a refugee camp in Murree, Rawalpindi district, where he met his wife-to-be.
Completion of Studies
Shamsher Singh Jolly Joined a medical college in Amritsar to complete his MBBS, and he qualified as a doctor in 1948 with a silver medal. He worked as a house doctor in Amritsar Ram Lal Eye Hospital in Lawrence Road.
He wanted to specialise in Ophthalmology and started his DOMS studies in Amritsar. Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly was unfortunately unable to complete this additional degree, but instead he went to Mumbai where he started working for the Municipal Corporation as a Medical Officer.
Setting up a Charitable Trust in Mumbai
In 1955, Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly was transferred to NJ Wadia Dispensary on SV Road in Andheri as the Chief Medical Officer. He was provided with accommodation, which comprised of a bungalow and an outhouse. As he was well-known in the community, many people came to him for treatment. Over time, Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly realised that he could use the outhouse for Kirtan (Sikh Devotional Music), because the nearest Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) was some distance away in Khar.
Among those that used to attend the Kirtan in the outhouse were music directors from the film industry, such as BN Bali, S Mohinder, Inderjit Singh, Sardara Singh and others. Together, they created the Guru Nanak Punjabi Sabha (Charity) and Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly was selected to be the President.
The Charity Grows
As the Sabha became established, it built-up funds by doing programmes on a large-scale in Fidai Baug, MA High School, and Railway Colony hosting the largest events such as celebrating Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Prakash Utsav. These events were attended by big names in the Film Industry such as Balraj Sahni, Achala Sachdev, Prithvi Raj Kapoor, Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle, as well as writers and poets. One of the great patrons was Madhu Bala and her father, who sponsored one Akhand Paath (Three Day Holy Book Reading) every year and made significant donations to the Sabha.
In 1978, the Aga Khan, the head of the Khoja Community visited Mumbai and went to the Fidai Baug Academy. The Fidai Baug President, Kasam Ali Jagmagia requested that Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly sit next to the Aga Khan because of the selfless service that he did at the Academy looking after the orphans. Dr Jolly would go whenever he was needed, day or night.
As the funds held by the Sabha grew, Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly and the committee, used the money to purchase a plot of land in Chakala, and had a vision to build a Gurdwara, along with a Mission School and Charitable Dispensary.
Building Works
Work started in 1956, laying the foundations and starting to build the Gurdwara. Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly wanted the Gurdwara to be self-sufficient and so rented the front of the building to a Bank. The charitable dispensary was on the ground floor and Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly provided his services free-of-charge every day between 4pm and 6pm. The top floor was used by the Gurdwara, and the Mission school on the first floor started operating in 1967.
The Guru Nanak Mission High School Outgrows Original Site
At one point, there were 600 students in the school, which had outgrown the site. A new site was needed for the growing school, so with the help of Architect Sunder Singh Bhavnani, a new site was found nearby and purchased by the Sabha. The new site was purchased around 1985, but sadly, Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly died on 20th January 1992, and so he was unable to see the completion of the building. The school moved from the old site to the new site in the year 2000. At one point before Covid, the school had over 2000 students.
Dr SS Jolly’s Death
Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly was unanimously chosen to be the president of the Sabha at every election, and he held that post until he died in 1992.
Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly’s Antim Sanskar (funeral) was held at the Gurdwara that he helped to set up. It was attended by over 4000 people and the Darbar Hall was full, the stairs were full, the entrance to the Gurdwara was full and the road was also filled with the Sangat (community) coming to pay their respects to Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly, causing road traffic to stop. The members of his family were unaware that there would be such a large gathering at the Gurdwara and served to demonstrate how many people were touched by Dr Jolly’s philanthropy and generosity over the years.
Philanthropy of Dr SS Jolly
The word Philanthropy comes from a Greek word meaning “love for humanity” and Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly had this in abundance. He was widely known by members of the community for helping those in need to the point that if anyone had any problems, they would be sent to Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly as it was widely known that he would be able to help them.
Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly’s brother, Madan Singh Jolly was taking a taxi from Bombay Central. He told the driver to take him to Andheri. When the driver got to Andheri, he asked Madan Singh Jolly where exactly he wanted to go. When Madan Singh told the driver the address, the driver said that Dr Jolly lives there. When Madan Singh Jolly responded by saying that he was Dr Jolly’s brother, the driver refused to take any money from him, saying that Dr Jolly had helped him. Despite Madan Jolly insisting on paying the fare, the driver refused to take money from Dr Jolly’s family member.
On another occasion, a young man was sent to Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly’s home as he had lost his money and needed to travel to Patna. Dr Jolly asked his younger brother, Madan Singh Jolly to take the man to the train station, buy him a train ticket, put him on the train and give him some money too. A little while later, the man returned to Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly’s home and said that someone had cut his pocket and taken the ticket and the money
Dr Jolly once again told his brother to take him to the station, buy him another ticket, put him on the train and give him some more money. Dr Jolly’s brother said that he did not believe that anyone had cut his pocket and stolen the ticket and money and felt that the man was trying to cheat him. Despite this, Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly insisted that he was taken back to the train station and given the help that he needed.
These are just two examples of numerous occasions of Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly’s selfless service to people of all faiths and backgrounds. As with the Greek work for philanthropy, Dr Jolly’s actions demonstrated that he wanted to help everyone irrespective of who they were, where they came from or their beliefs — a love for all humanity.
Tracing Dr SS Jolly’s Family
I am carrying out a piece of work to try and track down Dr Jolly’s family and build a family tree. If you can assist, then please do get in touch to help. This is what I have established so far:
Sources and Further Reading
- Guru Nanak Punjabi Sabha Eminent Personality — DR Shamsher Singh Jolly of Mumbai India | PDF | Punja
Guru Nanak Punjabi Sabha Eminent Personality — Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly of Mumbai India — Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. This document is to highlight the work of the founder visionary of the Guru Nanak Pun - A Short Biography of Dr SS Jolly.pdf
A Short Biography of Dr SS Jolly. Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly was a medical doctor in Mumbai and established a charity called the Guru Nanak Punjabi Sabha to help … - Sri Guru Singh Sabha Patrika, 16 November 2022, Year 6 Issue 206 | PDF | Nāstika | Punjab
Sri Guru Singh Sabha Patrika, 16 November 2022, Year 6 Issue 206 — Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. This publication has a biography of Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly of Andheri, Mumbai. Dr SS Jolly passed away in - Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly on YouTube
This Channel is dedicated to the late Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly of Mumbai, India. Dr SS Jolly was a visionary and a philanthropist who dedicated his life to h… - Guru Nanak Punjabi Sabha Eminent Personality — DR Shamsher Singh Jolly of Mumbai India | PDF | Punja
Guru Nanak Punjabi Sabha Eminent Personality — Dr Shamsher Singh Jolly of Mumbai India - Gurdwara Guru Nanak Punjabi Sabha Chakala — Wikipedia
An Article on Wikipedia about the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Punjabi Sabha in Chakala, Mumbai, India
