Decorated War Veteran Major Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi (Retd) passed away peacefully on November 3, 2016 at the age of 94. He is survived by his wife – a retired teacher and homemaker and three children, all doctors of repute including Dr.Harinder Singh Bedi, a Ludhiana based noted cardiac surgeon in the country.
Major Bedi was born on 23 April 1923. He did his education from Ismalia College, Peshawar. He always topped in his class and was an all-rounder. He was invited as an honoured guest along with his wife at the century celebrations of the College.
After College, he joined the Armed Forces to serve his country. During Partition his troops helped a lot of people from both sides to safety. He trained to be an elite Paratrooper (the Red Devils) and commanded the then secret Establishment 22. He led from the front in the Indo Pak and Indo China wars and was decorated for his bravery. In the Bangladesh 1971 war – his company paratrooped behind enemy lines in Dhaka and helped in the surrender of the Pakistan Army.
After retirement he practised as a lawyer. After Operation Bluestar when Parkash Singh Badal and Surjeet Singh Barnala were imprisoned in Pachmari and no one dared to represent them. Major Bedi then filed an application against the then Government, fought tooth and nail and went to meet the two in Pachmari jail and helped in their release. This episode was mentioned with great admiration in the book – “Quest for Freedom: Story of an Escape” – by former Punjab Chief Minister SS Barnala who always held Major Bedi in high esteem.
Major Bedi then practised in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Chandigarh .He was an aggressive Human Rights activist and fought the cases for the 1984 riot victims. He led a pious and happy life as a Gursikh.
He made sure that all his 3 children got the best education and all 3 are doctors of repute. His son – Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – is one of the senior most practising Cardiac Surgeons of India and is the Founder of the North Zone Cardiac Surgeons Society and was awarded the Punjab Sarkar Parman Patra for his contribution in the medical field. He is the Chairman Cardiac Sciences of the Ludhiana Mediways Hospital in Ludhiana.