Jaswant Singh Gill Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

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Death Cause: Cardiac Arrest

Wife: Nirdosh Kaur

Age: 80 Years

Bio/Wiki
Other Name	Sardar Jaswant Singh Gill check sources Pinkvilla
Profession	Engineer-in-Chief
Known As	The Capsule Gill check sources Facebook - Dr Sarpreet Singh Gill
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 178 cm in meters- 1.78 m in feet & inches- 5’ 10”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Career
Awards, Honours & Achievements	• 1991: Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak by the then President Ramaswamy Venkataraman • 2005: Limca Book of Record as national record holder for the most successful & largest rescue operation in mining history check sources The Tribune • 29 November 2009: Lifetime Achievement Award for Mining by the Indian School of Mines Alumni Association (ISMAA), Delhi • 1 November 2013: Lifetime Acheivement Award and Rs 1 lakh by the then Union Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal • 2013: Swami Vivekanand Award of Excellence • 24 December 2014: Outstanding Services to Humanity Award from Harman Educational & Social Welfare Society, Amritsar • 7 June 2018: World Book of Record, London, UK, for Largest Coal Mine Rescue operation • 2018: Indian Iconic Award by Real Flavours Media Group • 2019: Pride of the Nation Award, Delhi • 12 May 2019: Honorary Doctorate (PhD) by Universal Achievers University, Tamil Nadu Other Award(s) • Vijay Rath National Award from IICM, Ranchi • Excellence in Safety Award from Coal India Ltd, Calcutta • Bhagat Puran Singh Award from Guru Arjun Dev Mandal, Patiala • Farishta-E-Kaum Award from Sache Patshah Magazine, New Delhi
Personal Life
Date of Birth	22 November 1939 (Wednesday)
Birthplace	Sathiala, Amritsar, Punjab, India
Date of Death	26 November 2019
Place of Death	His home in Amritsar, Punjab, India
Age (at the time of death)	80 Years
Death Cause	Cardiac Arrest check sources The World Sikh News
Zodiac sign	Sagittarius
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Sathiala, Amritsar, Punjab, India
School(s)	• From class 1 to 4, he studied at an Urdu School • Khalsa College Public School in Khalsa College School, Amritsar, Punjab, India
College/University	• Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India • Panjab University, Chandigarh • Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand
Educational Qualification(s)	• BSc Non-Medical from Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India (1959) • Graduation in Mining Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand (1961-1965) • LLB from Khalsa College (2018; died in 2019, while he was in the second year of his degree) check sources The Tribune check sources The World Sikh News
Religion	Sikhism check sources The World Sikh News
Address	883/1, Circular-Road, Amritsar, Punjab, India
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Marriage Date	19 October 1969
Family
Wife/Spouse	Nirdosh Kaur
Children	Son- 2 • Dr Sarpreet Singh Gill (PGC Cardiologist at Johns Hopkins USA) • Randip Singh Gill (an entrepreneur and a real estate professional who lives in Vancouver, Canada) Daughter(s)- 2 • Poonam Gill • Hina Gill
Parents	Father- Daswandha Singh Gill (senior clerk at the postal department, Amritsar) Mother- Sardarni Preetam Kaur Gill
Siblings	Brother(s)- 2 • Kulwant Singh Gill (ret. bank manager) • Dr Harwant Singh Gill (D. Ortho, retired as SMO from the PCMS College) Sister(s)- 2 • Narinder Kaur (retired head mistress) • Dr Raminder Kaur (pathologist and former HOD at Rajindra Medical College, Patiala and GMC, Amritsar) Note: He was fourth among five children of his parents.

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jaswant Singh Gill

Jaswant Singh Gill was an Indian mine engineer who is known for rescuing 65 coal miners in Raniganj, West Bengal, in 1989. His rescue operation is considered India’s first successful coal mine rescue operation. check sources The Tribune
While he was in school and college, he used to participate in various athletic and bhangra competitions.

Jaswant Singh Gill in a Bhangra competition
After completing his graduation, he cleared the entrance exam of the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
Later, he got a job offer at a coal firm named Karam Chand Thapar & Bros (coal Sales) Ltd. He joined the company and worked there for a few years.
In 1972, he started working at Coal India Limited as an engineer. Later, he was promoted to Sub-Divisional Engineer and was then Executive Engineer at Coal India Limited. He was then promoted to Chief General Manager ED (Safety & Rescue) at Coal India Limited, Raniganj, West Bengal.
On 13 November 1989, while he was working in Raniganj, West Bengal, as Chief General Manager ED (Safety & Rescue), a coal mine accident took place in the area. On that day, 220 miners at a coal mine in Raniganj, West Bengal, were working. They were breaking coal walls with multiple blasts. While they were working, someone accidentally touched the upper seam of the mine, due to which, water started flooding the mine. Some miners evacuated immediately, but 71 miners were left back in the borewell as the shafts were flooded with water. Out of 71 people, six people drowned and 65 were left trapped in the borewell.
To save the miners, Jaswant Singh planned a rescue operation by making a steel capsule that would help them to carry one person at a time from the borewell.

Jaswant Singh Gill with the capsule used in the coal mine tragedy

He then decided to drill another borehole of 22 inches in diameter through which the capsule could travel. The capsule took around 2 days of continuous effort, and by midnight of 15 November 2022, the capsule was ready. The capsule was brought to the place of the incident, and two rescue men were briefed on the rescue process, but at the last moment, they ran away. Then, Jaswant Singh asked the then chairman of Coal India Ltd to allow him to go down in the capsule. However, the chairman was not willing to risk Jaswant’s life. After a discussion with Jaswant, the chairman agreed with Jaswant and said,

The man who rescues these miners, his name will be written in golden letters in the history of mining.”

A picture from the incident of coal mine tragedy in Raniganj (1989)

On 16 November 1989, at 2:30 am, Jaswant entered the capsule and went down into the borewell where 65 miners were trapped. In an interview, Jaswant’s son talked about the incident which he had heard from his father. He said,

At 2:30 am, on the night of 16 November 1989, my father entered the Capsule to go down into a certain death trap. Almost a hundred thousand people who had by now gathered at the site shouted slogans to encourage him. As the Capsule began its descent, the torque in the new steel rope started relieving and made the Capsule spin at a high speed in a clockwise motion and then in an anticlockwise motion. It was a nerve-wracking endeavour, yet my father conquered his fear with sheer determination and concentration. In about 15 minutes he reached the pit bottom as a manual winch was being used to lower the Capsule.”

After reaching the borewell, Jaswant Singh started sending the trapped workers one by one through the capsule. Jaswant’s son talked about the situation at that time. He said,

As soon as he opened the front hatch of the Capsule, he saw 65 scared faces in front of him with the fear of impending death writ large on their faces. He caught hold of the nearest worker, put him into the Capsule and signalled with a hammer he was carrying for the Capsule to be hoisted up. He then turned to the remaining miners and asked if any of them was injured or sick. The first 9 tokens were given to those who had injuries and those who had a fever. He then asked for the hierarchy of the workers and gave out tokens from the junior most to the senior-most workers and told them that he would vacate the mine last after sending all of them out one by one.”

After saving all 65 miners, Jaswant Singh came from the borewell in the last. The rescue operation took almost six hours. Since then, in India, 16 November is marked as ‘Rescue Day’ to commemorate the rescue operation.
Later, he helped in the rescue operation of 14 miners trapped in the coal mine at East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya.
Jaswant Singh was felicitated at various events for his bravery in the 1989 coal mine rescue operation.
In 1998, he retired from Coal India Ltd, West Bengal and returned to his hometown.
In 2008, he was appointed as one of the members of the Disaster Management Committee, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
On 26 April 2018, he was appointed as the President of Rotary International. He was actively involved in various social services.
In early 2019, he was invited as a guest speaker at the talk show ‘Josh Talks’ (Punjabi).

Jaswant Singh Gill in Josh Talks
On 26 November 2019, he took his last breath at his home in Amritsar, Punjab, India. His antim ardaas (last rites) were performed at Gurudwara Chhevin Patshahi, A/B Block, Ranjit Avenue, Amritsar, Punjab, India last rites.
In his memory, Jaswant Singh Gill Memorial Industrial Safety Excellence Award was started with award money of Rs 50,000. A chowk on Majitha Road, Amritsar is also named after him.

The chowk on Majitha Road which is named after Er Jaswant Singh Gill
A memorial gate at Kunustoria Area, Eastern Coalfield Limited, and a garden in ECL West Bengal has also been named after him.

A memorial gate made in remembrance of Jaswant Singh Gill at Kunustoria Area, Eastern Coalfield Limited

A garden named in remembrance of Jaswant Singh Gill
Later, in his memory, a bulletin was also released.
On 11 April 2022, his portrait was unveiled at the Sikh Museum in the Holy Golden Temple. The event was attended by his family members.

Jaswant Singh Gill’s family members at an event where his portrait was unveiled at the Sikh Museum at the premises of the Holy Golden Temple
In an interview, Jaswant’s son shared that once Jaswant was approached by the Indian director Tinu Desai for his (Jaswant’s) biopic. Jaswant’s son said,

In 2017, he (Jaswant) was approached by Tinu Desai from Mumbai, who had directed the Bollywood movie Rustom with actor Akshay Kumar and offered to make a Hindi movie on the rescue. Unfortunately, my father passed away on 26 November 2019, following a massive cardiac arrest.”
In November 2022, the first look of the Indian actor Akshay Kumar from the Hindi film ‘Capsule Gill’ later named ‘Mission Raniganj’ was released. In the film, he was roped in to portray Jaswant Singh Gill. In one of the tweets, Akshay Kumar confirmed his role in the film. He tweeted,

Grateful to you @JoshiPralhad ji, for recalling India’s first coal mine rescue mission – this day 33yrs ago. मेरा सौभाग्य है कि मैं #SardarJaswantSinghGill जी का किरदार अपनी फ़िल्म में निभा रहा हूँ. It’s a story like no other!@easterncoal.”

Akshay Kumar’s look as Jaswant Singh Gill from the Hindi film ‘Capsule Gill’

In a tweet, the director of the film Vashu Bhagnani tweeted,

Remembering Late #SardarJaswantSinghGill on this day, who rescued the lives of miners who were stuck in the coal mines of Raniganj under very difficult circumstances. It is indeed an honour and privilege to showcase his heroic act in our next film.”
!

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Jaswant Singh Gill Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Jaswant Singh Gill Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jaswant Singh Gill

References/Sources