Century on, Panama Canal's forgotten hero Bagh Singh gets his due
Bathinda: Over a century after his contribution to the construction of the iconic Panama Canal and 57 years after his demise, Bhag Singh has received the honours. His picture has been placed in the office of the Indian embassy in Panama.
On one of the walls of the embassy, the contribution of Bhag Singh and other Indians to the construction of the 82-kilometre-long canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and was completed in 1914, has been duly recognised.
TOI highlighted Bhag Singh's contribution to the construction of the Panama Canal in its edition on Jan 6, 2025.
Late Bhag Singh's grandson, Darshan Singh, handed over the framed picture of Bhag Singh along with the Panama Canal to India's ambassador to Panama, Dr Sumit Seth, in Panama, and the ambassador placed it on one of the walls on Friday.
With this, the Indian connection from over 120 years ago was pronounced in the Latin American country of Panama, 16,000 km away.
Like many others, Bhag Singh from Punjab landed in Panama, situated at the southern end of Central America, in 1904, and contributed to the construction of the canal. Bhag Singh, hailing from the village of Rumi near Jagraon sub-division of Ludhiana, worked even after the canal became functional, greatly reducing travel time for ships between the two oceans used for maritime trade.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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For working at Panama Canal-Panama Railroad Company, he received a pension of $11 until his death in 1968. When Bhag Singh desired to return to India, a British passport was handed to him, recalls Bhag Singh's grandson, Darshan Singh Deol, who is now 77 years old and lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his family.
Darshan made a second trip to Panama in the last five months and succeeded in recognising the contribution of Indians to the construction of the canal from 1904 to 1914.
During his previous visit to gather details of his grandfather's stay there for 47 years, Darshan Singh collected a lot of information from the Central Library of Panama about how he and many others worked on the construction of the canal while facing numerous hardships, turning a tough terrain into a water body that became the lifeline of the small country.
"Bhag Singh left his native village in 1904 at the age of 23, leaving behind his family.
In Panama, he started working on the canal, and upon its completion, he was designated as a watchman at the canal and returned to India in 1951. Upon his return, he said that hundreds of workers died during the construction as the terrain was tough. Now, as the Indian embassy has placed his photo in recognition of his contribution along with other Indians, it is a big reward for us all," said Darshan Singh while speaking to TOI from Panama.
The Panama Canal was recently in the news when US President Donald Trump urged Panama to lower the transit fee in the crucial ocean link, or the US would take back control of the canal. Constructed by the US in 1914, the canal was handed over to Panama under a deal.
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