By Sourav Chakraborty, DIC, FRSA, FRAS, CEng (IET & IEI), CMgr (MCMI) | The Brutal Jallianwala Bagh massacre conducted by General Reginald Dyer resulted in over 1000 deaths and 1500+ injuries. The incident had mixed responses from the British Imperialists, where on one hand Winston Churchill condemned the act as“a monstrous event, an event which stood in singular and sinister isolation” while on the other hand, famous poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling, hailed General Dyer as“the man who saved India”. Kipling even started a benefit fund by the name of“General Dyer Fund” that raised about £26,000 and presented to Dyer on his return to Britain the same year.

General Reginald Dyer and his actions were backed by Punjab Governor Sir Michael O'Dwyer and the colonial government of India headed by Lord Chelmsford. However unfortunately, O'Dwyer and Dyer had admirers in India as well. The prominent name in the list was none other than Dewan Bahadur Kunj Behari Thapar of Lahore. In fact, the Golden Temple management (the predecessor of the SGPC) presented Dyer a Kirpan (sword) and a Siropa (turban) along with Rs. 1.75 Lakhs contributed by Kunj Behari Thapar, Umar Hayat Khan, Chaudhary Gajjan Singh and Rai Bahadur Lal Chand.

The Thapars

Thapar's family was newly wealthy, having made their fortune in trade during the first world war, as commission agents for the colonial British Indian Army. Kunj Behari Thapar did everything necessary to please his colonial masters to keep his hold in the British Indian Army. For loyalty during Jallianwala crisis, Kunj Behari Thapar was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1920.

Kunj Behari Thapar had 3 sons namely, Daya Ram Thapar, Prem Nath Thapar and Pran Nath Thapar and 5 daughters.

Daya Ram Thapar was the oldest of the three brothers, and was a medical student in Edinburgh. He volunteered for medical service in the Indian military, eventually retiring as Director General of the Indian Armed Forces Medical Services. He had a son, Romesh Thapar, and two daughters, Bimla and Romila. Yes the same Romila Thapar,“Eminent Professor Emeritus” at JNU.

Born in Lahore, Romesh Thapar was therefore, sent to England for his education. Starting as a fashionable socialist, Thapar developed into a Marxist ideologue over the years and remained a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) until his death. Romesh Thapar started Seminar, as a monthly journal and established a stable revenue model – predictably, nearly all the advertising revenue came from the government and a large proportion of the sales were also to government institutions and libraries. Thapar also shifted base to Delhi from Mumbai in order to leverage his growing political clout in the socialist and“socially progressive” Nehru-led dispensation. He was duly allotted prime property at a low rate by the government. In the late 1960s, Romesh and Raj were part of the intellectual elite that was privy to political undercurrents at the Centre. Known to be members of the 'inner cabinet', they enjoyed close proximity to Indira Gandhi, a friendship that only strengthened after Nehru's death. Romesh Thapar had two children, Malvika (Mala) Singh and Valmik Thapar.

Valmik Thapar married Sanjana Kapoor, actor Shashi Kapoor's daughter, and is one of India's most respected wildlife conservation experts today. Valmik has produced documentaries for the BBC, Animal Planet, Discovery and National Geographic, etc.

Malvika Thapar married Tejbir 'Jugnu' Singh, son of one of New Delhi's most pre-eminent families (see below) that built the new capital when it shifted here from Kolkata.

Pran Nath Thapar was the youngest son of Diwan Bahadur Kunj Behari Thapar of Lahore. In March 1936, Thapar married Bimla Bashiram Sehgal, sister of Gautam Sahgal, whose wife Nayantara Sahgal (recently famed for her award wapasi) was a daughter of Vijayalaxmi Pandit and niece of Jawahar Lal Nehru. Gen. Pran Nath Thapar was the only Indian Army Chief to have lost a war (against China in 1962). Gen. K.S. Thimayya, on his retirement, recommended Lt. Gen. S. P. P. Thorat as his successor. However, it was overruled and Pran Nath Thapar was selected. It's amazing how Pran Nath Thapar's role in 1962 debacle is left out of history books. He was forced to and resigned in disgrace after the debacle. General Thapar and Smt. Bimla Thapar had four children, of whom the youngest is the prominent journalist Karan Thapar, who writes for The Wire.

The Singhs

Son of Sujan Singh of village Hudali in Khushab, Shahpur District (Now Pakistan), Sobha Singh was a witness in the assembly bomb explosion incident on April 8, 1929. He identified Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt and subsequently on Sobha Singh's testimony, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were sent to gallows.

Suman Singh & Sobha Singh were accepted as senior-grade contractors and building contracts of Lutyens' Delhi were being given out to them when Hardinge, the Viceroy of Bharat, announced the plan to move the British Indian Capital City to Delhi. For the South Block, and War Memorial Arch (now India Gate), the uneducated Sobha Singh was the sole builder. Sobha Singh bought as much land in Delhi as he could. He bought several extensive sites at as little as Rs 2 per square yard, freehold. There were few other takers and he came to be described as adhi dilli da malik (the owner of half of Delhi). He was knighted in the 1944 Birthday Honors. The younger brother of Sir Sobha Singh, Sardar Ujjal Singh later became a parliamentarian, and also Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Sir Sobha had four sons namely, Bhagwant Singh, Khushwant Singh (prominent journalist, and author), Major Gurbakash and Daljit and a daughter, Mohinder Kaur.

Khushwant Singh's son Rahul Singh can easily be found on NDTV or some other news channels defending the serious sexual/criminal offenders, the likes of Tarun Tejpal, Teesta Setalwad and R.K. Pachauri, etc.

It is astonishingly interesting that grand-daughter of Kunj Behari Thapar (Jalianwallah Bagh massacre apologist), Malvika Singh married Tejbir Singh, the grandson of Sir Sobha Singh whose testimony sent Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru to gallows. This is some interesting union.

The circuit of loyal descendants completes and is running in the name of Seminar Magazine overseen by Malvika Singh (d/o Romesh) and Tejbir Singh (gs/o Sobha Singh), defending the Congress ecosystem in media (Karan Thapar) and polluting education (Romila Thapar) at the highest level.

'We' the Lutyens Loyalists!

(Sourav Chakraborty, DIC, FRSA, FRAS, CEng (IET & IEI), CMgr (MCMI), is an entrepreneur building for Indian GenZ, an alumnus of Imperial College London and Boston University, and a Sanatan & Indian history buff, political enthusiast, observer, and columnist.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views or stance of the organization. The organization assumes no responsibility for the content shared.

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