FAMILY HISTORIES · KARMUWALA
Rur Singh
Also recorded as Roor Singh
Asked whether he had heard of any wealthy or notable people from Karmuwala, Naseeb Chand, a former sarpanch, named Rur Singh: “the uncle of Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala”. Rur spent decades in Singapore, bought a great deal of land, never married, and left the land to his brother’s family. His brother Puran’s son, Gurbachan, went on to become general secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the elected body that manages gurdwaras in Punjab.
Singapore and home
Rur was the son of Sunder Singh and the grandson of Wariam Singh, and Puran Singh was one of his brothers. The man who brought him to Singapore was another Sunder Singh, also known as Racha Singh: the father of Hardit Singh Sandhu. 9
Ajit Singh, who was in twelfth grade at the time, remembered Rur coming home in 1956 after 25 to 30 years away, which would put his departure between about 1926 and 1931. 28
Naseeb Chand knew Rur by reputation as Gurbachan’s uncle: a man who “bought so much land and remained unmarried”, and who gave his land to his brother’s family when he died. 9, 23
Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala
Puran stayed in India, and his son Gurbachan took the village’s name into Sikh public life. Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala was elected general secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on 29 November 2017 and re-elected in November 2018. In May 2025 he was one of four members of an SGPC panel formed to ease tensions with the management of Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Bihar. 9, 29
When Jaspal Singh was asked in 2021 which other notable families from Karmuwala could be interviewed, he named Gurbachan’s first, calling him the SGPC’s “present day general secretary”. 30
In a video interview uploaded in April 2025, Gurbachan talks about his father and his uncle: the bond between the two brothers and their investment in the village from abroad. 27
Watch: Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala on Roor and Puran Singh →
Uploaded 26 April 2025.
What is still unknown
Rur’s birth and death dates are not known, nor what work he did in Singapore. If you remember Rur or Puran, or have a photograph of either, please get in touch.
Sources
09 Family account: Rur’s parentage, his brother Puran, Singapore and his land
The family account gives Rur’s father and grandfather, names Puran as his brother and as Gurbachan’s father, says that Hardit’s father brought Rur to Singapore and that Puran stayed in India, and records that Rur’s land passed to his brother’s family. It credits Mahinder Singh, son of Kesar Singh, son of Bisan Singh, among its contributors but does not say which details came from him. No document recording these claims has been found.
23 Interview with Naseeb Chand, former sarpanch
Asked whether he had heard of any wealthy or notable people from Karmuwala, Naseeb Chand names “the uncle of Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala, Rur Singh”, who “bought so much land and remained unmarried” and gave his land to his brother’s family when he died. He says he has heard of Rur; he does not say he knew him.
27 Video interview: Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala on Roor and Puran Singh
YouTube, uploaded 26 April 2025; the recording date is not known. The video introduces Gurbachan as an SGPC leader. Its captions have not been checked against the audio, so its detailed statements are not used as facts here.
28 Ajit Singh’s recollection of Rur’s return
Interview with Ajaib Singh and Ajit Singh, English transcript, paragraph 30, following the question about Roor Singh and Puran Singh in paragraph 28. Ajit Singh states: “He came back after 25-30 years, in 1956. I was in twelfth grade at that time.”
29 Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala in the SGPC: press reports, 2017–2025
The Tribune, 30 November 2017, reports that Gurbachan Singh Karmowala was elected SGPC general secretary at the committee’s annual meeting in Amritsar on 29 November 2017. A PTI report of 13 November 2018, published by Business Standard, records his re-election as general secretary under the spelling Karmuwal. The Tribune, 25 May 2025, names Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala as one of four members of an SGPC panel formed to ease tensions with the management of Takht Sri Patna Sahib. That the office-holder in these reports is Puran’s son rests on the name and village, the family account (note 9), Naseeb Chand’s description of Rur as his uncle (note 23), Jaspal Singh’s description of him (note 30) and the video’s introduction of him as an SGPC leader (note 27).
30 Interview with Jaspal Singh, page dated February 2021
Asked which other notable families from his father’s time could be interviewed, Jaspal Singh begins: “Family of Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala, Present day general secretary of SGPC”.