Late Punjabi singer, Amar Singh Chamkila had a close friend in his life, Swaran Singh Sivia, who played a crucial role in steering his songs in a new direction.
Imtiaz Ali’s film, Amar Singh Chamkila, starring Diljit Dosanjh in the lead role, was released on Netflix on April 12, 2024. The story is a biopic of the late singer, Amar Singh Chamkila, and the lead actors did complete justice to the late singer's life. Talking about the singer and his wife, Amarjot Kaur's untimely demise, they were reportedly assassinated due to the vulgarity being found in their songs. Now, we get to know about Chamkila's one such friend, Swaran Singh Sivia, who played a big role in the singer's life.
Swaran Singh Sivia was one of the prominent figures shaping Amar Singh Chamkila's musical journey in a new direction. Swaran was one person who steered Chamkila's songs' lyrics from explicit to religious compositions. Surprisingly, these religious songs were penned by Swaran himself. However, tragedy struck when unidentified assailants fatally shot Chamkila and his wife, Amarjot. Deeply affected by the loss, Swaran fought for his song's justice even after the singer's death.
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But who was Swaran Singh Sivia? He was a former Income Tax officer who gradually became Chamkila's close friend and later a song writer. Now, we stumbled upon an old interview with Swaran, wherein he talked about the first meeting between him and Chamkila and how they gradually became close friends. For the uninitiated, Swaran left the mortal planes in 2023, leaving behind a void in the Punjabi music industry.
In an old interview with the Punjabi YouTube channel, RDP in 2004, Swaran Singh Sivia opened up about the entire incident about how he met the late singer, Amar Singh Chamkila, the three threat letters, and how he steered the wheel of Chamkila's songs. Swaran shared that the first time he met Chamkila, the latter didn't know he was from the Income Tax Department. Thus, the late singer had rushed to him to check if the death threats that he had received were real or fake. Swaran said:
“Chamkila (Amar Singh Chamkila) told me that ‘I have received three threatening letters. I feel that these have been sent to me by my rival singers and that they are fake threat letters. And I want to confirm with you if these are real or fake.’ I asked him to show me the letters. But he got scared, and he thought I was also a Kharku (sikh militant of the Punjab insurgency). I told him that he could get the letters the next day if he didn’t trust me."
Following this, Chamkila took him to his village to show the threat letters. Revealing the incident, Swaran mentioned the late singer was very 'shaken and scared' due to the threat letters. The former Income Tax officer then checked the two letters and found they had a Bhindranwale Tiger Force stamp. Swaran added:
"Then Chamkila said he wanted him to check the letters today itself, so he decided to drop me off at my village in his own Ambassador car. He took me in his car to Jamalpur, where he was staying. He showed me the three threat letters that he had kept in the safe of his almirah. One of the threat letters had a Bhindranwale Tiger Force stamp. I told him one was real and the other two were from the Khalistan Liberation Force and Khalistan Commando Force; this he will need to check. He asked me to show it to the Kharkus and handed over the letters to me. Once, Kharku members came to our village, and they wanted to drink milk from a Sikh house. I knew them from there and came to know that the threat letters sent to Chamkila were original.”
Afterwards, Swaran explained how he had pleaded to the Kharku action committee members to meet his close friend, Chamkila. For the same, Swaran had also assured the committee members that following that day, Chamkila would begin singing positive songs. But Chamkila was extremely scared at that time. Swaran said:
“I encountered the Kharku group, who informed me that if Amar Singh Chamkila was my close friend, they could provide a reference letter allowing me to meet with the Kharku action committee members. In return, I would need to promise that Chamkila will sing positive songs. I told them that Chamkila is a soft hearted man that if you look at him sternly, he might have a heart attack. He said I am scared. He was a little skeptical of me as well that I might get him killed in Amritsar. I said they might have weapons but they are not going to shoot you inside. They have made a promise in front of Guru Granth Sahib, they won’t do something like this. He then gained some confidence."
Sharing how he and Chamkila then went inside wherein the latter apologised for his songs, Swaran added:
"Taking Amar Singh Chamkila with me, I went to meet the Kharku group to apologize. I had advised him not to touch their feet, emphasising the importance of invoking Waheguru’s blessings. Baba Bassar Singh Jaffarwal stood there, and, surprisingly, he embraced Chamkila. Baba Bassar Singh acknowledged Chamkila’s powerful voice and encouraged him to use it for noble purposes. He reminded Chamkila of the responsibilities he carried. Despite initial fear, they sat down together. Baba Rood Singh playfully teased Chamkila, who promptly apologised to him.”
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Swaran and Chamkila then visited Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar, where Chamkila did an ardaas of 5100 times. Moreover, Chamkila also offered them a donation of Rs. 25,000, which was a huge amount in the 1980s. But he was refused and instead asked to make the donation to the needy. Not only that, afterwards, Chamkila began singing religious songs and some of his albums in the same genre, including Naam Japle and Baba Tera Nankana became extremely popular. It is noteworthy that the entire incident has been shown in the same manner in the film, Amar Singh Chamkila. Swaran concluded:
“Chamkila then visited Harmandir Sahib and performed an ardaas (prayer) 5100 times. Following that, he made a generous donation of Rs 25,000 for langar (the community kitchen). The Kharkus, however, declined to accept the money and instead asked him to donate it to the needy. This encounter left Chamkila content, knowing he had made amends and contributed positively to the community.”
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Next Read: Amar Singh Chamkila And His Wife, Amarjot's Journey In The Music World, Assassination And Legacy